Day and Beyond

Redefining Celebration: Indian Independence Day and Beyond

“We do not learn from experience ... we learn from reflecting on experience.” - John Dewey

Mayor Michael A. Soriano

One of the true joys of being Mayor is that I get to celebrate our community each and every day. It is part of my job to revel in the varied and diverse people, histories, and cultures that weave the marvelous tapestry of our township. And yet it is precisely because of our new reality that 2020 has been such a challenging time as well.

COVID-19 has limited so much of our annual festivities. Our days of delight, reflection, laughter, and shared memories have come to an astonishingly abrupt halt. It goes without saying that it’s taken us all by surprise. How do we celebrate? How do we congregate? How do we share what matters to us now and going forward? Thanks to our concerted efforts, we are seeing glimmers of hope that the tide is turning on COVID-19, but not enough to alter our course. And yet, we must continue to recognize that just because our methods of celebrating have changed, our celebrations aren’t any less important or any less meaningful. Even in our social distance, we can still understand that our togetherness, our community, and our history is what makes us truly special, and what makes our community the wonderful place we call home.

This year’s Indian Independence Day Ceremony taking place on August 15 will be very different than what we’ve done in the past to celebrate. Similar to this year’s Memorial Day event, we will be celebrating virtually, featuring speeches from our civic and religious community, along with many public figures from throughout New Jersey. To mark the 73rd anniversary of the world’s largest democracy gaining its independence, we will also be raising the Indian flag at Town Hall for all Parsippany residents to see. This day reminds us that democracy and independence are alive with so many who manifest them, and who seek to spread the message of freedom to the oppressed, vulnerable, and restricted around the world.

While we can’t celebrate our community’s joys hand-in-hand and arm-in-arm, we must continue to mark our occasions with our own joys, and with our own delights. We must remember that while we may not physically celebrate together right now, we will again someday soon. Our festivity and cheer can travel through any boundaries and beyond our limits, as long as we let them.