NEW YORK: Zohran Mamdani brought touches of his South Asian heritage to his formal inauguration as this multicultural city's Mayor on New Year's Day.
While acknowledging his parents during his speech, he also gave a shout-out to relatives in Delhi.
He is the son of Mira Nair, a movie director, and Mahmood Mamdani, a Columbia University Professor from Uganda, who claims Indian ancestry.
"Thank you to my parents, Mama and Baba, for raising me, for teaching me how to be in this world, and for having brought me to this city, " he said in his inaugural address on City Hall steps after being sworn in.
"Thank you to my family – from Kampala to Delhi, " he added.
Two of the three Korans that he used to take the oath of office belonged to his grandfather and his grandmother.