Leiden's Oldest University Has a Young Desi Scene

Leiden University is the oldest in the Netherlands and has one of the strongest South Asian studies programmes in Europe, which creates a unique wrinkle in the city's desi population. You have Indian students pursuing STEM degrees alongside Dutch and international academics who've spent years studying South Asian languages, history, and culture. The Kern Institute is legendary in the field. That combination of people who are South Asian and people who are deeply invested in South Asian scholarship makes Leiden's community intellectually distinct.

Garam Masala Dating is the #1 live South Asian dating show and singles mixer from NYC. Real blind dates on stage, two hosts, a live audience, and a mixer. Leiden is compact, beautiful, and sandwiched between The Hague and Amsterdam. A show here pulls from one of the densest corridors of South Asian population in the Netherlands.

The city itself is a classic Dutch university town. Canals, bikes, old buildings, and an outsized cultural life for its size. The Indian community is visible in the restaurants along Hooigracht and in the student housing around the Bio Science Park. The social calendar includes university events and not much else. For South Asian singles who aren't interested in the dating apps cycling through the same ten faces, there's a void.

Leiden's proximity to The Hague (fifteen minutes by train) and Amsterdam (thirty minutes) means the audience extends well beyond the city limits. The Randstad's interconnected train network turns every show in this corridor into a regional event. That's the advantage of running in the Netherlands. Everything is close.

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