A vibrant glimpse of an Indian baraat (groom’s wedding procession) on New York City’s iconic Fifth Avenue has taken social media by storm, drawing a mix of admiration, curiosity, and debate. The video captures a high-energy wedding procession that transformed one of the world’s busiest streets into a spectacle of music, dance, and celebration.
Exemplifying the big fat Indian wedding, Pankti Doshi, a genetic counsellor, and Dr. Avish Jain, a medical journalist and professional singer, elevated their wedding entrance into a full-fledged live performance. Rather than a traditional procession, the duo led their baraat with microphones in hand, singing to Bollywood chartbusters from an open vehicle as the streets filled with Indians in ethnic attire dancing with abandon.
Unlike traditional baraats that rely on DJs or bands, both the bride and groom performed live, with the groom taking the lead on vocals. “When the bride & groom shut down 5th Avenue and live-sing their way into their Baraat and Wedding,” the video was captioned on Instagram by Amrish Patel, a wedding content creator.
Watch the video here:
Notably, events of this scale in New York City are far from spontaneous. Shutting down a major artery like Fifth Avenue involves extensive planning, including multiple city permits and coordination with local authorities such as the NYPD.
As the video continues to circulate, reactions online have been mixed. Many users praised the couple’s creativity and confidence, calling the performance joyful. Others questioned the scale and disruption of such events in busy public spaces.
Notably, Fifth Avenue in Manhattan is a world-renowned, prestigious thoroughfare stretching from Greenwich Village to Harlem, famously hosting luxury shopping, landmarks, and high-end residential areas. Known as a premier shopping destination, it features iconic luxury retailers like Saks Fifth Avenue, Gucci, and Cartier, often ranking among the world’s most expensive streets.
Last year, a similar video went viral when a baraat with nearly 400 people danced on the streets of Lower Manhattan. Dressed in vibrant traditional Indian attire, the group was seen dancing joyously to DJ beats, temporarily transforming the heart of New York’s financial district into a full-blown Indian wedding scene.