Music, dance, fun and frolic marked the three-day ‘Chalo India 2018’ at the New Jersey Expo Center in Edison, New Jersey that concluded with a lively performance by popular singer Papon and others.
Close to 50,000 people came over three days from Aug 31 to Sept 1, to enjoy ‘Chalo India 2018’, dancing and singing to the music into the early morning hours, savoring Indian food and shopping for Indian clothes and jewelry.
Organizers told the event was a “roaring success” considering it was the first Chalo India event hosted by the Association of Indian Americans in North America (AIANA), a non-profit which was founded in 2005, and began holding Chalo Gujarat festivals since 2006, News India Times reported.
Assam’s Angaraag Papon Mahanta or Papon, who lent his voice in many film songs in many languages, enthralled the audience with his beautiful rendition.
“Very happy to perform at the ‘Chalo India’ convention in New Jersey! It was really great vibes there and kudos to the organization for pulling something off so big so neatly!,” Papon twitted.
Many attendees, including kids, took to the floor dancing garba, dandia, and singing the tunes. Food stalls and shopping areas were full, as were the various exhibits at the event.
Booths of Tourism departments from several states including Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Goa and Andhra Pradesh were set up.