Jai Hind!

Woo hoo!! 60 years of independence from the Brits. Go team! Here’s a list of events around the globe commemorating the day.

New York: To commemorate the big day, the ubiquitous Aishwarya Rai will be immortalized at Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum on August 15^th, making her the first Indian to be showcased in the New York location. Although Aishwarya will not be there in person, the unveiling will feature a Bollywood dance performance to celebrate the event. On Sunday August 19^th, Bollywood babe Priyanka Chopra will lead the parade as Grand Marshall with Johnny Lever as chief guest. The parade starts at noon heading north on Madison Avenue at 23^rd Street making its way up to 41^st.

Dallas: On Saturday the 18^th, Texans can celebrate independence at Anand Bazaar. With over 140 booths, the Anand Bazaar at Lone Star park, will feature arts and crafts, dance performances, a parade and fireworks (sparkles!) and of course deeeeeeelicious desi food.

Chicago: The India Day Parade will start on Devon Avenue on Sunday August 18 at 12 noon. Guests include Indian astronaut Sunita Williams, actress Mausmi Chaterjee. After the parade, revelers can look forward to a super festive mela at Warren Park.

Edinburgh: A day long festival of Indian dance, music, and food will take place at Ross Bandstand on August 18th. Revelers will see get to see a Kathakali dance extravaganza, watching as dancers perform traditional Hindu epics. In addition, Orkestra del Sol and the Drumaoban Highland Dancers will give a performance, while the Scottish-Indian Arts Forum will hold a Bhangra and ceilidh dance in front of the bandstand.

London: In addition to the numerous festivities as part of the India Now festival, the city also offers activities for the more intellectually minded. Until October 7^th, check out “The Countdown to Freedom” exhibit at the British Library. The exhibition includes newspapers, leaflets, posters, and other material, (much of it banned by the British at the time) relating to the Indian freedom movement.

Berlin: Until August 15th, celebrate all things Bollywood with the Bollywood at the Babylon Theater film fest. The movie theater will be featuring classics such as Umrao Jaan, as well as Hum Tum,Bunty aur Babli, and the debut of Guru, starring Abishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai or as we like to call them Abiwarya. And if all else fails, you can always crack open a Kingfisher, rent Gandhi and have your own little independence day celebration.

“You must be the change you want to see in the world”. – Mohandas “Mahatma” Gandhi

Cross Pollination

As most desis already know, India is not all monkeys and elephants, Bollywood and dancing girls. Here’s your chance to show all your non-desi friends everything India has to offer.

Starting today August 10^th, ICM (one of the top talent agencies in L.A.), MGLOBAL Trust, UCLA, and Artwallah, L.A.’s premier South Asian arts organization will present India Splendor, a distinctly unique festival focusing on the subcontinent’s contributions to arts, spirituality, technology, and business.

Some of the highlights include a screening of Shah Rukh’s new movie Chak De, a tribute to Raj Kapoor, a screening of Gandhi, followed by a Q & A with Sir Ben Kingsley, a Suneet Varma fashion show, and an interactive all day art workshop with various Indian artists where viewers will be able to watch the painters as they create. The resulting works will be sold by silent auction.

The 6-day festival, themed “Heritage, Holistic, and Hi-tech”, aims to show audiences a “vibrant new India” as well create collaborations between the L.A. and Mumbai film industries.

Hmmmm, does this mean Abishek might become the new Brad Pitt??

To buy tickets, visit www.indiasplendor.com