New York City’s Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani has roots in Odisha, known here

Bhubaneswar: New York City’s Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani has roots in Odisha. Believe it or not this is true.

Zohran’s mother and famous filmmaker Mira Nair, who is best known for her films like ‘Kama Sutra: A tale of love’ (1996), ‘Salaam Bombay’, ‘Wedding monsoon’ etc. was reportedly born in Odisha. She was born on 15 October 1957 in Rourkela. She studied at the Ispat English Medium School, Rourkela.

Mira grew up in Rourkela and Bhubaneswar. Mira’s father, Amritlal Nayar, was an IAS officer. Mira’s father played a key role in the establishment of the Rourkela Steel Plant in 1950.

The Nayar Chhack in Rajgangpur has been named after Meera Nayar’s father Amritlal Nayar. Even, the Nayar Stadium located in Government College, Sundargarh has been named after him.

Zohran’s father Mahmood Mamdani is also of Indian origin. Zohran came to New York with his parents at the age of 7. His father is a professor at Columbia University. Her mother, Mira Nayar, is a famous filmmaker.  Mira Nayar has never forgotten her roots. Rourkela is still in her memories today.

Zohran Mamdani has been elected as the mayor of New York City, becoming the youngest mayor in over a century. He defeated independent candidate Andrew Cuomo and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa. Mamdani is of South Asian descent, born to Indian-American filmmaker Mira Nair and Ugandan scholar Mahmood Mamdani. He is the first person of South Asian descent, but not the first African-American. Mamdani is also the youngest person to hold the office in over a century.

After Zohran elected as the mayor of New York, there is now a discussion about his Odisha links.

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