IF ITS EIFFEL, IT MUST BE PARLE POINT

IF ITS EIFFEL, IT MUST BE PARLE POINT.........................Other than presenting undhiyu and khaman dhokla to the world,we surtis also set the biggest example of acceptance and intigration .not only do we spread our culture but also adopt new ones immediatly our women proudly wear their'jeans pant' with a bindi [only now has maddonna started to do so],our kids are as comfortable with PS2 as with lakhotis and the men share tiffins at work with sindhis,marwaris and jats.surat has its own identity through its food but her people are from all parts of the world.a large part of its populace belongs to the NRI gang who annually visit here to shop and support causes .the oldest architecture here is portugal,english,mogul and persian.it seems the city has always welcomed foreign folk.roadside kiosks sell pizza next to pani puri and chinese next to idli dosa.pasta is a well loved treat at home and every gujju mom worth her salt will have culinary skills to match a world cookbook with her own adaptation of khow suey and chicken steak.surtis are traders [lalas] at heart and know that adopting the ways of the world will help them rule it better.much as they love their ponk and ghari, uttaran and diwali they also know how to celebrate pujo and bai-sakhi.from adajan to antwerp timalyawad to taiwan and majuragate to malaysia,surtis learn ,live and laugh all the way to the bank.malleable and ductile in their ways of life,we have never felt hostile towards the culture of the new folks wading in,instead we have reached out and adapted their ways in our lifestlye.right down to our traffic islands!!!!!!!we boast of an eiffel tower,an airplane[even when we did not have an airport that functioned],a kargil chowk for unsung war heros and numerous others which have nothing to do with the town but are built in the surti spirit.Here's to the lala way of life ,may the world learn to live like us.