LOCAL BUSINESS

MASALA MY LIFE OFFERS CULTURALLY INSPIRED PRODUCTS— SUCH AS THESE T-SHIRTS AND THAI CHAI BOXES—THAT REFLECT THE SOUTH ASIAN AMERICAN LIFESTYLE

Masala My Life

A South Asian American entrepreneur blends into America’s mosaic

STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY MICK SCHULTE

Sitting on her father’s lap, 1-year-old Anu Mannar flies fom the country she was born in, to the country she will call home. It’s 1972 and the flight takes moe than 20 hours, with multiple stops along the way. The journey transports father and daughter from one culture to another, leaving behind a singularly Indian identity for the duality that would define their lif — and eventually a brand.

When they land, Mannar becomes South Asian American—a beautifully complex mix of cultures shared by more than 5 million people in the U.S. Not long before, Mannar’s mother and father had decided to relocate to America after an arranged marriage in South India. Her mother already had a green card. She had arrived as a teenager in the 1960s when her father became chairman of the math department at the University of Rhode Island.

After marrying and having baby Anu, Mannar’s parents decided to settle permanently in the U.S. Her mother had to return first for visa related reasons. Mannar joined her father on his flight to eunite with his bride. For father and daughter, it was their first trip to the U.S. “As immigrants, my parents took a huge risk together, uprooting their lives for a chance at a new home and new opportunities,” Mannar says.

They eventually settled in Knoxville, Tennessee, at the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains. Not a place known for cultural diversity, there was, in fact, a small Indian community thanks to the local university and proximity to Oak Ridge, Tennessee—a production site for the Manhattan Project during World War II. Mannar’s father worked as an environmental engineer and her mother taught college mathematics as an adjunct professor at the University of Tennessee.

LIVING THE BLEND

Ten years after that initial flight to the U.S., 11-year-old Mannar walke through the aisles of her family’s Indian grocery store. Her mother and father had opened it as a side business to make traditional Indian foods available to the local community. She recalls smelling rose, jasmine, mango and chai in the store. She placed containers of rice, spices and dal on the shelves to be used in the classic vegetarian dishes her mom had always made at home. Her father’s father ran the register and knew every customer by name. It was an enjoyable change from his life in India as a banker.

Six nights of the week they ate meals centered around the South Indian staple of rice, a vegetable curry with green beans—or okra and fresh coconut—dal, and then a homemade yogurt to end the meal. The smooth, fresh yogurt cooled the palate after a dinner filled wit masala, a word that means “a mixture of spices” in Hindi.

Mannar’s mother was well-known for her Indian cooking — people fought over the leftovers, if any existed. Then, on Fridays, the family almost always ventured out for pizza — often with friends. It’s one example of how Mannar’s family learned to “live the blend.”

“My parents didn’t try to live as if they were still in India—you really couldn’t, even if you wanted to back then,” Mannar says. “Now you can Facetime your family for free, go to any grocery store to find India food and watch Bollywood shows on Netflix. But back then, my paents opened the first Indian stoe in Knoxville and it was basically the only place to find things specific to our cult e.”

AN INEVITABLE CULMINATION

Mannar left Tennessee for college at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she majored in journalism. While most of her South Asian American classmates went off to medical or law school, Mannar knew she was destined to tell stories. From working for The News & Observer, to obtaining an MBA from Duke University, to jobs in high-tech marketing and then admissions at The Raleigh School, every role she took on involved storytelling and branding.

Throughout her years in the Southeast, Mannar found it easy to share the story of her Southern identity. She shopped Raleigh boutiques filled with beachy summer desses, barbecue sauces, sweet tea and biscuit mixes. The twang of country music often played softly on the store speakers. She loved this part of life and felt as though Southern Living magazine was a part of her, yet she also realized there was no contemporary way to express her South Asian American heritage. That’s when she identified this need and got to work on he new venture: Masala My Life.

“Masala My Life was both an overnight idea and the inevitable culmination of my entire life,” Mannar says. “I wanted the South Asian American identity to be seen as any other American identity, just like Midwestern or Southern identities are recognized.”

Mannar also wanted to tell the story of what it’s like to live as a South Asian American — where one moment she wears a pair of blue jeans to a baseball game, and the next she’s dressed in a traditional sari enjoying a piece of masala chai dark chocolate.

“It’s why the name of my business, Masala My Life, signifie something like ‘Live the Blend’ or ‘Spice of my Life.’ We are constantly shifting and moving through different realities in our day. I wanted to create ways for others like me to find gifts, clothes and specialty foo items that reflect who we ae.”

CELEBRATING CONNECTED CULTURES

Since launching her e-commerce business in fall 2019, Mannar has seen interest expand to groups outside of those who identify themselves as South Asian American but have a connection to the culture. “Actually, my sister’s best friend, who was born and raised in East Tennessee, is absolutely bananas about the business. She grew up coming to our house and eating our food. She loves what I sell because it’s a culture she feels a part of,” Mannar says.

On the Masala My Life website, customers can find custom-mad South Asian American–inspired gift boxes with themes like jasmine dreams, chocolate and chai, and even elephants. Mannar writes a handwritten note for each one. Customers can also browse clothes, tea towels, jewelry and specialty food items—all curated from small businesses, with an emphasis on “Made in the USA” and fair trade items. The idea is to offer modern, culturally inspired products that reflect the South Asian American lifestyle. Whether a hand-poued mango lassi candle or Diwali-themed gift box, these items exist because South Asians have become a part of the mosaic that is America.

Mostly, though, Mannar created the business for the same reason her parents opened that Indian grocery store when she was 11: to serve a population that has ties to South Asia, and to create a place that celebrates the masala of their blended lives. Learn more at masalamylife.com or instagram.com/masalamylife.

ANU MANNAR, OWNER OF MASALA MY LIFE

ALARA + ZANE • BLOWN AWAY • BUL BOX

• CHARLOTTE’ S • COQUETTE BRASSER I E • H A P P Y UAIL RIDGE BOOKS • THE COWFISH • TRELLIS FLORAL • Q • + H ALE • MIDTOWN YOGA • PAINTBASE • PAYSAGE HOME

I T I E S • VERMILLION • VITA VITE • U Q U N I