8 GROUNDCOVER NEWS COMMUNITY A memory train to Madras Masala It was January 20. A Friday. But for the residents of Ann Arbor, it was not just a typical day. This isn't yet another report of how Madras Masala, one of the city's most well-known Indian restaurants, caught fire. This article merely aims to bid a fond farewell to Madras Masala, one of the most cherished Indian restaurants of the community by reminiscing about some pleasant experiences. First, a brief history. According to the Ann Arbor Fire Department, the fire started in the kitchen of the restaurant Madras Masala. The students still remember the thin layer of smoke stretching Maynard Street to the Diag. This fire incident may look like just a restaurant closing, but the students believe it is the end of an era. In addition to serving as a gathering spot for fans of Indian cuisine, Madras Masala served as a bridge between various cultural groups. On a regular weekday or weekend, you could see not just Indians, but people from different ethnicities enjoying Indian food. Many believe it was not just about the food but also about the warmth the owner of this Indian restaurant gave its customers. Amanda, a junior at the University of Michigan, said,"I come from a white family, and I didn't have exposure to south-Asian culture while growing up. But after I came to college, long-time presence downtown, Madras Masala was not only a place to make new memories but also a place to remember ones from the past. You can get curious about why MAITHILI BANERJEE PRATITI U-M student contributor I fell in love with Indian food and culture through Madras Masala. I remember that the owner addressed the female customers as 'Ma,' which meant 'mother' in Hindi and Telugu." Madras Masala was a go-to restaurant for people of different age demographics too. When news of the fire broke, the internet was flooded with comments from many generations of people. Jackson Kim, a 79-year-old man, commented on the Ann Arbor Fire Department's post about Madras Masala, "Two of my grandsons used to go to the University of Michigan. I used to visit them every weekend and take them to Madras Masala for lunch. Although my grandkids graduated in 2016, we continued visiting that restaurant because we had many beautiful memories there." Because of the restaurant's Madras had such a diverse set of customers. Throughout the interviews that I did, I got various answers. For some people, it was the food. For others, it was the restaurant's ambiance, but the most popular one was that Madras's food was designed so that people with different dietary restrictions would have equal options to choose from. For instance, Madras served halal food, which is a diet preferable to Muslims. Unfortunately, there are not a lot of restaurants in Ann Arbor that serve halal food, which made Madras Masala a go-to place among the Muslim community. Phoebe Sarkar, a Bangladeshi American, said, "I grew up in New York having desi halal food, and I missed 'ghorer khabar' (home-cooked food) after I had moved to Ann Arbor for college. When I used to miss home food, I ordered food from Madras because it was halal and carried the smell of my ghorer khabar." Like Phoebe Sarkar, Madras Masala was a home away from home for thousands of people. Madras Masala is associated with so many beautiful tales and memories, but no one was able to bid it a good farewell because it vanished without warning. The unannounced comeback of Madras Masala in Ann Arbor remains a question among the University of Michigan students and Ann Arborites. It is said, "Good things don't last for long." But as Madras was better than good to the people of Ann Arbor, it will last forever through the memories people have created in that restaurant. FEBRUARY 24, 2023 Madras Masala on the afternoon of January 20, 2023. BODY from page 3 I met Joya d’Cruz at Crazy Wisdom Women movement was born to address begin on your own but often requires an experienced healer. All of us have some healing power, which begins when you notice someone's pain and feel concerned. Prayer is a common request and excellent offering. If you have any experience with nutrition and massage, those are important healing skills. Remember your grandma’s chicken soup and someone’s hand on your shoulders to relieve the load you feel. Applied kinesiology is an important skill which tests muscle strength to get clues about your specific issue. I first experienced it with Dr. Goodheart who my parents swore by. Google says “pseudoscience,” while the Merriam Webster dictionary defines it as “a diagnostic system that uses manual testing of the functional integrity of muscles to identify illness in other parts of the body.” My rebirthing healers used applied kinesiology to look at decisions made at my birth. You will test strong or weak to any statement you make like a built in lie-detector. The body does not lie. during a workshop on emotional intelligence. She is a focusing-oriented therapist, mentored by Eugene Gendlin who has offered great guidance to me. Gendlin learned the wisdom of the body beginning with his father’s experience of escaping fascist Austria. “How did you do that Dad?” “My body told me which customs line to get in!” Eugene was on a healing path that led to writing the book “Focusing.” The act of focusing is one of the main tools of the wisdom of the body. That book will help you do that. Many meetings are difficult for me due to my hearing disability. We had a good Article Review meeting at Groundcover News earlier this year which I could feel but not understand, so I asked Joe Woods to summarize it for me and learned that “stereotyping” was a main theme. (We are planning an article on the topic together.) The suffering that arises from stereotyping includes the many kinds of violence we experience in this world, from war and mass shootings, to emotional and sexual abuse, racism and poverty. The Missing and Murdered Indigenous generations of suffering that persists now. Our ability to learn needs exercise. Let’s grow the wisdom of the body. Tuning in to your own suffering helps you feel anyone’s pain. Hugs are often healing for all of us. Breathing peace is a way to start the healing process. We have mentors among us as ancestors and living persons who are experienced in pointing out the way. I was honored to meet Thich Nhat Hanh, the Vietnamese Buddhist monk who among other things organized expeditions of young people carrying humanitarian aid into the war zone to help villages hit by natural disasters. He was on tour as a guest of the Fellowship of Reconciliation when I met him. “Whatever you can do to stop the war,” was his message. I was reborn in his presence and became a draft resister. He founded Plum Village in France which promotes global awareness of simple breathing. When the student is ready the teacher will appear. The Tibetan Kagyu lineage led by the 17th Karmapa is a deep connection for me. I am reconnecting with my Mennonite-Church of the Brethren heritage, a gift of my parents and the Shalom Community Church of Ann Arbor. Simply breathing opens the door to new experiences and relationships. Old relationships can be reborn into deeper creativity. Explore yourself and be amazed at how deep are the obstacles that arise in life and at how well you can harness that energy as you turn to the clear light nature, the mother of the wisdom of the body. Bethlehem United Church of Christ is turning to street wisdom from the office of Groundcover. Further, they are turning to the wisdom of the body, speech and mind in the Upper Room at 10:30 a.m. on Saturdays with a Tibeten Buddhist practice. Explore your community and grow many kinds of skillful means and wisdom. Great blessings are waiting for you. Be curious and enjoy. My core fell through the floor and I am now untangling a bladder/bowel Gordian knot as I breathe to work with my core in a healing process. The struggle is good. Hasta la victoria siempre!
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