New Delhi, March 9 -- New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani marked Iftar this week at Bungalow, the Manhattan restaurant run by celebrated Indian chef Vikas Khanna - a visit that carried unusual personal significance for both men.

Khanna took to Instagram to share details of the evening, revealing that the two first crossed paths more than two decades ago, when Mamdani was a child of eight accompanying his mother, the filmmaker Mira Nair, to a restaurant in Tribeca where Khanna had just found his footing after a difficult period in his life.

"I had just survived homelessness, left a very abusive job, and started working at Salaam Bombay restaurant in Tribeca. I loved the name - it was also my favourite film by the iconic Mira Nair. One day...