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Ethnic flavour on display at I-Day fete in U.S.

Indians in America walking in a parade as part of the Independence Day celebrations in New York on Sunday. — PTI

Fremont Aug. 18. Despite high temperature, thousands thronged the streets of Fremont to watch Hindi film star Dharmendra lead a parade marking India's 57th Independence Day.

The parade on Sunday, which included bands, dance troupes and floats depicting various Indian States, including Jammu and Kashmir, was part of the two-day India Festival which attracted about 50,000 visitors.

Three Indian-American organisations, who have in the past hosted separate festivals, came together this year to hold one big event that reached out to a broader Indian community and garnered support from Indo-Americans all over San Francisco and Bay Area, said Yogi Chugh, spokesman for the Federation of Indian American Association (FIAA). ``The festival has been growing and this year has been very successful,'' said Romesh Japra, a cardiologist who started the original festival in Fremont 11 years ago.

India Festival, which attracted 5,000 people in its first year, has grown from strength to strength to emerge as one of the largest display of Indian culture in the United States.

This year, the event included a two-day mela showcasing Indian dance and music, cuisine, handicrafts and garments. While the aroma of Indian food, the sights of mehendiwalis and the sounds of dholki briefly transported Indians back home it provided the American community an opportunity to take part in the Indian cultural experience.

The event also included a health fair, offering an opportunity for the attendees to seek medical advice from numerous Indian-American physicians.

A report from New York said Indian-Americans across New York and the adjoining states of New Jersey and Connecticut celebrated the Independence Day with parades, cultural programmes and debates.

Thousands of people watched impressive floats depicting various facets of Indian life at the main event organised in Manhattan on Sunday. The prime attraction was a float specially devoted to Jammu and Kashmir, its multi-ethnic and multi religious culture. Representatives of all communities from the state waved at the crowd as placards in English, Hindi and Urdu proclaimed secularism of India. — PTI

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