Background and History of Gerrard St Bazaar
The ethnic economy can become part of the general economy of a country. This term is used to describe a business or employment sector which is influenced by immigrants or people from minority community. There are several ethnic economies please in Toronto, but one of them caught my attention that is Gerrard St Bazaar, which is also known as Little India. This place known popularly by this name is a cluster of the places, where businesses are based on Indian, Sri Lankan, Pakistani and other South Asian ethnicities. People in Toronto can easily find food, clothes and other products related to these ethnicities in this part of the city. The paper will answer what role an ethnic economy plays for people of living in the city of Toronto along with its impact. This paper will be diving into literature to find relevant studies and answer the question about the role and impact of Gerrard St Bazaar plays for people living in Toronto. It will reflect on Gerrard St Bazaar and its history, background, neighbouring landmarks, cultural landscape and other factors that can be viewed by a visitor when observing the cultural landscape of Gerrard St Bazaar.
In an article published in The Star in 2017 by Shinan Govani, it was explored what it means to be Indian on Gerrard St. The article states how the street came to be a beacon for people immigrating to Canada in 1960s, when the Canadian government had more liberal laws. The name in itself is a cultural catch-all, which tells the story of this street, where sarees and Indian clothing draped on white toned mannequins. Another article published in Torontoist reflects on how the street is changing, but retaining its Indian soul. It is being updated but the preservance of its identity remains at the core of its urban transition (Sharma, 2017). The street has been a place for South Asian people to feel comfortable. Another article published in Torontoist explores and this case is the history of Naaz Theater, the first Indian theater in Toronto. This theater played a great role in making the immigrants feel like they were not away from home by watching movies, which was an integrated part of Indian culture (Plummer, 2012).
Figure 1: An image of the Little India
Source: Destination Toronto, 2022
According to Zhuang, (2015), the Gerrard St bazaar became famous quote South Asian ethnic economy when the first theater called Naaz was established when Gian Naz acquired the Eastwood Theatre in order to create the first Indian Theatre of the city. Since then, many businesses have set up in the street. This has led to creation of ethnic economy in the street which is popularly known as little India. The author states that these ethnic economy or businesses contributes to construction or reconstruction of ethnic identities.
Ashutosh (2012) explore the South Asian diaspora and how it is affected by migration and settlement of immigrants from South Asian countries. He also considers the impact immigration and personal experiences of people of South Asian ethnicity have in Toronto. Even though little India has a great impact on ethnic identity of the South Asian immigrants, it combines with the experiences and the culture of Canada. Ghosh (2013), too, tries to understand the ethnic identities of the South Asians living in Canada, and in Toronto. He evaluates various theoretical and empirical evidences in order to determine the identity of the people of South Asian ethnicity. He questions whether their real identity is South Asian, or is impacted by immigration into a new country with its own beliefs and values.
Literature Review: South Asian Diaspora in Toronto
Further, websites and other media sources were explored in order to learn more about the Gerrard St Bazaar/ Little India. The website named Destination Toronto (2022) provided an overview about the ethnic economy, relaying information about the numerous businesses that are located on the street. Another media source used was a documentary, which explore this ethnic economy tell us about we use businesses and colorful streets that are full of south Asian inspirations (Beveridge, 2017). This is an ethnic economy that truly expresses the meaning of cultural landscape, as it shows the immigrants the South Asian landscape that they might miss from back home. Not only that, but the people visiting this ethnic economy are also able to get a glimpse of the South Asian roots from the places on this street Bazaar. Streets of Toronto (Hoggs, 2021), a blog, shared their opinions and thinking of the street, with its vibrancy and colorful experience for the people visiting, while celebrating various events, that keeps the people from South Asia connected to their roots. It also gives a chance to the people of Canada, from other ethnicities, to get to know the culture, clothes, food and rituals with the help of the events, and live these events, too.
The background information of the ethnic enclave provides an answer to the question about how this ethnic business impacts the people of Toronto. Not only do these businesses provide economic value to the city of Toronto, but it also provides the people with experience of the culture of South Asia. People from South Asian countries such as India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and others can find a part of their home culture here in this business area or Bazaar (Destination Toronto, 2022). This street bazaar is also responsible for creating experiences and identities of the people of South Asian descent, as they spend a considerable time in this ethnic economy, contributing to the way they view their own culture and hence, a creation of identity as a South Asian person. Although their identities might be a mixture of South Asian and Canadian, they are impacted by the presence of this ethnic enclave, which provides them with an avenue to find their roots and history (Zhuang, 2015).
