Indian businesses and services in Munich, Germany

Munich's Indian community has grown up around its universities and engineering employers rather than around a single street. Students and researchers at the Technical University and LMU, software and automotive engineers, and their families make up much of it, and many live outside the centre in suburbs and satellite towns along the S-Bahn and U-Bahn lines. Garching, home to a large TUM campus and several research institutes, is reached directly on the U6.

For shopping, the streets just south of the Hauptbahnhof in Ludwigsvorstadt are the nearest thing to a hub. Indian, Pakistani, Turkish and Middle Eastern grocers sit close together there, which makes it the easiest place to find lentils, spices, fresh curry leaves and South Asian snacks without crossing town. Indian groceries and restaurants are also scattered through other districts, so it is worth searching by area rather than assuming everything is central. As everywhere in Germany, most shops are closed on Sundays.

Religious life is organised mostly through community associations. Munich has Hindu temple communities, including Tamil ones, a gurdwara and an ISKCON centre, and festivals such as Diwali, Holi and Navratri are usually marked with events in community centres and rented halls rather than in the streets. Larger events tend to be held at weekends, and because one MVV ticket covers U-Bahn, S-Bahn, tram and bus, reaching a hall on the edge of the city is rarely difficult. Regional associations, from Tamil and Telugu to Marathi, Malayali and Bengali, run their own celebrations and are often the quickest way for newcomers to find people from home.