By Susan Lee

When Ramesh Havani was 28-years- old, he came from Dehli, India to New York City alone to set up an ethnic clothing store, and fell in love with the hustle and bustle of the City.

That was in 1971, and he was later joined by his then-girlfriend and now-wife Jyoti.  He was in search of better opportunity, and now has built an empire . . .  or rather the 4,000 square foot India Sari Palace store on 74th Street in Jackson Heights . . .  on a strip commonly known as “Little India.” 

It has afforded him a Midtown Manhattan home, sending his kids off to good schools, and a thriving business.  He has come a long way since his store was the second shop on the street in 1976. Now, according to Havani, the street boasts around 200 stores on a two block strip of Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi establishments.

And though Havani is not a Queens resident, he has made a “home” in Queens amongst other business members and friends, and was one of the founding members of the Jackson Heights Merchants Association.

Scattered Throughout Queens

Indeed, Dr. Madhulika Khandelwal, a leading expert in South Asian Diaspora  at Queens College and president of its Asian American Center, said that South Asians are much more scattered in Queens and the rest of New York City than other ethnic groups. Queens has the largest concentration of South Asians in the country and stressed that the group is more scattered than other groups that mostly settle in what she calls, receiving areas, like Flushing, Elmhurst, Richmond Hill, and Jackson Heights.  South Asians have moved to various parts of Queens, including Bayside and other Eastern parts like Jamaica and Jamaica Estates.

Her upcoming book Becoming American, Being Indian delves into the details of the demographics and trends of South Asians in the City, and predominantly in Queens. 

Khandelwal explained immigration from South Asians was typical of the post-1965 immigration of different ethnic groups. 

South Asians from India came in the first wave of immigration and were predominately professional with high levels of education and who knew the English language.

The second wave of immigrants in the 1980s and onwards marked a “gradual widening of class” status, according  to Khandelwal, and included family and relatives.

Origins of “South Asians” include countries like Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and some may even consider Afghanistan, according to Khandelwal. But the cultural group is not limited to these ethnicities, since “South Asian” peoples have generally not lived by exacting political boundaries, but rather a cultural assignment, and that can extend to the islands of Trinidad and Guyana as well part of Africa, where Indians were sent to be laborers over 150 years ago.

The streets of the “Little India” section of Jackson Heights are lined with shops that sell the latest Indian fashions. Tribune Photo by Ira Cohen

Khandelwal stressed that national identities become blurred once South Asians come here, while at home political tensions still exist between countries like Pakistan and India. “I feel they have become left behind in the multicultural terrain of Queens,” she said, and Havani couldn’t agree more.

“Politics which exist back home doesn’t exist here,” he added, “here you don’t feel the slightest difference…we have so many customers who are Pakistani or from Bangladesh.”  With a half smile, he continued, “The beauty of the American system is that you’re at the mercy of the landlords,” explaining that he and similar immigrants don’t have much time to get involved in political squabbles because they are too busy paying off loans and mortgages.

Asked what top priorities Havani has set for his children, he said that education, religion, and family, are the three elements that are emphasized in the Indian culture, quipping that Indian parents would rather “beg, borrow, and steal” in order to send their children to college.  In terms of religion, he tries to instill in his kids the “belief in God, any God” though he was raised in the Hindu faith.     

But he does notice that young girls are not dressing in Indian wear like the tops sari and the pants, salwar kameez which troubles him a bit, whether it is due to justifiable circumstances, such as dressing for the workplace or school and that mostly older women are the majority that frequent the store.  He admitted that his business, like any other business, may have to change to serve the customers needs.

And asked if Havani has been able to retain much of the Indian customs and traditions, he said that there is always “a big conflict” within himself.  But he said that he always will pose a hypothetical question in his mind, asking “What if there was a war between Indian and the U.S., who would he fight for?”

For his two sons, Bharat, 29, who is now an investment banker and Neil, 25, who is a student at Syracuse University — both whom were born in New York City, Havani said that they have a simple and easy answer, but for him, he does inwardly struggle sometimes with pinning down his sense of belonging to both countries. 

One thing is for sure, Havani said, “As far as I am concerned, I absolutely love New York, and when my kids were born and we needed more space, we didn’t even think of leaving.”