Indian scholars and wild herbs
Because of its proximity to National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, this inclusive community has also welcomed a succession of science and engineering students and researchers from southern India. About a decade ago, these students began to take up residence in the area and others followed as word spread between them. Presently there are 30 students in six households, and they form a unique part of this community.
Like Taiwan’s Aboriginal peoples and Taiwan’s older generations who understand herbal medicine, A.K. Prasannan, a postdoctoral researcher from Tamil Nadu, and his friends from southern India, know how to listen to the body and treat it with health-giving plants foraged in the wilds that they use in their cooking.
Prasannan has identified more than 30 medicinal plants on Toad Hill that also grow near his home in India. He and his friends have also planted paper mulberry, moringa, banana trees, curry trees, lemon grass and other plants on uncultivated parts of the hilltop. “Where I come from, almost every family grows paper mulberry, curry trees, and bananas,” Prasannan says.
Twice weekly Prasannan and his friends gather for cooking parties and use leaves from their banana trees to serve curry dishes simmered with myriad spices. Indian dance music enlivens the parties, helping to recreate the atmosphere of home and celebrate the spirit of life in an adopted place.
An anjara spice box is essential for Indian households, and classic flavors are created by blending a few basic spices.