Dated: August 21, 2006
FIA: Press Release
RE:  Grand Marshall Amisha Patel's departure from India

FIA regrets the misunderstanding related to the Grand Marshall Amisha Patel, the renowned film star prior to her departure from Mumbai to attend the 26 th Annual India Day Parade in New York City.

FIA believes that the misunderstanding arose when FIA booked 2 First Class seats for Amisha Patel and her companion for Mumbai-New York, NJ flight departing at apprx. 7:00 AM for which Amisha Patel arrived in time at the Mumbai Airport. It has been wrongly reported that she was not booked for First Class travel.

However, FIA had also waitlisted her for the JFK flight and apparently the booking got automatically transferred from one flight to another creating a misunderstanding and confusion. We sincerely regret this confusion and wish to tender out apologies to Amisha Patel and Air India in this matter.

The Federation of Indian Associations is the largest and oldest non-profit umbrella organization covering more than 110 Indian organizations across the tri state area of NY, NJ & CT. representing 300,000 strong, vibrant Indian American Community.

FIA's 26th annual parade on August 20th, 2006 was concluded with great pageantry and fanfare and FIA is proud to have celebrated India's Independence in a grand manner in New York City showcasing India's rich cultural heritage and diversity. We thank Air India and Grand Marshall Amisha Patel once again for supporting FIA and making our event a great success. Amisha Patel has been the most gracious and likeable and all our members are highly appreciative of her.