Kansas City has long been a place of opportunity. The scores of immigrant groups that have chosen to settle here are proof. From the Irish, Germans, Polish and Croatians to Italians, Koreans, Hmong and Hispanics, many groups have made a mark, bringing with them bits and pieces of their culture. With delicious food, gorgeous traditional garments and high civic engagement, a growing vibrant Indian community is making its mark, too.
The local Indian population has grown steadily to about 4,000 families, according to the findings of the Kansas City Convention and Visitors Bureau, with some Indian residents estimating the population at twice that size. Many say it began with pediatrician Dr. Nirmal Kumar Mitra, a native Indian who settled in the metropolitan area in 1955. He is often referred to as the elder statesman of the Kansas City Indian community. Second and third generation Indians are now here, and they consider Kansas City their permanent home.
There are significant Indian student populations at Johnson County Community College, UMKC, and Avila University. Indian students are 12.6 percent of the international student body at KU; over the last several years the total Indian population of students on the KU campus has grown at an average rate of 7.3 percent, according to a University of Kansas International Affairs Report.
Preeti Goyal, the media and promotions manager of the Indian Association of Kansas City, moved to KC in 2005 from Boston with her husband, Anul, when he got a job working for Sprint, now T-Mobile. “There is a very vibrant Indian community in Kansas City,” she says. The goal of the association is to unite the Indian community and provide resources for living and working here.
“I came from the northern part of India and lived in Boston in 2001,” Goyal says. “Boston culture was way different than what we have in Kansas City. There was a lot of Indian community there, too, but we wondered if we made the right decision [to move to KC] or not.”
Two weeks later, she got her answer. “My son was in kindergarten in Boston and in first grade when we moved here,” she says. “He asked why is his papa was home so early in the daytime. He had never seen his dad home in the daytime because the Boston commute times were so long. My son was so surprised and happy when I told him, ‘Now Papa is going to be home in the daytime to play with you.’ Then we realized that this is a great city to raise our kids because everything is so close by.”
The Indian community has comfortably assimilated, says Goyal. They not only celebrate Indian holidays with festivals throughout the year but also Thanksgiving, Christmas, Halloween and, yes, even St. Patrick’s Day.
The American Dream is alive
Sachin Chaudhari, his wife, Archana, and daughter Hriyda, moved from Mumbai to San Francisco in 2011. Chaudhari then got a job offer to work in Kansas City in 2015 for Salesforce as the program IT architect director. They settled in Overland Park and had another daughter, Saachi. “Kansas City is home,” Chaudhari says. “Even though our generation did all our education and everything back in India, we came here with a job and had the American dream of the pursuit of happiness.”
His family celebrates various Indian festivals but also participates in the city’s St Patrick’s parade, too. “We have a drum group,” he says. “We get a big trailer for the parade, and we dress up in a combination of green plus fusion with Indian clothing. That’s because we cannot be completely Indian and live in Kansas City. And we cannot be completely American. It’s the fusion of those two cultures.”
They also celebrate Christmas and Thanksgiving. “There is not a clear-cut distinction between what’s an American festival versus Indian culture with us,” he says. “Everybody celebrates every festival because it’s an opportunity to know the different cultures. It’s an opportunity to participate and get involved. It’s a willingness to know what the other culture brings in and then how we can adapt it.”
Kansas City has a charm that the Indian community finds appealing. “It is like a city, but it’s also like a suburb,” Overland Park resident Neelakandan Seshan says. He moved with his wife and two kids here in 2008 after graduating from Periyar University in South India with a masters of business administration degree in computer and information sciences.
After a dozen years as a solutions architect with Dell, Seshan began work in IT as a cloud and infrastructure architect and system administrator for Concentrix, a global technology and services company, in October 2024. “Kansas City is very calm,” Seshan says. “I have American neighbors and one from Ireland. So I feel like we’re all pretty close. I feel it’s like a family. I can talk to anyone.”
Several local Indian-owned international IT tech businesses are based in the metro, such as Object Technology Solutions Inc., founded in 1999 and headquartered in Overland Park. OTSI is led by founder and executive chairman Narasimha Gondi. Global Soft Systems, founded in 2001 and also headquartered in Overland Park, is led by president and CEO Gopal Aedma.
