All Aboard The Seven Line
BY GLORIA SANDERS T
The next stop on the No. 7 “International Express” is 74th Street in Jackson Heights, in the heart of the area often referred to as “Little India”. Immigrants still Ttend to cluster with people who share their ethnic heritage and Little India bears this out. According to the city Department of Planning, the neighborhood has more South Asian inhabitants than any other area of New York City, and more than 70 percent of the people of South Asian descent living in Queens are settled along the No. 7 line. More than 20,000 immigrants of Indian descent ride the train on a daily basis and on weekends, hundreds more Bangladeshis, Indians and Pakistanis from other parts of the metropolitan area take the No. 7 line to 74th and Broadway to enjoy a part of their homeland transported to Jackson Heights.

On descending from the train line to the street, the visitor finds a pulsating South Asian commercial center, the streets of which are lined with jewelry and sari stores, restaurants and sweet shops. Restaurants from which the savory aromas of curry and tandoori dishes emanate are cheek by jowl with stores offering a selection of ornate 22-karat gold necklaces or saris of colorful, gauzy fabric.

“Bollywood”, India’s answer to Hollywood, churns out movies, sometimes in as little as 24 hours, and audiences in Little India flock to each new release in wide screen at the neighborhood’s Eagle Theater, which shows only Bollywood output. Movies on videocassette and DVD are snapped up as soon as they reach the area’s video stores as well.