Curry Mile
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The Curry Mile is a nickname for the part of Wilmslow Road running through the centre of Rusholme in south Manchester, England. The name is earned from the large number of restaurants, take-aways and kebab houses specialising in the cuisines of South Asia and the Middle East, thought to be the largest concentration of South Asian restaurants outside the Indian subcontinent.[1][2][3]
Within a length of half a mile there are least seventy establishments of this kind.[1][2] The Curry Mile is notable for its streets being busy into the early hours of the morning. The area is frequently visited by local students, because of its location near the Oxford Road and Fallowfield Campuses of the University of Manchester, and the Oxford Road / All Saints campus of the Manchester Metropolitan University.
Restaurants
From the 1980s to early 21st century, the area was dominated by mainly Pakistani cuisine. Since 2000, Pakistani restaurants remain dominant. However, there has been a noticeable increase in Afghan and Arab cuisine into the area also.
Other features
Also situated along the mile are a variety of Asian fashion, grocery and music shops, and the flavour of Asian cultural influence permeates most enterprises. The traditional and relaxing pastime of smoking Shisha (the Middle-Eastern water pipe) has seen popularity in the area.
Middle Eastern eateries have had a rising presence along the mile in recent years. This is due to a rising demand for Arabic food due to its popularity and to cater for a larger Arab and Kurdish community than in the past.
Rusholme also has several traditional English pubs along the curry mile, which cater to locals and university students including Hardy's Well and The Huntsman Inn.
On film
In 1996, Aneel Ahmed and Faisal A. Qureshi wrote Movin As A Massive, a Channel 4 documentary written for the Lloyds Bank Film Challenge, of which it was the winning entry. It also won the 1996 "Race in the Media Award" for Best Youth Programme and was nominated by the Royal Television Society in 1996 for "Most Innovative Film/Video".
It was directed by Ninder Billing and produced by Andy Porter and Madeline French for Compulsive Viewing.[4] A semi-sequel, Wimmy Road, was later written for BBC Radio Drama by Qureshi and directed by Nadia Molinari. It was nominated for a "Race in the Media Award" for Best Radio Drama.[5]
In books
The Curry Mile, a novel written by Zahid Hussain, is set in the contemporary Curry Mile, and features characters involved in the restaurant trade.[6]
References
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