Addis Ababa: Noting that many millennia
ago, Africa and India were joined as one landmass, Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh on 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.
PTI
