Celebrating 70 years of independence and the deep cultural ties with the UK there is to be a year-long cultural programme between the two countries.
And in the summer it will come to the Festival Theatre as India @ Edinburgh.
A grand reception hosted by Her Majesty the Queen yesterday marked the official start of the India-UK Year of Culture.
HE Mr. Y.K. Sinha, Indian High Commissioner, said “The Year of Culture assumes special significance in light of the 70th Anniversary of India’s independence. These celebrations indeed offer our two countries a unique opportunity of renewing and revitalizing the common threads of our cultural heritage and to enhance our engagement at the people- to-people level. I am hopeful that the partnerships forged during the year between people and organisations in both countries will serve us well in the years to come.”
INDIA @ EDINBURGH
This strand will include some of the best music, dance, theatre and crafts in association with Festivals Edinburgh.
At the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, Teamwork Arts will showcase the Bollywood Musical and possibly the best military band in India today, The Naval Band, whose performances have been enthralled audiences in faraway places such as Rabat, Tokyo, Sydney, Odessa, Istanbul and London.
Theatre includes singer-actress MD Pallavi in her best ever solo performance – a witty, humorous and satirical interrogation of what it is like being a woman in the entertainment industry today, C. Sharp. C. Blunt. Aditya Roy brings his story telling born out of martial arts training in the tale of Gurudakshina. And Kuch Puppet Theatre’s masked production of the eternal story of a child’s thoughts, Pinocchio.
Telling the tale of Majuli, the world’s largest and stunning river island in Assam’s mighty Brahmaputra river, through an evocative narrative of movement, dance, music, and theatre Shilpika Bordoloi celebrates the spirit of Majuli and the intricate bond between people and their land at Edinburgh’s Dance Base.
An evening of Sacred Music @ Traquair House brings together filmmaker and folk singer Shabnam Viramani, Mirasi singer and musician Mukhtiyar Ali, British Indian composer and sarod virtuoso Soumik Datta and Neeraj Arya’s Kabir Café, a band dedicated to taking the timeless verses of Kabir to a young and dynamic India.
Handicrafts and live demonstrations from across India will be displayed at the Assembly Rooms during the August Festivals.
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