India, Sept. 1 -- In the relatively inexpensive rooms of South Delhi's Chirag Delhi village, young working people from Nepal live alongside residents from other parts of the country. Nepali is heard in the cramped lanes along with Hindi, and shop signs advertise "money order service to Nepal." Gurugram's Rajiv Nagar, too, has a substantial Nepali presence, while a music shop near the city's bus terminus has long stocked songs in Nepali. Hailing from Nepal's well-known political Koirala family, actor Manisha Koirala did part of her education at the Army Public School in Dhaula Kuan. At Delite cinema in Daryaganj, Mukti Ram Parajuli, a native of Nepal, has worked since 1992, spending most of his Delhi life behind the snack counter.

Indeed,...