Students waiting in the long lines outside of Rita's Water Ice may have noticed a large, red sign with a "misspelled" word just across the street: Kaarma.

The new Indian restaurant, 120 E. Beaver Ave., which opened its doors last Thursday, is experimenting with a new spin on the typical fare by modernizing Indian and fusing two types of food: Indian and Chinese.

"Everyone thinks Indian food is all about curry, but I want to change that perception," owner Freddie Irani said.

"That's why we're doing so many different, new things."

Irani said he wanted to add another choice for students looking for more contemporary food.

"I'm selling Indian food in America, not in India," he said. "We serve very new, up-to-date Indian food. I have about 10 dishes that are totally new to this area."

Irani said he named the restaurant after a word he liked, though he was afraid "Karma" might have been copyrighted.

"I wanted to name it something different than 'Taj Mahal,' which is what all Indian restaurants seem to be named these days," he said.

Students dining in the new restaurant said they have been enjoying the cuisine, but some are wary of the new concepts.

"I would say that Indian and Chinese food are two very different types of food," said Kelly McFadden (junior-elementary education). "I personally would not want to see or taste those two mixed together."

Manjesh Malavalli (graduate-computer science and engineering) said that he thinks the food is delicious, since some of the dishes are really original.

Irani originally got the idea to open the restaurant, which moved into the building that Jamaica Junction Caribbean restaurant had previously occupied, after visiting friends in State College a year ago. Irani has been in the restaurant business for 30 years and owns another Indian restaurant in Bombay, he said.

"I felt that, with my experience, I could really please students here looking for a different kind of Indian food," he said, adding that his cuisine is "a sort of fusion of Indian food into American culture."

The restaurant is decorated with primarily orange and green color, with tapestries and images and sculptures of elephants hanging on the walls.

"I didn't want to have typical Indian decorations here," he said. "It had to be contemporary."

Kaarma, which currently offers only sit-down meals, has a buffet for lunch for $6.95 from 11:30 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. and a la Carte dinner from 5 to 10 p.m.

Irani said that he is currently considering adding delivery services "in a while."

The restaurant's dinner menu ranges in price from $9.95 chicken dishes to $12.96 shrimp dishes, all of which are served with Indian rice.

"I think the food here really reminds me of home," said Reetuparna Das (graduate-computer engineering).

"It has a really strong flavor." Das added that this was already her second trip to the restaurant, and that she plans to come back often.

"Most of the other Indian places out here don't have food that tastes this great," she said. "I'll definitely be back."