Dandiya Dance Off Among American, Indian Staff at U.S. Consulate Mumbai

As part of the American Embassy’s celebration of U.S.-India cultural connections and #USIndiaDosti, the U.S. Consulate General Mumbai held a friendly Dandiya match between its American and Indian staff members.

The American staff of the Mumbai consulate enthusiastically prepared extensively for the competition. Their preparations involved visiting Dadar, a suburb in Mumbai, to rent costumes, to watching dance shows and Bollywood movies to take inspiration and practice their moves. Their effort paid, and they won the dance off, the consulate’s Facebook page announced on Sept. 27.

Many social media users, specially Indians, appreciated the effort the American staff made for the event. One Facebook user wrote: “nice to see Americans participating in regional festivals. That’s the spirit. I also like all American festivals like Halloween and Christmas and all festivities. May the spirit of interfaith participation continue.”

Another user wrote: “Full marks to the U.S. CONSULATE TEAM, wasn’t easy but you guys were just fantastic.”

American diplomat Jeffrey Sexton had last week said that the embassy was becoming more and more active in promoting cross-cultural ties.

“The biggest connection that we have now is the size of the Indian diaspora in the U.S.,” he said. “All of the Indians who have connections with the US now… relatives, friends studying in the U.S. and if we just keep building on this wonderful positive connection between the two countries, it adds such an important dimension to our relationship.”

Sexton, the Acting Deputy Chief of Mission, U.S. Embassy, was attending the inauguration of the Badamtola Ashar Sangha Durga Puja and the Great Kolkata Autumn Heritage Festival in New Delhi when he interacted with the media.

“The diaspora is becoming more and more active in the U.S. in promoting these kind of connections (cross-cultural connections)… it is becoming more politically involved in the U.S… you see many of our politicians … United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley… the high profile just highlights once again the diversity of the U.S. as a country and its connections to South Asia and India.”

Sept. 30 is the fourth annual U.S.-India Partnership Day, as recognized in the United States by a bipartisan resolution in the Senate.