Indian community in Budapest

The Indian community in Budapest is deeply assimilated into the city so much so that you might actually confuse them for locals except they are not Caucasian and they do not speak the language that well. I have had the pleasure of knowing some of these people and as a new person in the city there is nothing more comforting then seeing people that you can call your own.

As a student I don’t get to interact much with people who have been here longer than a few years but there are a few that you can find around here. One such example is the couple that owns an Indian store here in the city. They have been here for over 20 years and moved because of the husband’s job, which used to pay well and they initially were leading a comfortable life. However, one day tired of the 9-5 and not able to find an authentic place that sold the food of the homeland, they decided to open an Indian store.

That was ten years ago, and today Mrs and Mr Sharma are the owners of the biggest Indian store in the city. They supply food products to most of the Indian restaurants in the city and have all the things available to make authentic Indian cuisine. They also have some snacks and drinks, along with accessories and everything else that are and are not stereotypically Indian.

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Just to be clear, there are a lot more Indians in the city. I mean there aren’t just 1 billion of us for nothing. There are a lot of students of Indian descent in the city, and even though it is a general consensus that Indians don’t hang out with Indians a lot, there is still a feeling of kinship among everyone. Every Sunday, the whole community comes together for a communal brunch, and everyone is invited, Indian or non-Indian.

There are over 2000 Indians in the city currently, but the way the whole community celebrates every festival shows this sense of communism and a beautiful relationship with the homeland. These are values built into us, and it is a feeling of home that is deeply cherished by all.