The Scottish Indian Arts Forum in its 20th year, is proud to present Dusherra 2014, the largest celebration of the Indian community in Scotland. In the 20 years since its inception, thousands of people from all over Scotland and Northern England have participated in our events and festivals.
Dusherra the flagship event of the Scottish Indian Arts Forum is being held on 5 October 2014 on top of Calton Hill in Edinburgh in a picturesque overlooking the Firth of Forth on one side and providing a birdseye view of Edinburgh town on the other.
Dusherra, one of the largest festivals in India, commemorates a 10 day war between the gods and demons thousands of years ago. It is celebrated with gusto by communities with music, dance, food and a symbolic burning of the Effigies of the demons to celebrate the victory of good over evil.
This year’s cultural programme features a mixture of Scottish and Indian music and dance. The pipes and fiddle performers of Scott Wood Band will be headlining the festival at 5:30 pm with lively Scottish folk music. Indian Classical dancers from Bhartiya Ashram in Dundee will give a traditional feel to the festival at 6 pm. Other performers include Twisted Tails, the tribal belly dancing group, Flamenco performances by Alba Flamenca and the Bollywood band Swaryatra.
We are pleased to have a dedicated children’s marquee with arts and crafts workshop by Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop from 3-5 pm. This helps children understand different cultures and diversity by engaging in activities together. Food stalls provided by the award winning BananaLeaf restaurant in Glasgow and Spice Lounge Kitchen based out of Drumbrae in Edinburgh.
The event culminates in the burning of effigies and the fireworks. Built by the inmates of HM Prison in Saughton, these 25 ft wooden structures are an important activity for the prison in teaching inmates key life skills such as carpentry and decorating. Increasingly these are critical activities for inmates to contribute to the community that they live in and simultaneously build up their own self confidence.
Scottish Indian Arts Forum is very thankful to its sponsors SSE Scottish Hydro and Tata Consultancy Services Limited (TCS). TCS will also have stalls at the event to showcase their Corporate Social Responsibility and Skills Development Initiatives. The close working relationships with these organisations enable us to keep this a free festival for the community in a symbiotic fashion. We are delighted with the continued support of The City of Edinburgh Council and are thankful to all its staff that support us in the event.
Karthik Subramanya, President of Scottish Indian Arts Forum said: “ The 20th year of Dusherra celebrations in Edinburgh is a very special event for us, for a small volunteer led organization this is a remarkable achievement. The whole community looks forward to this event and we hope we can continue to present this event for the next 20 years”
Jim McPhillimy, Managing Director, SSE said: “SSE is committed to working actively in all the communities we serve and we are delighted to support the Scottish Indian Arts Forum’s annual Dusherra celebrations in Edinburgh for the third year running”
Submitted by Karthik Subramanya
