Grand Marshal Vijay Deverakonda and Rashmika Mandanna at the 43rd India Day Parade

By a staff reporter: New York's Madison Avenue will be bathed in Indian colors and aromas this time. The 43rd annual India Day Parade is set to be held on August 17, with Bollywood stars Vijay Deverakonda and Rashmika Mandanna as co-grand marshals. This year's theme is "Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah", which will carry a message of humanity and healing amidst the turmoil around the world.

The Federation of Indian Associations (FIA-NY-NJ-CT-NE) officially announced the parade at the Indian Consulate General in New York. At the event, Consul General of India Vinaya S. Pradhan praised the contribution of FIA and said, “What started with a single float in 1981 has now become the largest India Day celebration in the world.”

Founded in 1970, FIA has been working to promote Indian culture, civic engagement, and strengthen India-US relations. This year, there will be a variety of special events surrounding the festival. Vijay Deverakonda and Rashmika Mandanna have urged people to participate with messages in six languages — Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and English.

CricMax Connect, the title sponsor of this year's Independence Day celebrations, has announced plans to make cricket as popular as football in the United States in the next ten years.

The festivities will begin with a pre-parade weekend on August 15, where the Empire State Building will be illuminated with the tricolor. On August 16, the Indian flag will be raised in Times Square, followed by a special cricket match for the first time. The main India Day Parade will begin at 12 noon on Madison Avenue on August 17. ISKCON NYC's record-breaking Rath Yatra will take over the streets of Manhattan that day. The parade will be followed by the Independence Grand Gala at Cipriani Wall Street.

FIA Chairman Ankur Vaidya said, “Everything in the parade is run by volunteers. This time too, some major collaborations will be announced after the parade.” FIA President Saurin Parikh added, “It is not about money, but about participation in pride; which will show a new chapter.”

This year's India Day Parade will be a unique platform not only for the Indian diaspora, but also to showcase the glory of Indian heritage in the multicultural society of the United States.