Written by: Albert Terc
Photos by: Albert Terc
Billed as the largest parade celebrating Indian Independence outside of India, the 42nd annual celebration began around 1pm on Madison Avenue near 39th Street. Thousands came out to be part of the festive occasion. I have always liked the positive energy the marchers bring to the parade especially the drummers of the group Jallosh. They are a perennial favorite of spectators along the parade route. Pallavi, originally from Maharashtra, India was attending her second parade and mentioned she enjoys watching the Jallosh group as they “closely represent traditional dance and music of Mahasrashta.” She also had family participating in the group, so she was there to cheer them on. They were one of the first large groups to march and set the tone for the rest of the parade with their thunderous boom of the drums and high energy. A similar group, Ehiledar, made an impressive appearance at the parade.
In this decade, India surpassed China to have the largest population on the planet with over 1.45 billion people. It’s quite a task at hand for parade organizers, Federation of Indian Associations, to display the immense diversity India possesses. India has various forms of expression of spirituality through yoga and meditation, Buddhism, gurus, Christians, Muslims, and many others. For the most part all is in an effort to raise awareness and consciousness. With all its many languages and states, the parade brings unity among the expats that come to celebrate the love of country and culture. I met Anand from Mumbai who was attending his third parade. Anand said, ” There is participation from all the states. They are showing all the cultural activities. People are dancing and wearing their flags and just enjoying this day.” There was plenty to celebrate outside of cultural representation. One particular float displayed a replica of lunar lander Chandrayaan-3, which landed on the moon on August 23, 2023 making India the 4th country to land on the moon.
Of course when there’s that big of a house, there’s always going to be some squabbles and tension. And this parade had some tension already at the onset of the parade. Prior to the buildup of the event, some major news outlets were reporting that a particular float might be representing anti-Muslim sentiment. I saw the float at it was an amazing replica of Ram Mandir Temple in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, India. It took over a month and 30 people to build it just for the parade. I didn’t see any anti-Muslim literature or banners although there were protesters following the float on the parade route. Ironically, the biggest anti-Muslim float appeared much later when a life-size cardboard cutout of Donald Trump and some of his supporters waved to the crowd (with very little response). Ravi, originally from Mysore, was visiting from Texas and saw the parade for the first time. I asked him what he thought about the controversy. He said people were making a big deal out of nothing. “India is known for unity and diversity. We welcome all people and all religions. The whole world is one big family”. Amen to that Ravi.
One of the things I really enjoy about this parade is the high energy of the marchers and viewers. You can really see the joy expressed in their faces. More importantly, the passing of ancient traditions from one generation to the next right there on Madison Ave. in NYC, the greatest city in the world. It was a fun time and what’s even better, the parade route ends just a few blocks away from little India where there are some quality restaurants with some delicious food…just turn down the heat for me please.
NYC Parade Life 