This lil shop is a diamond in the rough. I love this shop. A nice selection of gifts and BONUS: They transferred my cd's to usb's. Fast, efficient and affordable. read more

I love this rare establishment so much. The owners are wonderful people who care to create an authentic space for visitors filled with their culture and heart. I have bought my most favorite (now overworn) clothing from the lovely owner who has great taste in the stylings she carries. Santa Cruz is so lucky to have this hidden gem! read more

I remember passing Batish on my way home from work back in the 80's. But Saturday was the first time I stopped in. The family has had their business at this site since the late 60's. What a nice surprise, you enter by entering the driveway and parking in the back. You have to ring the bell. I know that sounds funny but this is a family business. Their main business is music, Satir classes. They have a recording studio and offer a wide variety of Indian music classes. The family also performs worldwide at various festivals, including one in Santa Cruz at the Church Street Fair Aug 8 and 9. There was a CD playing when we were in the store which was really nice. They also have a small selection of women's clothing with traditional style clothing from India. There is also a small selection of Indian foods, spices, soaps and candles. It's worth checking out also see WWW.batish.com read more

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The most lovely energy and feel pervade this space. There is an intense sweetness about the store and all who are within. I visit when I come to SC, which isn't often, but it is very spiritually gratifying to see people like this and experience this type of goodness and music. read more

I found Batish's on the internet as I was looking for a local store that sold Indian spices. A little off the beaten path on Mission Street, Batish's is the only place in Santa Cruz that looked like they carried what I needed. I called and told the owner I was interested in making Buttered Chicken for my wife, rattled off three Indian spices I needed, and sure enough, they had them all... and surprisingly inexpensive. This little India bazaar has a pleasant, calming, atmosphere and the owner was more than willing to give suggestions for preparing the dish. I'm so happy I found Batish's! read more

Clean, classy, spiritual, loving, positive enterprise. They sell cool stuff, music, instruments ... they teach East Indian music. The studio is filled with beautiful, ornate instruments like sitars and sarods. The woman who runs the place, Meena, is very beautiful and friendly and helpful. We've been visiting this place for almost twenty years and it's always a highlight when we visit Santa Cruz. Lots of cool stores come and go in SC but Batish's stays and keeps getting better. Lucky for us. read more

Located just off mission this is quite the little wonky specialized music and fashion shop what also has a small selection of Indian food items. They do have their own tiny parking lot which can hold four to five cars or so and is located down their street entrance which is essentially a alley. In the off chance that you miss it-easy to do especially if you're not terribly familiar with this stretch of mission and miss the entrance given the heavy summer traffic I'd simply go a block take whatever parking can be found and walk back. Unless it's that medical building parking across the street 'cause that lot is practically impossible to get out of. This location is a lot of things, some of which are very surprising so you must ring a bell to get in. They have decent hours, but it's set up so you just can't walk in. Lots of good reasons for this starting with this location is also a recording studio-you don't want to just walk in on a recording session. They have a retail business-inside you can buy high quality pashima's, bangles for you (our your squad. Like for a baby shower), jewelry, art, devotionals, a limited selection of Indian foods and spices (this is most definitely not a grocery however. The stock is at the insistence of the matriarch who cooked/owned a restaurant her whole life and even though she is aged, does not want to entirely give up food related business.) and of course musical instruments related to Indian/Pakistani traditional/folk music. The instruments-sarangi's, dholak, sarod, kanjira, sitar's (of course), ghatam and various other instruments are all for sale. Pricing for the instruments ranges from several hundred to several thousand dollars and they don't keep everything they have in stock on display. If you are needing something in particular and you don't see it ask. Of course instruction on all instruments is also offered, which is useful if not essential as learning how to play a sarangi is not something you can teach yourself off of youtube. As mentioned above, the back is a full service studio. They can conduct a sound session, record it, and press a cd should you need that service. they can also take those old video recordings on tape (or reel to reel) and convert it to a more durable (and portable) dvd. This is a small, locally owned shop that has a lot of fascinating things inside of it, as long as you knock first. read more

Love this place. When I was a ucsc student I would always walk by Batish's and wonder what was inside. Finally a few years after graduating I went in, curiosity finally winning me over and I was not disappointed! Beautiful scarves, colorful tapestries and my favorite- hard to find herbs and spices that you just can't seem to get at grocery stores. I've never ventured into the back where the musical instruments are but I know the owner, Ashwin Batish, is a very accomplished musician. The owners wife ( her name escapes me at the moment) is so sweet and I remember even at one time gave me invaluable advice for when cooking Dahl ( if you want to know, add the turmeric at the very end so your stove's hood doesn't get stained yellow-it's nearly impossible to get out). She even special ordered Aritha for me, which are soap nuts and very hard to find on this side of the hill. Overall a fantastic place and I can't recommend this business enough- if you like supporting local businesses and artists, then you need to stop by here! read more