But it’s not just IT jobs at big companies attracting Indian migrants to Kansas City. It’s the lure of community coupled with the opportunity for entrepreneurship.
Vijay Malik, an entrepreneur living in Westport, moved to KC with his family when he was five. His father, Madanjit, was an architect and urban planner who got his degree at the University of Southern California, then traveled back to New Delhi hoping to work in government.
Madanjit married and started his family in India, but he soon discovered how corrupt the government was. “He said that one of the things that turned him off about the Indian government was—there’s a word for it, but basically it was bribe money,” Malik says. “There was a 10 percent bribe to be paid to the government for any contract work.”
The family moved to the U.S. in 1968 when Malik was five years old, landing in Memphis on the day Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. They found a home in the suburbs of Memphis, then moved to Kansas City in 1977 to a house at 62nd and Wornall. Malik’s father worked for the city as an urban planner.
Malik, who went to Southwest High School, moved to the East Coast for a bit but made his way back to Kansas City to be with his family. He started his own business after college, engineering and creating durable household goods. Malik’s shoe rack product was recently accepted for sale at Walmart, a major win for him. “We settled in Kansas City because of the clean air, the affordable housing, the lack of congestion, the ease of life,” Malik says. “Clean air is nothing to take for granted. If you travel the world, there’s some nasty environments. There’s no blue sky in Shanghai, the saying goes.”
Sam Bajwa and his wife Shagan have their hands in several businesses. In 1993, Sam moved to Vancouver from his home in Punjab, India. Shagan came to New York in 1993 from a village in Punjab. Their marriage was arranged by Shagan’s grandmother, who was living in Canada. They married in Canada in 1997 and had three sons: Manver, 27; Mohabat, 26; and Shahbaz, 25. The family has lived in Overland Park since 2004.
The couple started off in Overland Park with a gas station. Shagan worked there until getting a job at a Mazuma Credit Union in 2006 while Sam also ran a trucking business. This is also when Shagan began cooking. “She had a passion for cooking,” Sam says. “While she was working at the bank, she used to take food for her co-workers for company parties. Then people would tell her that they were having a get-together and ask her if she could cook for them. She used to cook in the garage, then take the food and deliver it to them.”
“It was like two of my friends who knew two people,” Shagan says. “Whatever I would cook for Sam for the road, I would ask them if they’re interested, and then I would cook extra. And these two people knew four more people, and then that group just got bigger and bigger.”
Shagan worked at the bank until 5 pm, went home and started cooking for people in their garage. “I said, ‘You are killing yourself with all this cooking,’” Sam says. “I was making decent money, so I said I could support her if she wanted to quit at the bank. So she gave her two weeks’ notice at the end of 2016.”
The garage was too small for her growing cooking business, so they took the leap and opened their own restaurant, Shagan’s at 145th and Metcalf in 2018, featuring northern India Punjabi cuisine. They opened another Shagan’s at 84th and Ward Parkway in late 2022.
And they came to love Kansas City—despite its huge difference to their life in Punjab, a city with a population of 24 million. “My brother asked what is there in Kansas City,” she says. “I said it’s like a village. I like the feeling, the quiet, and it’s laid back.”
Saris and Lehengas
Headed to an Indian wedding? Or just want to look fabulous? Here are a few places in town to find traditional Indian garments.
Leharr Collection
The Leharr Collection was founded in 2012 by Chetna Ranat after she searched for high-end traditional clothing to no avail. She realized there was an untapped market for exceptional designs, quality and personalized service. Based in Overland Park, the Leharr Collection uses a mix of traditional and modern design elements and sells ready-to-wear and couture pieces. Ranat sees clients by appointment only. To learn more visit leharrcollection.com or call 913-735-5143.
Remya’s Classy Missy Boutique
This Overland Park-based boutique sells a wide range of traditional Indian garments for every budget. Customers can place an order online or call for an appointment. To learn more, visit remyasclassymissy.com or call 913-804-7764.
Paridhan Indian Clothing Boutique
The owners of the Paridhan Indian Clothing Boutique in Overland Park have decided to call it quits, but they still have merchandise and are having a going-out-of-business sale. The owners are seeing customers by appointment only. For more information, call 913-544-7715.
