New York: ‘Times Square’ in New York, USA, echoed with the tune and music of ‘Garba’ when the people of the Indian-American community included it (Garba) in the cultural heritage list of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). After joining, performed traditional Gujarati dance here. A large number of expatriate members from the New York tri-state area including New Jersey gathered for Garba in Times Square amid the bitter cold late Thursday evening.
Earlier this week, UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage inscribed ‘Garba of Gujarat’ on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity during its 18th session in Kasane, Botswana. Here women and men danced wearing traditional Garba attire, tourists from all over the world stopped there to watch and capture it on camera. During this, some spectators were seen dancing to the tune of Garba and ‘Dhol’.
Addressing the community at the Times Square festival, Dr Varun Jeff, Acting Consul General of India in New York, said that this is an important and historic occasion as we celebrate the Garba of Gujarat. He said that Garba has been included in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list.
#WATCH | The Indian-American community, along with the Federation of Indian Associations NY-NJ-CT-NE (FIA) held a celebration at Times Square in New York on 7th December to mark the historic announcement of Garba's Inclusion in UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage List. pic.twitter.com/GTf73vruMo
— ANI (@ANI) December 8, 2023
Federation of Indian Association (FIA) President Ankur Vaidya described the occasion as ‘historic’ and said the Indian-American diaspora is fond of the Garba art. “We are extremely grateful to UNESCO for recognizing (this) ancient art,” he said.