Speaking on the occasion, Shri Ravindra Singh said that India enjoys close and cordial relations with South Africa and that India’s links with the struggle for freedom and justice in South Africa date back to the period during which Mahatma Gandhi started his Satyagraha movement in South Africa over a century ago. Against the background of India’s consistent support to the anti-apartheid struggle, there has been a steady consolidation of our close and friendly ties with South Africa, both bilaterally and through the trilateral IBSA Dialogue Forum.
To mark the occasion of 20 years of end of apartheid regime and the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and South Africa subsequent to the formation of the democratic government in South Africa, Ministry of Culture in collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs and the Embassy of India in Pretoria are organizing the Festival of India in different cities in South Africa.
The Festival of India is a gesture of friendship between India and South Africa, an exchange of culture and ideas; it revisits history and historical alliances between these two great countries. It is a celebration between the people of South Africa and India. An Indian delegation led by MOS(IC) for Ministry of Culture is proposed to visit South Africa for Festival of India in South Africa beginning from July 18, 2014.
The Festival of India in South Africa covers a wide-range of events showcasing Indian performing arts, photo cricket exhibition, interactive Gandhi-Mandela exhibition, literary festival, food festival and film festival. Ministry of Culture Institutions namely Sangeet Natak Akedemi , Kathak Kendra, National Archive of India, Sahitya Akademi and National Council of Science Museums would be participating in the Festival’s events. In addition, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and Ministry of Tourism would be participating in the Film Festival and Food Festival respectively.
The colourful logo designed for the Festival consists of a handshake - a symbol of trust and friendship that seals a bond between two people, two communities and two nations. The hands are coated in the colours of their respective country. The logo has faces Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi side by side in a circle. The logo is washed in the colours of India and converts it into one single integrated unit that symbolizes inclusiveness and collective force of all.
The Festival of India in South Africa will be celebrated in 8 cities covering Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town and Durban. The classical dance program of Sangeet Natak Akademi, i.e., NRITYARUPA, encapsulates for a new audience the experience of Indian dance as it has evolved in various parts of the country. In so doing, it offers a glimpse of the great mosaic of cultures that constitutes the Indian nation, and demonstrates in a creative, kinetic form, their dynamics in relation to each other. Six dance forms representing the diversity of India's culture have been chosen for this presentation to audiences in South Africa: Bharatanatyam of Tamil Nadu (and the rest of southern India); Kathak, preeminently the dance of northern India; Odissi, from Odisha in eastern India; Manipuri from the north-eastern State of India; Kathakali of Kerala at the southern tip of the Indian peninsula; and Chhau which covers a wide swathe of territory in the eastern States of the Union. One seamless presentation of these dances has been visualized leading to a jubilant finish.
Nrityarupa starts with a Shiva-stuti, a hymnal offering to Lord Shiva, whose dance of Bliss symbolizes the cosmic cycle of creation and destruction. The stuti draws in dancers in pairs representing the six dance forms, which are then demonstrated individually. Finally, at the climax, all the dancers perform together to a uniform rhythm and the soaring melody of a tarana. Here, all the streams merge in a surging demonstration of pure dance and melody. Nrityarupa, thus, has an inherent symbolism. First, it exhibits before the audience the unique yet complementary character of each dance; the individual identity of the separate dance forms is then established; finally, in the celebratory tarana, the entire mosaic comes together, each part uniting with the other. This could be said to be characteristic of the Indian nation which always rejoices in unison, despite the cultural and social differences among its constituent parts.
Posters have been released indicating the Festival’s events by Secretary Culture.
The Ministry of Culture has created a dedicated webpage http://indiaculture.nic.in/FOI for the Festival of India in South Africa. The webpage covers events schedule and the updates as also photographs and video links.
Simultaneously, Secretary(C) released 2 posters for circuit 2 of Festival of India in China to be held from June 27, 2014 to July 18, 2014.
The circuit 2 of the Festival of India in China will be celebrated to mark the occasion of the trilateral summit to commemorate 60th Anniversary of Panchsheel which will be attended by President of China, President of Myanmar and Vice-President of India.
The classical dance program of Sangeet Natak Akademi titled Saptakam is a choreography which unites seven different forms of Indian dance, has grown out of a hymn in the Atharva Veda, one of the four ancient Indic texts encompassing the life of man on earth, enunciating the philosophy of collective living. This philosophy is based on an appreciation of the complementarity of all living beings and the need for mutual understanding and regard in the conduct of our lives. The philosophy finds a reflection in the conceptualization of dance in India’s ancient treatise on the dramatic arts, the Natyashastra, ascribed to the sage Bharata.
The dance festival will be conducted at Beijing, Kunming, Dali and Shenzen.
The other events include Yoga Festival at Dali, Beijing and Shanghai.
Circuit 3 will be held in August 2014 and circuit 4 in November, 2014.
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