Hindu Madrid

Although Hinduism isn’t a widespread religion in Spain, the Hindu community has existed in the country for more than a century. There are almost a thousand million Hindus around the world, that is, a sixth of the global population, some of them residing in Madrid.

In June 2013, a group of people interested in Hindu traditions planned their 1^st Madrid meeting in the Jhulelal temple, on Calle Federico Moreno Torroba, in Retiro. This god is worshipped by the people from the region of Sindh, in the Indus Valley, in present-day Pakistan. The temple is open to the public.

Casa Asia Madrid is a must-visit for people interested in Hindu culture.

Madrid brings the magic from the Orient to Spain on Diwali, also called ‘Festival of Lights’, held on a weekend in autumn every year. The festival, which marks the beginning of the new year on the Hindu calendar, offers a great chance to come closer to Indian customs and traditions, food and dance.

Revellers wear new clothes, share sweets and let off fireworks and firecrackers. Club Masala and NGO Asha Kiran are some of the centres that run different activities at the festival. The Soho Club Teatro also holds the Bollywood Summer event, a major Indian festival that aims to vindicate women's rights.

Imagineindia takes place every year (next edition: 1-16 September 2023), the film festival dedicated to showcasing the latest cinematic trends from India.  

The leading and most popular event focusing on Bollywood in Europe takes place in Lavapiés in June and is organised by Mister Monkey. It’s a festival with free admission that stages dance performances, screens the latest films from Mumbai, serves good Indian food and Cobra beer for just one euro, displays traditional clothing and offers dancing lessons to children and adults. The nerve centres of BollyMadrid are Lavapiés, Agustín Lara and La Corrala squares.

Also check the Madrid theatre guide to see if there’s a Bollywood-style musical on performed by Indian artists, who come every now and then to the city with nice productions.  

One of the most important festivals of the Hindu culture comes in June with Holi Madrid. Bollywood Club Masala Madrid in collaboration with Vive Malasaña organises the Dance Color Festival Experience in which hundreds of kilos of flower petal dust (gulal) are thrown about to the rhythm of world dances with live music. Other activities are also organised, such as a flashmob, a children’s play area or a solidarity area.

If you’ve always liked Bollywood dance, now you can learn its moves at Club Masala Madrid, founded by Salomé Masala in 2005. With ten dancers who wear striking dresses, it’s the first Bollywood dance company ever to be established in Madrid.

Club Masala Madrid has won twice the dance competition organised in Mumbai by Bollywood film producers Yash Raj Films. Moreover, it’s the first company to stage Bollywood-style musicals – It Happened in India and Aladdin in Bollywood – for a full month in Madrid.

There are also many yoga centres running classes that cover all the different disciplines of yoga practice.  In addition, those interested in yoga can attend, for example, the International Yoga Day, a large-scale event held outdoors in Madrid.

Another good way to take in Hindu culture is trying Indian food. From Lavapiés and Ave María streets to Calle Doctor Piga, the neighbourhood of Lavapiés is packed with specialty restaurants. On Doctor Piga stands Fantástico, which usually takes part in the Tapapiés festival, celebrating ethnic food in the form of tapas.

Leave Lavapiés to find Taj (Marqués de Cubas 6 and Príncipe 10), where tandoori chicken and lamb tikka are absolutely delicious. An amazing restaurant with a cosy ambience, Swagat (Nuñez de Balboa 29 and Cartagena 82) serves food from North India, like chicken tikka and chicken or lamb curry with basmati rice. The dining room has traditional paintings and decorative objects. The kitchen staff at Swagat has supplied Indian food to the Indian Embassy in Madrid and such hotels as the Meliá Castilla, the Westin Palace and the Miguel Ángel.

Annapurna, one of the first Indian restaurants in Madrid, is on Calle de Zurbano 5. Open since the 1980s, Annapurna – named after the Himalayan eight-thousander normally translated as ‘Goddess of Harvests’ – prepares delectable recipes, including 29 different curry and tandoori dishes, made at high temperatures in a tandoor, traditional clay oven. You can book a table or place a takeaway order. The large windows opening to a lovely interior garden create a great ambience.

Located in the heart of the Salamanca district, the Tandoori Station restaurant offers the best of Indian food with quality products and ingredients. It is characterised by roast meats, pulaos and biryanis, as well as aromatic herbs, dried fruits and sweets.   

Another good option is the Bangalore Modern Indian Cuisine  restaurant (Diego de León, 63), which provides a more modern vision of Indian gastronomy, offering a wide variety of traditional dishes with a creative touch. The Haveli Indian Kitchen restaurant at No. 46 Calle O’Donnell serves traditional Indian dishes; and on the Paseo de la Castellana you will find Udaipur Indian Cuisine, considered one of the best Indian restaurants in Madrid, with a stunning terrace and DJ's spinning tunes in the evenings.