Charlie Chaplin Birthday Parade

Today marked the 124th birthday of silent film icon Charlie Chaplin who was born on April 16, 1889 in Walworth, South London, England. His birthday is celebrated every year, over 4,000 miles away, in the seaport town of Adipur, Gujarat, India.

Over 100 people participated in a parade to mark the occasion, with canes, bowler hats and Chaplin makeup. The parade includes brass bands, camel carts and open jeeps sporting life-sized cut-out of Chaplin.

“Charlie Chaplin is our hero, said Ashok Aswani, “Every year we celebrate his birthday with a parade.” Aswani is the founder of Charlie Circle, a club that has been celebrating Chaplin’s birthday for 40 years and is no doubt largely responsible for all the Chaplin love in town.

Aswani began the club after he got fired from his job because he missed work when he was lured into a movie theater by a Chaplin poster. He watched all three showing of the film that day and said: “The next day I was sacked from my job for taking the day off without informing the office.” Even though he lost his job, the incident turned him into a lifelong Chaplin fan.