Sunday September 28th, 2014 was the perfect Fall Sunday in New York City. It was like any other Sunday except for the fact that 20,000 Indians swarmed like bees to a honeypot. Madison Square Garden; the legendary venue that has seen the likes of Frazier v/s Ali; Marilyn Monroe and Frank Sinatra; was to witness the first public speech by the Prime Minister of India to the citizens and diaspora of the country he officiates over. Organized by a community organisation; the event was free but the tickets sold out within a day of being open to the general public.

The Zoroastrian Association of Greater New York (ZAGNY) that represents the Zarathushtis of the tri-state area was invited to be one of the Welcoming Community Organisations. This enabled ZAGNY to get coveted seats for its members, before it opened up to the general public.

In inviting the Zarathushtis of the area to be a part of this function; the organizers showed the right mindset and sensitivity to be completely inclusive whatever the size of the community. In a small way it reaffirms the position held by the Parsis, not only in India but in the world Indian diaspora.

Dressed in Garas and Daglis, the Parsis of New York did the community proud. Many in the crowd stopped and recognised the Dagli clad men as Parsis and were so happy to see us participating in this event.  A special thanks goes out to Astad Clubwala, the President of ZAGNY for orchestrating the complex logistics of getting everyone who signed up their tickets in time and with very clear communication. All in all, a proud day for the Indian Diaspora and the Parsi community in New York.

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