In India, we may not have begun celebrating the 60th anniversary of Indian Independence, but London Mayor Ken Livingston seemed determined to prove that he is more Indian than most Indians. On Tuesday, he launched ‘India Now’, the biggest festival of India ever held abroad with a replica of the Taj Mahal perched on an iron barge floating in the river Thames.

Throughout this summer London will hold a series of over 1,500 events dedicated to Indian art, film, food, theatre, music, fashion, and business. It will involve over 200 cultural organisations, including some of the UK’s biggest museums. London will be stormed by Bollywood’s biggest stars, India’s top musicians, dancers and painters.

Events will happen right in the heart of London, converting places like Trafalgar Square and Regent’s Street to mini-India for a day. Over one million visitors and Londoners are expected to take part in this celebration of Indian culture.

Present with Livingston on the river Thames were some of the biggest cultural icons that India could present to London—Rahul Dravid, Shilpa Shetty, fashion designer Manish Arora, actor Joanna Lumley and London’s celebrity chef Atul Kochar. Rahul Dravid interrupted his morning practice session to support India Now. “Showcasing India in this way will give people a chance to see what India is about,” he said, “such kind of events help people to understand each other.”

Livingston, whom Margaret Thatcher once demonised as the leader of Loony Left, was forthright in his well-known anti-imperialist views. “The old British Empire did not allow the Indian economy to develop in a way it should have been. Imperialism damaged the economies of India, Asia and Africa massively. That world is gone now. India is just catching up the ground that it was not allowed to occupy during that long dark night of imperialism.” Livingston said the event is more about informing Londoners of the colourful diversity and richness of India and the enormous opportunities it offers to London.

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