PM invokes dosa, turbans to show closeness with Africa

From V Mohan Narayan
Addis Ababa, May 26 (PTI) Noting that many millennia
ago, Africa and India were joined as one landmass, Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh Thursday invoked the South Indian dish
of 'dosa' to show the similarity between them.
Addressing the Joint Session of the two Houses of the
Parliament of Ethiopia, Singh said though the two countries
were now separated by the Indian Ocean, connections are deep
and they have brought in their wake rich and varied exchanges
in the ebb and flow of history.
Singh said earlier exchanges have produced remarkable
and often overlooked similarities in our traditions and
cultures.
"The Siddis of African descent living in India have
created a fusion of Indian and African styles of music that
thrives today.
"The tradition in southern India of using fermented
flour for making Dosa is similar to the Injara in Ethiopia.
The sight of women with heads covered and men wearing turbans
is strikingly common in Ethiopian and Indian villages.
"Hospitality in humble village homes begins with
simple offerings, and guests are treated as incarnations of
the gods," he said.
Taking about the earlier exchanges, Prime Minister
said Indian traders flocked to the ancient port of Adulis,
trading silk and spices for gold and ivory.
A sizeable Indian community consisting of merchants
and artisans came and settled in this ancient land in the
latter part of the 19th century, he said.
Noting that there was movement in the other direction
too, Prime Minister said thousands of people of Ethiopian
origin have settled as an integral part of Indian society
along the West Coast of India.
"The fort of Murud Janjira in the State of Maharashtra
stands as a symbol of African influence in India," he said.
Singh is currently on a two-nation trip to Africa to
cement India's relations with the resource rich continent.