Biography of Har G. Keswani ; Jefferson Parish, Louisiana

Submitted by N.O.V.A. July 2005




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Indian Restaurant Owner Har G. Keswani Dies At 52



Restaurateur Har Govind Keswani died Friday of a heart attack at his home. 

He was 52.



Mr. Keswani was president of Keswani & Assoc. Inc. and owner of the Taj 

Mahal Indian Cuisine and Shalimar Indian Cuisine restaurants.



Mr. Keswani was born in Mhow, India, and lived in Metairie for the past 25 

years. He received a master of science degree in naval architecture and 

Marine engineering from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor.



He was formerly a naval architect for Avondale Shipyards. He was president 

of the India Association and a member of the Society of Naval Architects and 

Marine Engineers.



When Mr. Keswani and his family moved to the New Orleans area, he became 

active in the local Indian community and began to volunteer to cook food for 

India Association gatherings.



When the oil bust hit Louisiana in the 1980s, Mr. Keswani was faced with the 

choice of changing careers or leaving the city. Noting that the city had no 

Indian restaurants, despite the cuisine's popularity in other parts of the 

country, he decided to open a restaurant here. The result was Taj Mahal 

Indian Cuisine on Causeway Boulevard in Metairie, which opened in 1982.



By 1985, business was good enough to move to the much-larger Keswani's in 

Uptown Square, but it eventually closed. About a year later, Keswani and his 

wife, Anila, opened a new Taj Mahal, this time on Metairie Road and followed 

that up with Shalimar Indian Cuisine in the French Quarter in 1995.



Survivors include his wife, Anila Awatramani Keswani; two sons, Anjay and 

Sundeet Keswani; a brother, Harkishin Keswani; and five sisters, Kala Mehta, 

Leelu Gurshany, Pushpa Ratan, Sunita Singh and Niroo Sharma.



A funeral will be held today at 4:30 p.m. at Hare Krishna Temple, 2936 

Esplanade Ave. L.A. Muhleisen & Son Funeral Home is in charge of 

arrangements.





Source:  Times Picayune  04-27-1997