India Currents – Classifieds and Community Advertisements (August 1996) · South Asians in Silicon Valley

Title: India Currents – Classifieds and Community Advertisements (August 1996)
Subject: South Asian American community life; diaspora economy
Description: This classified advertisements page from the August 1996 issue of India Currents provides a vivid snapshot of South Asian American community life in the mid-1990s. The ads document the everyday needs, aspirations, and social structures of the Bay Area’s growing Indian and South Asian immigrant population.

The page includes:

Help wanted ads for anti-rape activists, receptionists, and South Indian cooks

Travel, education, and service listings catered specifically to immigrant families

Matrimonial ads, reflecting cultural expectations and identity markers within the community

Early digital services, such as web design and “Internet classifieds,” capturing the rise of tech in the 1990s

Real estate and loan ads by South Asian mortgage brokers and realtors

Marketing targeted to immigrants seeking stability, home ownership, and professional advancement

This page illustrates how India Currents functioned not just as a magazine, but as a community hub, connecting readers to employment, cultural needs, business services, and social opportunities. It serves as an important artifact of the social and economic networks that shaped the South Asian diaspora during a period of rapid growth in Silicon Valley.
Creator: India Currents magazine
Date: August 1996
Format: Photograph of print magazine interior page (JPEG image)
Language: English

Media: India Currents – Classifieds and Community Advertisements (August 1996)