In New York, this place used to be my favorite holiday (shopping) destination every June for 3 weeks, and now it’s been 2 and a half years since I came here! Had some really fun times, landing here made me nostalgic Anyway yesterday went into getting over my Jetlag and figuring out what to wear, considering I was in for a shock when I realized upon opening my bag, I had left my kurta back in Bombay, so half my day went into planning and coordinating how the outfit could reach me in time, trying to figure out who I could catch to get the outfit in from Bombay, I HAD to wear an Indian outfit since it was an Indian occasion! We managed to get it in the nick of time with a stewardess who flew in with it, an hour before the event, phew!

Attended a press conference in the midst of this pandemonium… Anyway my day started early, because today is the India Day Parade. I must say I had underestimated it, thought there would be a few thousand people, but this was the mother of all Parades, nearly 70000 people were out on the streets to show solidarity to their motherland. WOW! Was overwhelmed by the response. Quite wonderful to see and felt like I was still in India Appreciated the fact that Mayor Bloomberg and the FIA who keep the Indian culture alive made it possible for this event to happen… Madison Avenue was cordoned off, that’s no mean feat!! Felt proud to represent the South East Asian community in America. It was heartwarming to see that even though Indians have migrated abroad, they still are very Indian at heart. Still wanting to stay in touch with their roots. It was nearly 35 degrees and one of the hottest days but the warmth of the people kept me going. On that note Jai Hind to all you patriotic Indians from this proud Indian. Tired now, will write soon, crashing out now. Take care zzzz

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