Curry, chutney and the Notting Hill Carnival

The Notting Hill Carnival in London is famous for its vibrant music, colorful costumes, and delicious food. One of the highlights is the Trinidadian food stall run by Parbatee Sawh, known as Sarah, and her daughter Christina. Sarah first started selling Indo-Caribbean dishes like rotis, aloo pie, and dhal puri from her car before setting up a stall at the carnival in the 1990s. She moved from Trinidad to Lewisham in 1972 to work as a nurse, but her love for cooking and sharing her culture led her to become a regular at the carnival. Sarah noticed that there was a lack of Trinidadian food at the event, even though the carnival has its roots in Trinidad. She wanted to introduce people to the Indian influence in Caribbean cuisine, which reflects the island’s diverse heritage.

Sarah’s daughters, Christina and Leah, now do most of the cooking for their stall, Sweet Hand Cuisine, but Sarah still helps out. Christina, whose father is from Grenada, grew up in west London and often felt that her mixed Black-Indian identity was hard for others to understand. She says that in Trinidad, diversity is normal, but in London during the 1990s, there wasn’t much space for Indo-Caribbeans. Christina also feels that while people love the food, they don’t always know the history behind it. She wishes more people talked about how Indians came to the Caribbean as indentured workers, a story that is often overlooked.

Sophia Estelle Mangroo, another regular at the carnival, shares this view. As a second-generation British Indo-Trinidadian, she believes it’s important to recognize that Indo-Caribbeans were part of the Windrush journey to the UK. Sophia enjoys raising awareness of Indo-Caribbean culture through social media and feels connected to her heritage through the carnival’s music, dance, and celebration. Chutney music, a lively blend of Indian folk and Caribbean rhythms, is often played at the carnival, but many people don’t realize its Indo-Caribbean roots. The history behind the food and music is tied to the story of indentureship, when Indians were brought to the Caribbean to work after slavery ended. These workers faced long, difficult journeys and harsh conditions, but they formed communities and kept their traditions alive. Many Indo-Caribbean families later moved to the UK, bringing their food, music, and culture with them. Today, the Notting Hill Carnival is a place where Indo-Caribbean heritage is celebrated, and people like Sarah, Christina, and Sophia honor the legacy of their ancestors through food, music, and community.