Take the “bobbling desis” on sale at one of the festival booths.

You know that bobblehead doll of a famous baseball player on your desk or car dashboard?

Well, that's what these are, except the wobbly caricatures depict prominent cultural figures in India.

For about $10, you can get a figurine of Ghandi, or a miniature Irfan Pathan, of India's national cricket team fame, for example.

As many as 12,000 people packed the Yuba-Sutter Fairgrounds in Yuba City for the daylong festival, organizers said. People came from as far as Canada and New Jersey to visit the city that boasts one of Northern California's largest East Indian populations.

The festival was sponsored by the Punjabi American Heritage Society, a local nonprofit organization formed in 1993 that promotes Punjabi culture.

Also part of the group's mission is to connect American-born Punjabi youths with their cultural roots.

Hence the merging of traditional Punjabi culture - folk dances and music, ornate jewelry and colorful clothing - and American familiarities - booths from Comcast and Mountain Mike's Pizza.

“We want to bridge the gap in the community,” said Tejinder S. Ghuman, one of the founding members of the Punjabi American Heritage Society. “And we want to keep the new generation in touch with their culture and heritage.”