displayhis latestcollection,allhandmadeinIndia.Thereare
salwarkameez, churidar suits, kurtis, lehengas and cholis,
saris, sherwanisandkurtapajamas. Susanpointsoutarow
ofvests inthestyleoftheprimeministerofIndia,Narendra
Modi,whofavorsthem,makingthemwildlypopularamong
Indians. Fabrics come fromVaranasi (akaBanaras) and
Surat,andrangefromrawsilktoGeorgettetochiffon.Babu
employsateamofdesigners inIndiawhooverseethework.
ManishMalhotraandVikramPhadnis, twoof India’s star
designers,were launchedbySahil in theU.S.
BabuadvertisesonthemanyIndiantelevisionstations in
theUnitedStates, andhiscustomerscome fromacross the
Midwest.Abride’sdresscancostupto$10,000;agroom’sout-
fitupto$3,000.Themorehandwork,thehighertheprice.He
tellsmethatbusinessisboomingbecauseofagrowingtrend.
“IndianwomenaremarryingAmericanmen.This inter-
marriage ishappeningmoreandmore,andmostofthetime
thecouplewantsatraditionalIndianwedding.Theycanget
everythinghere. Theydon’thave togo to Indiaanymore.”
Babusays intermarriagesused tobe10percentofhisbusi-
ness.Now they’re70percent.
Inherbook,
NamastéAmerica: IndianImmigrants inan
AmericanMetropolis
,PadmaRangaswamy traces thefirst
Indian-ownedbusiness onDevon toApril 6, 1973, when
managerRattanSharmaopened the IndiaSari Palace. In
the 1980s,Rangaswamywrites, asanotherwaveof Indian
immigrants came to theUnitedStates, Indianmerchants
sawopportunitiestocatertothenewarrivals. “Firstcame
66
JUNE2015
AMERICANWAY
EstherSaboandhusbandMenachemof
theTel-AvivKosherBakery
