Former US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti headlined the first event ever hosted at the Consulate General of India at the AON Center in downtown Los Angeles, an evening that highlighted the expanding strategic and cultural ties between Los Angeles and India.
Photo: Garcetti won hearts spontaneously joining in dance moves onstage to the Oscar winning song ‘Naatu Naatu.’
Organized by India International Impact and the California India Chamber of Commerce, the gathering drew a largely American mainstream audience of civic business and cultural leaders.
Garcetti joined entrepreneur Gunjan Bagla, CEO of Amritt Inc. in a fireside chat that reflected his deep personal affinity for India. “India taught us how to calculate how to worship and how to think,” Garcetti said, calling the country a place of endless opportunity and describing the bilateral relationship as a triumph of bridges over brinkmanship.
Consul General of India in Los Angeles K J Srinivasa outlined the theme of the evening, ‘LA and India Rising Skyward Together,’ describing it as not merely aspirational but reflective of a powerful reality. He said India stood at the cusp of historic transformation and that the growing partnership with Los Angeles was driven by strategic convergence rather than coincidence.
Last updated: May 11th, 2026
