Skip to main content

Informal atmosphere at the Pioneer Day parade in Salt Lake City

By Rajiv Shah 
Currently in Salt Lake City, which hosted Winter Olympics 2002, and will again host them in 2034, it quite a spectacle to watch the Pioneer Day parade just about half a mile from where we currently live. 
The parade marks the foundation day of Utah State of the US, and the city happens to be its capital. 
It was very informal, with people sitting on folding chairs, squatting on ground, many of them underneath the small makeshift canopies they had installed -- all on two sides of the road along a small park and the huge library on the side.
There was virtually no security, I could see no cops pushing people to one or the other side, though there was traffic police at a crossroad nearby to ensure people crossed the road without any difficulty, even as allowing smooth movement of the very has running trams (they call them metro). 
Some people -- mostly families with children -- who perhaps had come from other areas of the State had put up their rents in the garden, and were living in there from the previous night. We stood one the other side along the footpath, clicking photographs on our mobile phone.
Ironically, I couldn't spot any Indian looking person watching the parade. There were, however, four Sardarjis who were distributing  mineral water bottles, telling people, "Hydrate yourself..." This despite the fact that one can spot Indians on streets, though they are still very few of them in the city.

Comments

Post a Comment

NOTE: Hateful, abusive comments won't be published. -- Editor

TRENDING

The making of a self-made woman: How eighty sheep changed everything for Kalawati Ninama

By Vikas Meshram*  About forty-two kilometres from Rajasthan's Banswara district, in the tribal heartland of Ghatol block, lies the small village of Ubapana. This is where Kalawati Ninama, her husband Dhulji, and their four children make their home. Their days unfold much like those of their neighbours—bustling mornings, long hours of farm labour through the afternoon, and evenings spent tending livestock. For this family, farming and livestock were once simply a means of putting food on the table. Today, they have become the sturdy foundation of something far greater: genuine self-sufficiency.
Post a Comment
»

Ahmedabad world’s least climate resilient major city: AlphaGeo study

By Rajiv Shah  A new study has ranked Ahmedabad as the least climate-resilient major city in the world , highlighting a dangerous gap between the city’s extreme physical vulnerability to climate hazards and its capacity to adapt. Cited by The New York Times , the analysis, conducted by geospatial artificial intelligence firm AlphaGeo , places the Indian city at the top of a list of global urban centres most exposed to climate risk.
Post a Comment
»

India has spent billions on skilling. Where are the jobs?

By Vikas Gupta   India loves the photograph of a certificate ceremony. A minister on a stage. A banner bearing the word “skill.” Young people holding folders that promise a future. It is a reassuring image because it tells us the problem has a manageable answer: train the young, make them job-ready, and work will follow.
Post a Comment
»