If you love India and Indian things like I do and you happen to be visiting Iselin/Edison, New Jersey, you need to visit “Little India”. With wall-to-wall shops and restaurants all on the famous Oak Tree Road (Center) and the interspersed side streets, plan on making it an all day affair; better yet a weekend excursion. For our convenience and yours, we found this Web site very helpful in knowing what to do and what not to do. (http://www.indianj.com/oaktree/default.asp)
Three of my friends and myself (all non-Indian but true Indophiles) spent a few days in Iselin, back in June. We were beside ourselves and over the moon, as they say, to have before us so many shops and vendors selling everything Indian. We started at one end, visiting every shop on one side of the street, crossing over and doing the same on the opposite side, while trying not to miss any shops on the little side streets as well.
We were like kids in a candy store, searching “Movie Time Video” (1404 Oak Tree Road) and Raaga (1655 Oak Tree Rd) for Bollywood DVDs and Cds to add to our ever-growing collection back home. The mellifuous tones, interchanged at times with Bhangra, cultural and filmi music filled the street and added to the adventure we had embarked upon.
Filmfare and Cine-Blitz magazines caught our attention too, as the cinematic heroes and heroines that we’ve come to know, graced their covers at Mansoor Bookshop (1386 Oak Tree Road) and Indo-US Books & Journals (same building as Movie Time Video).
The sight of all the many colorful and exquisite saris and salwar kameez were breathtaking, as we tried on many, while imaging ourselves dancing around the trees in the rain with our favorite Bollywood actors. In fact, one of the shops we visited is even called “Bollywood Fashions” (on 1384a Oak Tree Road).
After purchasing several and surprising the shop owners of Kanha Collections (at 1175 Green St) with our “shukriya” (Hindi for thank you) and “Namaste” (greetings in Hindi), we clutched ever so tightly to our decorative shopping bags as we walked along, for fear that it was only a dream from which we’d wake up disappointed.
The tinkling sounds of bangles and anklets drew us into the many jewelry stores, such as Maharani Jewelers (1337 Oak Tree Rd.) and Nina Jewelers(1361 Oak Tree Rd), where we were able to by some and only dream of owning others, which were laced with gemstones and gold beyond ones imagination.
Enticing aromas from the various restaurants (vegetarian and non-vegetarian) like Chowpatty Restaurant (1349 Oak Tree Rd) and Madras Palace (1551 Oak Tree Road) floated through the air to our olfactory senses and from that point, it was like a scene from a cartoon, where the person is carried through the air to the source of its (garam masala) hot and spicy cuisine. After enough salivating, we sat down to enjoy as many of the tasty treats as we could manage, like chicken biryani, samosa, pakoras, nan, curries and dosa, washing them down with a cool and refreshingly sweet lassi (yoghurt drink).
After our sumptuous meal, it was back to shopping. Then once we finished shopping for the day, we sat outside and enjoyed the delectable laddoo, gulab jamun and jalebi we bought at the Bengali Sweet House (1384 B Oak Tree Rd), while one of the four saved her share for later and bought ice cream from the Kwality Ice Cream Parlor (1734 Oak Tree Rd).
The next day, after yet more shopping, we made sure to stop at the grocery stores too, like Subzi Mandi (1538 Oak Tree Rd.) and Panchvatee Food Mart (1700 Oak Tree Rd), which had all the items we needed to create a special meal for our friends/families, when we returned. (The Colman cooler came in handy here.)
We, of course took the opportunity to visit the many stands set up outside with people selling their creative souvenirs. It was a special weekend and we went home with many khoobsurat (beautiful) keepsakes from India just by going to New Jersey, a few short hours away. (a little longer if you get stuck in heavy traffic, like we did on the way there) The people we met were so warm and welcoming, appreciating our efforts to express ourselves in their language and wanting to indulge ourselves in their culture. It was the next best thing to going to India itself. (we’ll get there yet)
So go and meet all the friendly and helpful owners in each of these fine establishments. Enjoy the food, the music and immerse yourself in the Indian culture. You’ll be sure to go back to “Little India” again and again. I know we will. Maybe we’ll see you there.