These background details also provide information about the area, the business, and how the vibrant and colorful presence of this street uplifts the spirit of the visitors and locals alike. The events, festivals and celebration are an integrated part of Indian culture, which can be witnessed from the information derived from Destination Toronto (2022) and Streets of Toronto (Hoggs, 2021) articles chosen.
The identity creation is only a small part of the impact, but it is also a source of income generation and welfare of infrastructure, as there has been a witnessing of improved infrastructure as a result of the area being an economic center, which further adds to the economic wellbeing of the people related to this ethnic enclave (Ashutosh, 2012).
The literature review provides the information about the place and the impact it has on people, both, of South Asian descent, and on locals. The ethnic enclave provides people with an opportunity to experience various South Asian cultures at one place, which is a cluster of various South Asian businesses. One can find many restaurants, clothing stores, grocery stores, and other stores to get the products from or related to South Asian countries. This provides a great opportunity to people, especially the ones who are away from their home countries, to connect with their roots and enjoy the comfort of being near something that provides them with the similar feeling to being back home (Ghosh, 2013).
Impact of Gerrard St Bazaar on Ethnic Identities
This not only contributes to the economic growth and output, but it also helps in the creation of the identities of the people of South Asian descent. Many people migrated to Canada in the 1960s and 1970s, when Canada became more liberal to immigrants. Many people migrated to Canada in search of better opportunities, but still were nostalgic of their home and culture. They connected with their homes through the Bazaar (Govani, 2017). But the next generation of these immigrants were not well connected to their roots, and were provided with the opportunity through this bazaar or Little India to explore the culture through this cultural landscape in East Toronto. They were able to create a notion and experience what it is like to be a South Asian person. Although their identities are a cluster of their South Asian roots and also of Canadian culture, they are still highly impacted by this ethnic enclave (Ghosh, 2013).
Conclusion
Thus, it can be concluded that the ethnic economies such as Gerrard St Bazaar/ Little India provide opportunities to people, especially to the immigrants, to create their own source of earning and a way to connect with their culture. The street started to become Little India when the Indian theater called Naaz was established on the street. Since then, many businesses have been established in this ethnic enclave. This has given people a source to connect with their cultures and roots, especially the people from South Asia. It is an inherent part of the identity, and also provides rich experiences related to the culture to the people visiting, and the business people operating various businesses in this ethnic enclave. The impact is large; it provides people visiting the ethnic enclave with the rich experiences of South Asian culture, along with providing a sense of identity and belonging to the people who are away from home. It is their home away from home, and has a great impact on them, as they feel comfort and happiness when experiencing this ethnic enclave. For second generation immigrants, it is also responsible for connecting them to their roots and culture, as they are able to witness what it is like to be a South Asian in Canada. The mixed experiences, such as the ones described by Govani, reflects on how the ethnic enclave, even after being of South Asian ethnicities, is still a combination of Canada and these ethnicities. Therefore, it can be contemplated how these various ethnic enclaves can have various impact, including cultural and economical impact, in people’s lives.
References
Ashutosh, I. (2012). South Asians in Toronto: geographies of transnationalism, diaspora, and the settling of differences in the city. South Asian Diaspora, 4(1), 95-109.
Beveridge, N., (2017). Little India: village of dreams. A film produced in association with TVO. https://lofdreams.ca
Destination Toronto. (2022). Little India. https://www.destinationtoronto.com/neighbourhoods/eastside/little-india/
Ghosh, S. (2013). ‘Am I a south Asian, really?’constructing ‘south Asians’ in Canada and being south Asian in Toronto. South Asian Diaspora, 5(1), 35-55.
Govani, S. (2017). Exploring what it means to be Indian on Gerrard St.: Govani. https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/television/2017/06/26/exploring-what-it-means-to-be-indian-on-gerrard-st-govani.html
Hoggs, C. (2021). The ultimate neighbourhood guide to Little India. https://streetsoftoronto.com/little-india-neighbourhood-guide/
Plummer, K. (2012). Historicist: Nights Out At The Naaz Theatre. https://torontoist.com/2012/01/historicist-nights-out-at-the-naaz-theatre/
Sharma, N. (2017). Toronto’s Little India is Undergoing an Urban Transition with the Vision To Preserve Its Identity. https://torontoist.com/2017/06/torontos-little-india-undergoing-urban-transition-vision-preserve-identity/
Zhuang, Z. C. (2015). Construction and reconstruction of ethnicity in retail landscapes: Case studies in the Toronto area. Journal of Urban Design, 20(5), 677-697.
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