Desi weddings are always a grand affair. The gala ceremonies are full of colour and energetic performances from guests, dancers and also the bride and groom.

Never short of drama, big fat Indian weddings Sometimes go over-the-top to create epic moments of laughter.

In most Indian weddings, the most awaited and celebrated part of the event is the procession, which is incomplete without Bollywood songs and a lot of dancing.

But what if the procession takes place on a busy street thousands of miles away in a foreign country? Can the same pomp and gaiety be experienced there as well?

One Indian wedding party was filmed dancing to hit Bollywood tracks on a busy New York City street along with their American friends. Dressed in traditional attire, the Indian-American wedding groove across Broadway.

A footage of the grand procession, shared on Instagram by user Suraj Patel, shows a large crowd dancing to Bollywood songs. Most of the men were wearing pink turbans.

The post was captioned: “My heart is so full, for my family to have all been here for such an incredible occasion for my brother’s wedding, so much love and energy on the streets of NYC.”

While the clip has collected more than 11k views on Instagram, it has also irked some users who said the procession caused inconvenience to the public.

A user wrote, “Is it anything to proud of???”
“Meanwhile the patient waiting in an ambulance, the kid being late for exams and people being late to work Must feel good to encroach public property and deny equal access to all. Always need that special treatment by pulling the string. Classic” wrote another.

“Stop this nonsense. You are destroying the image of Indians collectively. Have you not heard the saying “Be a Roman in Rome” . If you are so much interested in celebrating a wedding- the INDIAN WAY, Just come to India n do it. Why create such public nuisance!!” wrote another.
What do you have to say about such wedding celebrations?

An Indian-American entrepreneur couple has donated 1 million dollars to fund the manufacturing lab at the University of Houston College of Technology in Sugar Land. Brij Agrawal, an alumnus of the varsity, and his wife Sunita are funding the lab, which includes 3D printers, machine tools, measuring test equipment, etc. The varsity will name the building’s ground floor auditorium, the Brij and Sunita Agrawal Auditorium, in the couples’ honour.

Indian Americans account for over one per cent of the country’s population and have one of the highest per capita incomes among ethnic groups.

While they are concentrated in some of the major states like New York, New Jersey, California, and Texas, their votes might turn out to be decisive in case of close races in the states of Florida, Atlanta, and Pennsylvania.

The Foundation for India and Indian Diaspora Studies (FIIDS), a US-based non-profit institution for policy research and awareness, launched the #IndoAmericanVotesMatter campaign to increase the participation of American voters in the US 2022 elections.

On this launch, Professor Ved Nanda, a distinguished law professor at Denver University and a FIIDS advisor said: “As an immigrant minority, it is not only a civic duty, but it is also imperative for Indo-Americans to vote in the elections to get their voice heard.”

FIIDS said it encourages more participation in the election to augment Indo-Americans’ influence on policy matters.

“Both Democrats and Republicans should recognise the importance of Indo-Americans as they are concentrated in critical races spanning states such as Florida, Georgia, Arizona, Virginia, New Jersey, Texas, and California.”

“This campaign targeted outreach to leaders of 1000 Indo-American organisations to propagate this message to their two million members. We are also launching media advertisements and social media campaigns,” said FIIDS director Khanderao Kand.

“It is important for Indo-Americans to participate in the electoral voting process to ascertain our rights, especially many issues of religiophobia and discrimination against Indo-Americans and a negative campaign against India,” emphasised Dr Sampath Shivangi, chairman of the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPIO) and a patron of FIIDS.

In another development, HinduPACT announced the launch of its HinduVote.org website to help voters select Federal candidates based on their support for issues that are important to the Hindu diaspora.

The comprehensive website, the first of its kind in the history of the American Hindu community, consists of a location-based listing of candidates for the House of Representatives and US Senate, biographical and social media details of the candidates, responses from the candidates on a Hindu-focused questionnaire, and HinduPACT’s assessment of legislative votes that are deemed of importance by the incumbents and federal candidates.

The website uses the power of crowdsourcing to express the sentiment of the Hindu community by providing the constituents with an opportunity to rate the candidates based on the positions they have taken.

“The American Hindu community is peaceful, affluent and productive. They are, in many ways, the model community in any society in which they reside. They have held massive economic power in their hands for some time now. This HinduVote initiative is the first step in claiming the political power that they should have been afforded a while ago,” said Rakhi Israni, director of Legal for Hindu Pact.

According to Ajay Shah, convener of HinduPACT, there are six million Hindus in America and an additional six million followers of dharmic traditions (Buddhist, Jain and Sikhs).

“Conservatively, we estimate that around five per cent of the voters are the followers of dharmic traditions,” he said.

“In battleground states and in close races elsewhere, these voters can decisively impact the outcome. HinduVote.org is a community resource to inform and educate the Hindu community and to ensure a Congress that understands, respects and fulfils the aspirations of the American Hindu community,” Shah said.

“As the fastest growing immigrant population in the US amongst all religious groups, American Hindus now constitute one of the most decisive voting groups in at least five states. That means many close Senate races will be decided by the Hindu voter. Because of concentrated voters in many districts, a lot more House seats will be decided by Hindu voters. HinduVote.org will change the way constituents evaluate, engage with and ultimately vote for candidates,” said Utsav Chakrabarti, HinduPACT executive director.