Hindu Navratri Festival Celebrated in Jersey City Streets for First Time

September 26, 2003

Source: The Jersey Journal

http://www.nj.com/news/jjournal/index.ssf?/base/news-1/106457104751082.xml

On September 26, 2003 The Jersey Journal reported that thousands were expected to attend a public Navratri celebration in Jersey City's "Little India" neighborhood. The paper reported that this year would mark the first time the festival would be celebrated in the streets in the United States: "The local Indian community usually holds the festival in a temple or hall, but this year organizers will be allowed to close off Newark Avenue between Kennedy Boulevard and Tonnelle Avenue for their event." According to the 2000 Census, there are nearly 13,000 Asian Indians in Jersey City. "'Because of the growing Asian Indian population in Hudson County and Jersey City, we decided to do something in our own community,' said [Raju] Patel, who is also president of the Govinda Sanskar Center, a Hindu temple in Little India and a sponsor of the event."