In the dark but upbeat Cedar Street Courtyard in downtown Austin, over 600 people — many in their 20s and about two-thirds of Indian descent — dance to a fusion of western beats and music from all parts of India.
Anupi Chandiramani, owner of Austin-based events company Ananya Creations, hosts and DJs events, such as weddings, birthday parties and Bollywood Nights, which are open to the public every weekend.
“Mixing music from different parts of the world, finding similarities and finding songs that mesh well together from completely different genres and cultures always fascinated me,” she said. “Growing up in the U.S. and also having family from India and wanting to bring two cultures together is really where mixing music came from.”
Chandiramani is the first woman in her family to pursue a career in the events industry.
“I definitely faced a lot of challenges,” she said, as most of her family members became doctors or engineers.
About a decade ago, Chandiramani started hosting Bollywood Nights for about 50 people at the Indian restaurant Clay Pit in downtown Austin, and now, the parties welcome crowds “from different countries and cultures just looking to have a good time and immerse themselves in our culture,” Chandiramani said.
Her next gig is at IDEA USA's fundraiser, Thanksgiving Fest, from noon to 7 p.m. Nov. 17 at Lakeline Park in Cedar Park. Learn more at ideausa.org.
Of the foreign-born population in Austin in 2022, India ranked second, according to a recent City of Austin report.
Initially, “it was definitely hard breaking into the industry,” Chandiramani said. “But now, with the growth in the past five years in Texas and having a lot of South Asian artists really make it to the top, whether in Coachella, ACL or winning at the Oscars, as DJs, it really helped our business and made us more popular.”
Growing up in the U.S. and also having family from India and wanting to bring two cultures together is really where mixing music came from.