The Curry Mile
Created | Updated Jan 28, 2002
Not a mile long river of spicy food, but an unusual feature of Rusholme, Manchester (UK) is the literal mile of 'curry houses' or 'Indian take-aways'. (Both misnomers - they are neither where curry lives nor places from which Indians can be removed (not without a struggle anyway), being in fact eating establishments which serve curried foods, such as tandoori)
A feature not repeated anywhere else on the planet, these establishments stand side by side, rank upon rank of them along the sides of Wilmslow Road. One would expect them to have problems attracting customers away from their many competitors, but remarkably each establishment fluorishes, the combined numbers of customers on a Saturday night well
exceeding the resident population of Rusholme. Perhaps more remarkable is the fact that each 'restaurant' manages to provide adequate amounts of food, and that no establishment ever runs out of food. Another interesting fact about Rusholme is the complete lack of stray dogs and cats, nomally so prevailent throughout Manchester's inner city. Nor are there
any pigeons along the curry mile, despite the flocks of thousands of birds throughout the city. Strangest of all, the phenomenon of the Curry Mile seems to have cured the Homelessness problem of Manchester, with not a single homeless person to be found anywhere along the road. Scientists have theorised that curry has properties hitherto unencountered by
humanity, and should be treated carefully, but nobody can fully explain the mysterious Curry Mile of Rusholme.
A feature not repeated anywhere else on the planet, these establishments stand side by side, rank upon rank of them along the sides of Wilmslow Road. One would expect them to have problems attracting customers away from their many competitors, but remarkably each establishment fluorishes, the combined numbers of customers on a Saturday night well
exceeding the resident population of Rusholme. Perhaps more remarkable is the fact that each 'restaurant' manages to provide adequate amounts of food, and that no establishment ever runs out of food. Another interesting fact about Rusholme is the complete lack of stray dogs and cats, nomally so prevailent throughout Manchester's inner city. Nor are there
any pigeons along the curry mile, despite the flocks of thousands of birds throughout the city. Strangest of all, the phenomenon of the Curry Mile seems to have cured the Homelessness problem of Manchester, with not a single homeless person to be found anywhere along the road. Scientists have theorised that curry has properties hitherto unencountered by
humanity, and should be treated carefully, but nobody can fully explain the mysterious Curry Mile of Rusholme.
