The Indian Panorama

Tag: NY City

  • FIA and Indian American community held a commemorative celebration to mark the historic announcement of Garba’s Inclusion in UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage List

    FIA and Indian American community held a commemorative celebration to mark the historic announcement of Garba’s Inclusion in UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage List

    TIMES SQUARE, NY CITY (TIP): Times Square reverberated with the beats and music of ‘Garba’ as members of the Indian-American community performed the traditional Gujarati dance at the iconic New York City destination to celebrate its inclusion in UNESCO’s cultural heritage list.
    FIA NY-NJ-CT-NE along with support from a host of community organizations and Consulate General of India NY, held a commemorative garba celebration at the ‘Crossroads of the world’, – Times Square. The celebration marked the recent inclusion of Garba as an Intangible Cultural Heritage.

    Garba, considered to be among the oldest forms of group dance and longest dance festival spanning 9 nights (Navratri) is a very popular group folk dance form in key states of India including Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan. It has gained sensational liking among the overseas Indian diaspora in countries like the UAE (Dubai), USA, UK, Australia, Canada and many others. This historic, prestigious and distinguished milestone Tag of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity was announced during UNESCO’s 18th session in Kasane, Botswana on December 6th 2023. The leading organization for this initiative, the Federation of Indian Associations NY-NJ-CT-NE (FIA) extended an open invitation to the entire Indian American community to join in this momentous celebration at Times Square, NYC which was supported by Consulate General of India NY. Free transportation, complimentary refreshments and participation certificates shall be provided for all performing attendees. The event was a spectacular showcase of the rich cultural heritage of Gujarat as attendees donned traditional Garba attires. The vivid colors and intricate designs of their attire were a sight to behold, and one could feel the energy and pride emanating from them as they represented their culture on a global platform. The atmosphere was electric with excitement and anticipation, and it was clear that everyone was thoroughly enjoying themselves.

    In addition to the Federation of Indian Associations NY-NJ-CT-NE, the event was made possible through the support and collaboration of esteemed partner organizations, including the Consulate General of India, New York, GANA, BJANA, Siddhivinayak Temple USA, Times Group, Aaj Tak, The Indian Panorama, EBC Radio, The South Asian Times, AUM Dance Academy, Parikh WorldWide media, TV Asia, ITV gold, World BB TV, New India Abroad, The Indian Eye, Radio Zindagi, and Radio Dil.

  • July Fourth Travel Advisory

    July Fourth Travel Advisory

    AAA predicts Friday travel times will be up nearly 30 percent over normal

    NEW YORK (TIP): AAA predicts a record-breaking Independence Day holiday weekend. The travel experts at the auto club estimate 43.2 million people will drive to their destinations, an increase of 2.4 percent over 2022, with another 7.5 million people traveling by air. They also predict that Friday will be the busiest day on the roads during the Independence Day holiday weekend — pushing average travel times up nearly 30 percent over normal.

    No wonder — a Tuesday Fourth of July makes it enticing to put together an extra-long weekend. Also, gas prices are well below what they were one year ago. The national average for regular gasoline ranges from $3.50 – $3.60 a gallon, far lower than the fearsome price of $4.80 on July 4, 2022, AAA reported. “We’ve never projected travel numbers this high for Independence Day weekend,” Paula Twidale, Senior Vice President of AAA Travel, said in a news release. “What this tells us is that despite inventory being limited and some prices 50% higher, consumers are not cutting back on travel this summer.” INRIX, which provides AAA with transportation data and insights, estimated best and worst times for the five days leading up to the Fourth.

    Thursday: Before noon will be the best travel time, with the worst between 4-6 p.m.
    Friday: Best travel time before 10 a.m. or after 6 p.m.; worst from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
    Saturday: Best travel time before noon. Worst: 1 p.m.
    Sunday and Monday: minimal impact on traffic expected
    As a bonus, they predicted that on the holiday Tuesday the best travel times will be before 11 a.m. or after 6 p.m. and the worst will be noon – 3 p.m. Travel on July 5 will be best before 2 p.m. and worst from 3-6 p.m. The absolute worst traffic congestion in the metro area will be on the Garden State Parkway heading to Jersey Shore at 5 p.m. Friday, they said: 64 percent longer than usual.

    “As the weekend approaches, we remind all drivers to stay awake, aware and sober, and to ensure every passenger is buckled up,” said Cathy Chase, president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety. “Watching fireworks with friends or taking a family vacation should be a blast and not a bust due to a preventable crash.”

    Last week, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released its first projections for traffic fatalities in 2023, estimating that 9,330 people died in traffic crashes in the first three months of the year, which is on track to total close to 40,000 deaths this year, she said.

    “We cannot and should not continue to tolerate this deadly toll on our roads. While we urge everyone to drive safely on this busy extended weekend, we also call on our Nation’s leaders to complete the vehicle safety rulemakings mandated in the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA, Pub. L. 117-58) and other overdue statutorily mandated advances without further delay.”
    (Source: Patch)