He is on the board of Cupertino's Chamber of Commerce, is co-chairman of the Chamber's Asian American Business Council, serves as the vice president of the advisory council for the city's senior center and is the man behind integrating Cupertino's Indian population with its mainstream culture.

It was Nihalani's untiring behind-the scenes effort that has made the Diwali festival a regular event in Cupertino. He was the crucial figure in setting up a base for the California Cricket Academy, and he galvanized the Indian population to contribute heavily for the library construction project.

Cupertino, despite having a huge Indian population—almost 10 percent—sees very little representation from this group when it comes to community activities. But Nihalani is different. "I am a people's person. I love meeting people, talking to them and understanding them," says Nihalani, 54, a smile creasing his face.

Nihalani has relied on his "people" skills all through his career—from the early days in the '80s and '90s when he worked as a marketing consultant for turnkey projects in East Africa and Europe—to his latest avocation as jewelry designer here in Cupertino. His dark hair, peppered with streaks of gray, Nihalani exudes an aura of warmth and quiet confidence that has created opportunities for him even in the middle of impossible situations.

One of those situations happened in 1994, when the Nihalanis were living in Bombay, (today called Mumbai) India, and their green cards to immigrate to the United States, were approved. Nahalani's wife's sister, who lives in the United States, had applied for their green cards. "We had a fairly comfortable life in Mumbai," Nihalani says. "We had a chauffeur, a maid and did not feel we had to move here."

To retain the green cards, however, the Nihalanis would have to live in the United States for at least six months every year. He says the cost of flying a family of four back and forth would have been too much. "It was much simpler to move to the U.S. permanently, at least until our children finished college," he says. "But the question was how and where would I find a job to support the family."

That's when fate intervened in the form of an old friend who had been impressed with Nihalani's communication skills. As the story goes, this friend, who ran jewelry stores in the Virgin Islands, came to lunch with the Nihalanis in Mumbai. He was so impressed with Nihalani that he offered him a job managing one of his stores in St. Thomas.

"I would have to sell fine jewelry to tourists coming to that island, and I had no knowledge about it. But I saw an opportunity and was willing to learn," says Nihalani.

It's this attitude—his willingness to dive into an unknown situation, learn about it and turn it into a success story—that makes him stand out as a remarkable leader. After moving to St. Thomas, Nihalani took a course in gems and jewelry design from the prestigious Gemological Institute of America, and he grew more comfortable and confident in his new role.

His new-found knowledge and marketing skills were once again so impressive that in 1999, when a woman who was running high-end jewelry stores in the Bay Area visited the island, she offered him a job if he ever moved to California.

At that time Nihalani and his wife were concerned about the schooling in St. Thomas. Their two sons were approaching high school, and the tiny island schools did not have any extra-curricular activities, let alone adequate soccer fields. With this job offer coming his way, they decided to move to the Bay Area.

"We heard that Cupertino schools were the best in California, and it just made our decision to settle here much easier," he says.

Soon Nihalani also set up his own signature design company he called Gifts of Love. Working out of his apartment, he designs unique and elegant jewelry pieces for clients as varied as Hollywood music stars and his more middle class base. His wife, Kamal, is in sales at Tiffany & Co.

Once the family had settled in, Nihalani started getting to know his new hometown. He noticed that the city celebrated Chinese Lunar New Year, the Moon Festival and the Cherry Blossom Festival.

"Cupertino is a model community for celebrating diversity," he says. "But still I found that there was no visibility for the Indians in the community. To many, Asians meant just those from countries like China or Japan. And I wanted to change that."

He decided to attend the Leadership Cupertino program sponsored by the city and also became a member of the Chamber of Commerce. Gilbert Wong, a city planning commissioner, met Nihalani while attending the leadership course.

"Mahesh is one of the most compassionate and unconditional community leaders I have ever met," says Wong "It's perhaps because he has lived in other countries like Africa and Europe, he knows how to present a culture in a friendly manner so that everyone can embrace the diversity."

Wong recalls the time in 2003 when Nihalani made a presentation to the Chamber board about organizing a Diwali festival for the first time. "I've been part of organizing the Lunar Unity parade and know it takes a lot of time," says Wong, who is also on the board of directors of the Chamber. Wong says at the time there were just three months left for Mahesh to put together a brand new celebration.

"I knew going in that it would be an extremely challenging task," Wong says. "But because of [Nihalani's] confidence the board agreed. And very quickly Mahesh organized his own army of people and put together a fantastic show."

"Though I have several Indian friends, there are many aspects of Indian culture I do not understand. The festival has been an eye-opener. It lets people experience and enjoy the culture of India. I remember wearing Indian costumes and tasting the foods and watching cultural shows. It was wonderful," says Wong. Nihalani received the Asian American Hero Award from the Chamber in 2004 for his "vision and leadership" in organizing the event.

Councilman Richard Lowenthal says the sign of a good leader is the willingness to take the first step forward and act as a role model, and he says Nihalani proved just that when he used his contacts in the Indian community to raise funds for the library and for helping the overall community.

Nihalani remembers going from door to door with a few volunteers to all the Indian houses they knew and collecting money for the library. He recalls telling the Indians, "Every time you go to the library you will see a lot of Indians using the facility. Since we use so much of the city's resources, it's our duty to give back." With the door-to-door campaign, Nihalani raised $25,000 for the library construction.

Nihalani is passionate about raising the level of the Indian community's participation in mainstream activities. He says, in India people aren't involved in many community programs. "It's not part of our lifestyle or our culture," he says. "But here things are different, and we need to adapt and be more inclusive. We need to show others what we are and we need to volunteer."

He says over the past few years he's seen more Indians participating in political activities. He says community involvement can start with simple things like the PTAs and volunteering at the senior centers.

"Mahesh, like any good leader, never takes credit for anything he does," says Lowenthal. "He is the one who's responsible for getting the cricket ground set up in Cupertino. But he brushes aside any credit that comes his way."

And true enough, Nihalani downplays his role in setting up the cricket field. "The California Cricket Academy is the passion and vision of the Hemant and Kinjal Buch. I love the game too and just helped the couple with the city work," he says with a dismissive wave.

But Nihalani's efforts are having an enduring effect on this community.

Cupertino City Manager Dave Knapp says, "When Mahesh puts his name to something, you can be assured that it will work. He is an outstanding contributor. It is because of him that Diwali has become a lasting tradition in this city."

Nihalani says he has been approached about running for a public office. But he says he knows it would be a huge commitment in terms of time and effort. "I don't know," he says. "I still haven't made up my mind."

For now Nihalani would rather focus his energies on the next big community project he has taken on. He is the chairman for the 25th anniversary celebration coming up later this year for the city's senior center. "This is a huge event and I just want to do a good job," he says.