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The small Indian community of San Antonio in Texas is close-knit and have few biases on the basis of the region in India they originate. The community has grown from about 250 families in 1981 to more than 600 families now. There are more than 500 IT Consultants from India working in USAA alone. The India Asia Association, founded in 1979 is the umbrella organization that hosts the Festival of India each year. The smaller organizations, like the Tamil Sangam, the Gujarat Samacharam, the Malayali Association, the Punjabi association, and the Telugu Association , Sikh Center celebrate various festivals of their native regions. There are organizations like Sai Center of San Antonio who are the devotees of Satya Sai Baba participate in various social service events for the local people and Indian Community in San Antonio. The Hindu Temple of San Antonio (HTSA) is a miniature version of the Venkateswara temple at Tirupathi. Perched on a hill in the scenic area of Helotes, the temple is accessible from any part of the town within 20 minutes. Hundreds of Indian people visit the Hindu Temple of San Antonio during the weekend. People do visit the temple from Dallas, Houston, Austin and other places. An enthusiastic team of volunteers has worked on raising funds for the structure and an auditorium hall. The traditional Sunday puja, which begins at 10.30 am, attracts many devotees. Sunday school, held twice a month, is popular amongst the youth in the community. Various services that the temple in San Antonio offers are Archana, Abhisheka, Anna Prasana, Hiranya Sradha, Vahana puja, Satyanarayan puja, Namakarana, Kesa khandana, Kalyana utsava, Homa/Havan, Upanayana, Vivaha and Vidyaarambha. The Indian community in San Antonio gets its Indian spices and favorite Indian items from three Indian-owned stores at Evers, Fredricksburg Rd and Starcrest. Indian community and non-Indian community in San Antonio enjoys the food from various Indian restaurants namely- Sarovar, India Oven, India Palace, Simi's India Cuisine, Madras Pavillion and Taste of Malabar. |