A video of New York’s new mayor, Zohran Mamdani, celebrating Diwali has resurfaced on the internet. The video has created a buzz as netizens noticed the Indian-origin Muslim man, whose mother Mira Nair is a Hindu, was wearing a kalawa-like thread on his wrist.

In the video, Mamdani was seen with content creator Komal Nambiar dancing on Bollywood beats. The duo was seen holding a piece of sweet in their hands, and Mamdani was seen wearing what appeared to be ‘kalawa’. It is a red-yellow thread that is worn for protection, as per Hindu rituals.

It was not the first time Mamdani flaunted his Hindu legacy. Last month, Mamdani visited Hindu temples in the American city and said he was “proud” of his Hindu heritage. Mamdani, who is the son of the Indian-American filmmaker Mira Nair, visited Flushing, Queens, to offer prayers at the city’s two temples. During his visit, Mamdani said he was proud of being the first Indian-American mayor of NYC (Elections are scheduled for November 4 this year) and vowed that he would oppose federal immigration enforcement and improve multilingual communication throughout the city.

“I’m proud of my Hindu heritage, I’m proud to be someone who would be the first Muslim mayor of this city, and I’m proud to hold all of those things together,” Mamdani was quoted as saying by NepYork, a New York-based news portal.

“I am proud that I would be the first Indian-American mayor of this city. I am proud of the fact that my mother’s family is Hindu. And I grew up with a keen understanding, whilst myself being a Muslim, what Hinduism means. The stories that I learned, the tradition, the faith, the practices,” Mamdani further told the reporters present there. Even on his victory day on November 4, Mamdani was seen wearing a kalawa on his right hand.