Indian hues In New York

There's a desi energy in the air in NYC, says Susan George. Cab drivers sporting orange turbans, young Indian executives in business suits huddled together on the subway and brightly-lit kebab corners by the dozen, New York is fast becoming a ‘kichidi’ of Indian culture

The sidewalks are rumoured to be soiled with vermilion paan stains. Although I'm not sure that's entirely true, Jackson Heights in Queens, NYC, can make you forget homesickness in a hurry. Maybe it's the Rupa Saree store with the Indian mannequin welcoming you with a namaste. Or the pyramids of ladoos you see through a murky shop window. Perhaps it's the groups of young men in oversize clothes and bandanas doing "time pass" in front of theatres where Bollywood flicks are playing. Spending a couple of months in a red-brick apartment on desi turf in Queens, a sense of deja-vu followed me like an afternoon shadow. Buying coconut oil and mangoes at the local grocery store 'Patels' and getting my eyebrows threaded at the beauty salon where girls gossiped in Hindi, I wondered whether this really is the home of the venerable stock exchange and imposing Empire State Building.

New York City - it's been done to death. Poems are inspired by the Big Apple, reams written about the city that never sleeps. But, there's always something surprisingly new and refreshing about NYC. And there's no discounting the fact that today an overriding desi-ism is sweeping through the city. So, OK, it's not exactly a real-life version of Kal Ho Na Ho where happening discotheques blast good-old Hindi song sequences. But with bhangra, Indian theatre, "naan-bread", even an eatery in New York's iconic Grand Central Railway station, curry culture is alive and kickin' in NYC. From 1990 to 2000, the desi population in, arguably, the world's most happening city, grew by 118 per cent. In fact, in boroughs like Queens, Indians make up about 63 per cent of the population. With the largest Indian population in the US, it's little wonder that the city boasts several Malayalee clubs and a New York Maharashtra Mandal.

We're not just talking miniature Indian colonies where the nippy evening air carries the unmistakable smell of sambar and the quiet, tree-lined avenues are jolted by the sound of pressure-cooker whistles. Desi-ism has gone upmarket in NYC. A recent issue of Time Out New York, a guide to the best restaurants in the city, says, "Restaurants like Tamarind, Amma and Mirchi have helped popularise (Indian) cuisine, offering the same types of elaborately spiced foods served in homes and on streets throughout India. And many more new restaurants are doing the same." Even la-di-da restaurants with four snooty waiters hovering over a table are doling out aloo chaat as appetisers. Says Todd Coleman, a producer at the Food Network, "If New Yorkers are really willing to try anything, then India is the mother lode." Says Tamara Lindsay, a Brooklyn girl who spent the first few years of her life in Chennai, "Being from South India, I really love the Udipi restaurant on Lexington Avenue - I know the food will always be good and I love walking in and hearing Tamil film songs. It always makes me miss Chennai. The other thing is the fact that most newsstand owners are Indian. So it's a comfort to walk in and find the latest Hindi music blasting in the background as you buy The New York Times." She adds that all-American stores like Gap and Banana Republic are now experimenting with Indian styles - ethnic is in and kurtis were, only a short while ago, quite the rage in the US. Many Indians in NYC often forego Macy's and Reid and Taylor to invest in a tailor-made suit at New York's Syed Bhawker, the brand synonymous with custom-created suiting in Chennai.

What's more, flavours of the subcontinent have wafted their way onto stage as well. "Glitzy, splashy, fun" - those were the words used by New York Post to describe the musical extravaganza Bombay Dreams. The tale of Akaash, a young slum dweller, and his fateful encounter with beautiful Priya, the daughter of a famous Bollywood director is still wowing audiences on a stage where classics like Phantom of the Opera have delighted viewers for years. Broadway is now witness to everything from bare bellies to shiny suits, with the play bagging a couple of nominations for the prestigious Tony awards. That's not all - off-Broadway as well, Indian theatre, although still at an embryonic stage, is not being dismissed. Predominantly South Asian theatre groups like Alter Ego Productions in New York have been winning critical acclaim. A critique from CurtainUp Review on a Tom Stoppard play reads, "Alter Ego is a theatre company to watch. Not everyone can successfully pull off a Stoppard premiere." (And you thought all desis in the US were technophiles completely bereft of an iota of artsy-ness). Americans also had a taste of desi masti with Mira Nair's Monsoon Weddings, giving them a glimpse of the chaos, colour and razzmatazz of Indian shaadis.

Whether you want to bargain over the price of veggies with a turbaned store owner, hop into a taxi only to exchange words on the latest desi flick, or watch a Tony-nominated Broadway musical, it's all possible in the cauldron-of-cultures city. "Good Morning America" may soon come with the subtitle, "Namaste India".