NEW YORK—The New York Indian community celebrated the 62nd anniversary of India’s Independence from Britain with a parade and festival on Sunday. Sunday’s parade was the 29th annual India Day Parade.
The four-hour event began with a colorful parade along Madison Avenue and ended with Indian food and Bollywood style dance in Madison Square Park.
The parade presented Indian progress and unity to the many diverse ethnic communities in New York.
“I think it is one of the biggest parades this year, it’s really different—it’s full of fun, lot of entertainment this year”, said Rupno Mehta, wife of the executive vice president of the Federation of Indian Associations (FIA). The FIA organized the parade.
Throughout the parade, Indian dancers and men and women dressed in traditional Indian clothing made for many a smile for parade watchers.
The majority of the floats were from commercial organizations serving the Indian community. Airlines, TV networks, banks and Indian businesses marched along with political figures, human rights organizations, a handful of religious groups and cultural organizations.
Excited fans along the parade route screamed at superstar Jay Sean and shouts of “Jai Hind” (Long Live India) were heard throughout the event.
A man who said he has lived in the U.S. for three years, came from New Jersey to see the event. He said that Bollywood culture is “Part and parcel of every day life.”
Mayor Bloomberg and City Comptroller William Thompson marched at the front of the parade along with actress Reshma Shetty, star of the new TV series “Royal Pains.” Shetty was the Grand Marshal of the parade.
Some in the crowd had not forgotten that Bollywood megastar Shah Rukh Khan, known as the “Indian Tom Cruise” was detained at Newark airport on Friday because his name came up on a Homeland Security alert list.
“What happened in the airport is unfortunate and we need to pay attention to that, we have to be more sensitive to what happened”, said Upendra Chivukula, a parade viewer, he added that, “We [the Indian community] made a lot of progress, but we need to make more progress because there are a lot of sensitivities that are affiliated with after 9/11.”
British born singing star Jay Sean echoed this sentiment by reminding the crowd to respect all cultures.
The India Day Parade began at noon and the parade route went from 41st Street to 28th Street on Madison Avenue.
