Indian businesses and services in Boston, United States

Students and researchers are a large part of Boston's South Asian story. Harvard, MIT, Boston University, Northeastern and the region's hospitals and biotech firms draw people from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal, and Central Square in Cambridge, known for its wide variety of restaurants from around the world, has South Asian kitchens among them. Families tend to settle further out, and Indian shopping clusters have grown up on Moody Street in Waltham, on Cambridge Street in Burlington and along Route 9 through Shrewsbury and Westborough.

The Sri Lakshmi Temple in Ashland, opened in 1986 and topped by a traditional gopuram tower, is one of the main Hindu temples in New England and a regular weekend destination for families across the region. Other mandirs, gurdwaras, Jain centres and mosques are spread through the suburbs.

The festival calendar is busy despite the climate. Bengali associations organise Durga Puja in the autumn, Navratri garba fills rented halls, and Diwali is celebrated at temples and at university events. Winters are cold and snowy. The MBTA's Red Line, which serves Central Square and Harvard, is useful within the city, but the suburban temples and grocers are best reached by car or commuter rail.