Joined by some fabulous Bollywood besties, PETA India celebrated its 10th birthday last week with a gala, at which vegan delights abounded and awesome melodies sounded. The event, which was sponsored by Nahar Group with associate sponsorship by Hello Basmati Rice, was hosted by superstars and longtime PETA supporters John Abraham, Hema Malini, Anoushka Shankar, Raveena Tandon Thadani, and photo ace Atul Kasbekar. The epic event featured performances by top santoor player Rahul Sharma, Ash Chandler and IshQ Bector . Special messages from rock star Bryan Adams and actor Pamela Anderon – who were unable to attend the event – were aired.

The party was attended by the who’s who of tinsel town: Celina Jaitly, Amisha Patel, Rahul Dev, R. Madhavan, Anju Mahendru, Gulshan Grover, Aarti and Kailash Surendranath, Priya Amiri, Leena Mogre , Jatin Kampani, Shibani Kashyap and Shahid Kapur – who was presented with this year’s "Asia’s Sexiest Vegetarian" award.

It is thanks largely to our friends and supporters like yourself that PETA India has been able to accomplish so much for animals over the past 10 years. Animals have been freed from laboratory cages, elephants have been liberated from chains, and thousands of people have discovered that the most powerful thing they can do to save animals is to leave them off their plates.

The following are just a few of the achievements that PETA India celebrated:

• After PETA exposed cruel conditions at the National Institute of Virology, 39 animals were taken from the laboratory to a rehabilitation centre.

• A PETA campaign led to a ban on the entry of elephants into the city of Mumbai. Since then, 15 other states have passed similar regulations preventing elephants from entering cities.

• A petition drive, backed by many Bollywood stars, resulted in an order prohibiting the use of bullocks to pull heavy oil tankers in Mumbai.

• PETA has rescued 67 lions, tigers, and other animals from five circuses.

Guests were treated to a delectable vegan menu created by Simran Kodesia, along with a team of chefs from the Trident Hotel. What’s more, every attendee also received a gift bag full of vegan goodies, including vegan chocolates by Fantasie; vegan cosmetics by Omved, Oriflame, Surya Brasil, The Nature’s Co., and Onyx; Amar Medicos clove gel toothpaste; and soya milk pouches by Staeta. The ladies also received gorgeous faux-leather handbags by Cherry Berry.

"If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be vegetarian." – Sir Paul McCartneyNarrated by and starring Sir Paul McCartney, petaDishoom's shocking new video “Glass Walls” takes its inspiration from the most well-known quote in the animal rights movement and offers a brief and horrific glimpse behind the walls of slaughterhouses, factory farms, live-animal transport and the fishing industry.

Billions of individual animals are violently killed for their flesh every year – whilst others spend almost their entire lives confined to filthy, cramped conditions, where they are forced to produce seemingly endless supplies of eggs or gallons of milk. This video is only a few minutes long, but most animals endure abuse like this for their entire lives. "Glass Walls" is a must-see video for meat-eaters and vegans alike: ask yourself, "If slaughterhouses had glass walls, would I go vegan?" Watch the video, take the pledge to go veg and then share this video on Facebook, Twitter, Orkut, Mixx, Indianpad.com, and anyplace else you can think to share it. Animals are depending on you.

Think you'd look cool in that leather jacket? How cool would you feel if you knew that you could be wearing the skin of a baby goat or even a dog? Millions of animals, including zebras, bison, water buffaloes, boars, deer, kangaroos, elephants, eels, sharks, dolphins, seals, walruses, frogs, crocodiles, lizards, and snakes are slaughtered every year for the global leather industry.

A large percentage of imported crocodile shoe leather and other items made from wildlife comes from endangered, illegally hunted animals. Humane treatment is not a priority for poachers and hunters who deal in the dirty exotic leather trade. Many animals are boiled and skinned alive just so that others can wear their skin.The world is brimming with viable and fashionable alternatives to animal skin. Compassionate companies like H&M have agreed not to sell exotic skins and are sending a clear message that they are not and never will be involved with the barbaric exotic skins industry. By shedding exotic skins from your wardrobe, you'll be sending a powerful message not only to the cruel exotic skins industry but also to designers, retailers, and others who directly profit from the suffering caused by this cruel business. Want to do more to help the animals harmed by the exotic skins trade? Share "Cold-Blooded Horrors" with everyone you know on Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace and post the video on your personal Web pages using the code above.