With red, blue and white banners reminiscent of old celebrations, comfort foods like cornbread and mac & cheese, and decorations celebrating everything American – the US Embassy marked the 249th anniversary of American independence. For the first time, the celebrations were held at Bharat Mandapam. Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, was the guest of honour.A toast to family and a touch of humourThanking everyone for joining the celebration, Chargé d’Affaires, US Embassy, Jorgan Andrews also made a heartfelt mention of his family. “On a personal note, I would also like to thank my wife, Sara, and my daughter, Dagny, who are visiting from our home in Virginia,” he said, adding, “I don’t know if you recall, but during his campaign for President way back in 2000, George W Bush used to say that behind every successful man stands a very confused and surprised woman – and since the day I have been successful, no one in this room is more surprised than Sara. But I owe any success to her.”Mac & cheese, cornbread & everything AmericanHighlighting the reflection of American spirit and tradition, Andrews added, “We are trying to capture basic Americano – everything from red, blue and white banners, reminiscent of the old celebrations; the basics. Even the menu is a reflection of our homestyle cooking. It is a mix of nuts and berries in recipes with agricultural products from California, all the way to Southern-style comfort foods like cornbread and mac & cheese. These things are unique to certain parts of America, and they resonate with Americans as we celebrate these holidays – as we picnic, as we are in the park, and have fireworks. We are trying to recreate that reminiscent summertime holiday feel, with community, family and friends – with the foods that remind us of home.”‘First US National Day at Bharat Mandapam’The event began with the US Marines presenting the colours. Jorgan Andrews told us, “This is the first time we have come to Bharat Mandapam for our National Day celebrations. If I am not mistaken, this might be the first time that any embassy has done its National Day here… This is our 249th anniversary. Next year, it will be our 250th anniversary, so it’s going to be a really big celebration. We thought, what more fitting place could we choose to celebrate the unity between our countries and our national birthday than this magnificent, impressive facility.”
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