Indian Food & Culture at Purdue

Purdue is currently home to 2,782 Indian students—876 undergraduates and 1,906 graduate, and 73 online students, Indians represent 23.9% of the international student body, up 3.1% from 2022. Purdue’s Indian-origin students hail from every major metropolitan area in India and from six continents and play an active role in campus activities. There are dozens of student organizations in which students can become involved.

The first Indian students at Purdue graduated in 1905- almost 120 years ago! There is a fascinating two part article on the history of Indians at Purdue for the last century. (See Pt 1 and Pt 2)

Indian alumni of Purdue include:

• founders, chairmen and leaders of pharmaceutical firms (Habil Khorakiwala of Wockhardt and G V Prasad CEO of Dr. Reddy’s),
• automotive manufacturers, IT companies and financial institutions (Venu Srinivasan,
• chairman of TVS Motors, GVSanjay Reddy of GVK- former operators of Mumbai Airport);
• a Bharat Ratna award winner (C N R Rao);
• members of the Parliament of India (Ram Kinjarapu, Sri Bharat, Vamsi Gaddam)
• a Minister of the Cabinet (Ram Kinjarapu)
• world-leading faculty members; and more.

Occasionally, the dining courts have Indian dishes as part of their rotating menus. However, when offered, they are limited to just two options- Chana/Chole & Butter Chicken. Of the dining courts, only Ford had a dish that had my son’s approval- the Vegan Chana Aloo- but it was available quite rarely. Unfortunately, the feedback I get from my son and his friends for the other two courts that have Indian food (Windsor and Earhart) was that the dishes tasted watery and not made in the “proper” Indian way.

The Burrow at Cary Quad residence hall, a restaurant open Tue & Thu 5-8pm only, also had Indian options occasionally. However from the 2024-25 year, its closed permanently.

Of the four Indian restaurants in Lafayette & West Lafayette, which I already reviewed in Eating Out & Restaurants, only three are near enough the campus for your child to visit without the need for a bus ride/Uber; Taste of India, Dakshin and Hyderabad House. Taste of India and Dakshin are near each other in Chauncey and are equally good. Both offer student discounts. The Taste of India buffets are great! My son and his friends also loved take-away biryanis from Hyderabad House.

Also an option are the occasional Sundays lunches at the Bharatiya Temple & Cultural Center of Greater Lafayette (BTCCGL). In order to get notifications of these, you need to join their email list (top right menu on their website). Generally the meals cost around $10-15 and are prepared and served by volunteers from the local Indian community.

Prior to the 2023-2024 year, there were no serious options for home-cooked Indian food. Since then four have opened, but then three (Ekta,Navya and Shulka) decided to quit. Now just one options is left:

North Indian Punjabi Food – (916) 543 1313. This service seems new from Sep 2024. They claim to deliver freshly made Punjabi veg thali daily to Purdue students. Their menu shows what will be included on each day of the week. I have not had any reviews so far on this service, so please leave a comment if you have used them. But apparently they cater at the BTCC Temple in town, so they should be good.

Indian & International Grocery offers a diverse array of spices, ingredients, and products from the subcontinent and some middle eastern fare. They have two locations. One near the campus (behind the Chase Bank in Chauncey at 128 Northwestern Ave) as well as its other location near the West Lafayette Payless at 1070 Sagamore Parkway around 2.5 miles north of the campus. The one at Chauncey is nearer, but also reportedly more expensive than the other one. If you don’t find the items you want from the speciality aisles of the supermarkets, such as Walmart, this is your best bet.

They are the only source of Indian groceries in town. So if you miss your favourite food, indian sweets or snacks from home, you have to head there. However, note some reviewers have complained of expired food (with overprinted stickers) and overcharging at the tills, so make sure you check your bill at the till and the products well before buying.

West Lafayette is also home to cultural and community places of worship, such as The Bharatiya Temple & Cultural Center of Greater Lafayette (BTCCGL) mentioned above and the Islamic Society of Greater Lafayette.

There are many clubs at Purdue which celebrate the culture of India. Holi, Diwali and other festivities are all celebrated at the University. The most active Indian associations which you need to follow to get notifications of Indian events are:

Indian Student Association (click for Facebook and Insta links)

Cricket & Social Outreach (click for Insta link) – organizes parties, fundraisers, and celebrations for major South Asian festivals apart from cricket- very active

Hindu YUVA – Purdue Chapter, a group celebrating Indian culture and traditions (click for Website, Facebook and Insta links)

Purdue American Indian Foundation (AIF) (click for Facebook and Insta links) also very active.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Dance & Music Clubs that are geared toward Indian students and/or celebrate Indian culture:

Boiler Bhangra, a competitive folk dance club (click for Facebook and Insta links)

Indian Classical Music Association of Purdue

Purdue Indian Dance Club (PIDC), a Bollywood fusion dance club (click for Facebook and Insta links)

Purdue Aharya; a nationally competitive dance team

Purdue Kahaani (click for Insta link)

Purdue Raas, a competitive folk dance club (click for Facebook and Insta links)

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Social, Welfare & Community based clubs:

Purdue India Undergraduate Welfare Association (IUWA) (click for Facebook link) provides guidance and opportunities to the community to excel

Purdue South Asian Student Alliance (Purdue SASA) (click for Facebook and Insta links) represents the countries of Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.

Purdue University Tagore Society showcases the Bengali culture & celebrates Tagore

Sikh Student Organization at Purdue University (click for Facebook and Insta links) for members of the Sikh community

ASHA for Education – Purdue Chapter, a charitable organization (click for Facebook and Insta links)

Project RISHI (Rural India Social and Health Improvement) is a non-profit organization

Purdue Student Think Tank of India (Purdue STTI), a conversation-debate group (click for Facebook link)

Think India promotes meaningful discussions on various issues concerning India

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Indian Graduate Students at Purdue (IGRASP) is a campus cultural organization that aims to build a sense of community away from home for Indian graduate students at Purdue by easing the initial transition to U.S. university life while celebrating the major Indian holidays. Visit their Facebook page.