Little India, Edison/Iselin

Little India, Edison/Iselin, also known as Oak Tree Road, is a heavily South Asian shopping and dining district centered on a road, designated County Route 604, in Middlesex County, New Jersey.[1] Also known as Little India, it is about a thirty-five-minute drive southwest of Manhattan, with a high concentration of South Asian-focused businesses amid a leafy suburban residential region home to many South Asian families. It is located in Central Jersey in the U.S. county with the highest concentration of Indian Americans.[2][3][4]

Saravana Bhavan restaurant off Oak Tree Road in Edison

Oak Tree Road runs for about one-and-a-half miles through Edison and neighboring Iselin, New Jersey.[5][6] This zone is the largest and most diverse South Asian ethnic enclave and cultural hub in the United States.[7][8] According to the 2017 American Community Survey, 42.6% of Iselin residents identified themselves as being Indian American, the highest for any census-designated place in the United States.[9] Little India additionally lies nears the sprawling Chinatown, Edison.[10] Oak Tree Road in Edison and Iselin is home to over 400 South Asian business establishments, including dining, halal grocery, apparel and electronics retailing, and entertainment.[11][12][13][14] Over 60 Indian and Pakistani restaurants alone are found in the neighborhood.[15][16]

The annual New Jersey India Day Parade, hosted by the Indian Business Association,[17] is held every August on Oak Tree Road to celebrate Indian Independence Day.[18][19][20]

The area is served by Metropark Station, providing a one-seat commuter rail connection to Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan.

The actor-comedian Omi Vaidya celebrated the Oak Tree Road scene and South Asian culture in his 2020 song "Oak Tree Road," a parody of Old Town Road.[21][22]

Every year the weeklong festival Ganesh Utsav, honoring the Hindu god Ganesha, draws thousands of celebrants to nearby Woodbridge Mall.[23]