Four-day South Asian art festival in Australia
By IANSTuesday, October 12, 2010
NEW DELHI - The growing cultural links between Australia and South Asia Tuesday received a shot in the arm with the announcement of a four-day South Asian art festival Nov 4-8 at Sydney.
The festival, Parramasala, will be held at Sydney’s diaspora hotspot Parramatta - home to the country’s largest resident Indian community. Musician A.R. Rahman had performed at Parramatta in January.
As part of the festival, an entire street in Parramatta will be converted to resemble a bustling Indian bazaar.
The festival will be an annual event in the country’s culture calendar, an official said.
Announcing the festival in the capital, Australian High Commissioner to India Peter Varghese said: Parramatta will take Australia-India cultural relationship to a new level.
I am sure the people of Sydney will embrace the festival and enjoy the diverse shades of South Asia’s rich culture. More than 90,000 Sydney-siders had watched A.R. Rahman’s spectacular show in January and several hundreds saw sitar maestro Ravi Shankar’s perform at the Sydney Opera House in March, Verghese said.
There is a real appreciation for both traditional and contemporary Indian culture in Australia. Combined with our efforts to promote Australian culture in India, such activities will bring the people of our countries closer, Varghese said.
Parramasala features contemporary music stars like Kailash Kher and Nitin Sawhney and Carnatic music icon Guru Kaaraikudi Mani.
The festival also includes dance performances like Kathak-American tap and Rajasthani folk renditions.
The highlights include Tap Kathak by Indian guru Chitresh Das; Desert Wedding by folk artists from Rajasthan; The Guru of Chai, a new comic play by New Zealand-based Ink Theatre Company of Indian origin; A Million Eyes, a Bharatnatyam collaboration; Chennai Tapes, a musical orchestra and a Deepavali fair.
The festival was announced at a Business Club Australia function - the Australian government’s business programme at the Commonwealth Games 2010 in Delhi.
