Antwerp, Belgium — The streets of Antwerp’s Diamond Quarter are lined with jewellers, pawn shops and restaurants. Balls of gefilte fish glisten invitingly in the window of Hoffy’s, a beloved and longstanding Jewish diner. Around the corner, a lunchtime queue is gathering outside Aahaar, an Indian restaurant catering to Antwerp’s Jain community, where I meet Akash Jain for lunch.
“You can enjoy nice things in life, but it’s about doing it in a good manner, and being a gentle human being,” says Akash, seated at a table opposite me, as he tucks into a plate of curried vegetables. “It’s the difference between cutting something’s hair or nails and cutting its throat. Control yourself. Take only what you need. That’s the Jain philosophy.”
