FESTIVAL OF INDIA IN THAILAND 2015

Mega festival of music, dance, art, and literature to excite Bangkokians until May

By Lekha Shankar

Last year’s ‘Festival of India in Thailand’ was small but interesting. It dealt with old, classical forms that have connected India and Thailand over the years- the Ramayana, Buddhist rituals, and many others.

This year’s “Festival of India in Thailand” will bring together contemporary and dynamic productions by exciting and path-breaking artists, introducing audiences to the ‘new’ India of the 21st century.

To quote the Indian Ambassador to Thailand HRH Harsh Shringla “The Festival of India in Thailand, running for the second year in a row, seeks to introduce contemporary India to Thailand, while emphasizing at the same time the close ties of history and culture our two countries enjoy.”

The Festival of India also commemorates HRH Princess Mahachakri Sirindhorn’s 60^th birthday.

This year’s Festival is on a much bigger scale, than last year

For starters, the organizers are Teamwork Arts, one of the foremost event-management companies in India, best known for the “Jaipur Literature Festival,” which is today considered one of the largest literary gatherings in the world. This year, a Thai writer and SEAWRITE awardee, Wipas Srithong, was selected to the festival for the first time, and was excited to partake in panel discussions with famous authors from around the globe.

The “Jaipur Literature Festival” is just one of nearly 24 festivals that Teamwork Arts do, in more than 14 countries of the world.

Sanjoy Roy, the dynamo behind the company, launched two new festivals of India, this year- one in Hongkong, and one in Thailand, which started with a brilliant curtain-raiser event, on Feb. 16.

This was a music-performance by the world-renowned Sufi singer Sonam Kalra and her group, the ‘Sufi Gospel Project.’  ‘Sufi’ music is music based on the poems of ancient Sufi poets, who were Muslim by religion.

But Sonam is a Sikh singer, whose band has Hindu, Christian, and Muslim artists.

Her ‘Halleluiahs’ and ‘Oms’ have produced a uniquely new musical sound and genre that have moved audiences around the globe.

Sonam says, “The Sufi Gospel Project is living proof that many different ‘Halleluiahs’ can exist in harmony. It’s a new sound and quite unusual because we’ve blended traditional Indian instruments and sounds with age-old Gospel hymns, Indian texts and prayers. And because of the many languages and musical influences we’ve combined, everyone is able to relate to it.”

In fact the packed hall of the Sasin Auditorium in Chulalongkorn Varsity, had a very mixed crowd of people, who reveled in the singer’s rich sonorous voice and exciting range of musical styles. The singer was accompanied by a brilliant band with a unique range of instruments.

The second outstanding musician to perform, at the Festival, is the vibrant, contemporary singer Raghu Dixit and his band, the ‘Raghu Dixit Project,’ who will give a world-music concert.

The group has wowed audiences at music festivals around the world. They performed at Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee Pageant in 2012.

Dixit, who has a Master’s degree in Microbiology, is a trained Indian classical dancer and a self-taught musician and guitarist. He was awarded the ‘Best Newcomer’ title in the ‘Song lines’ of 2011. Dixit and his band play an amalgam of Indian and Western rhythms. This, together with their ethnic clothes and charismatic style, make them a uniquely exciting contemporary musical ensemble.

Exclaimed Dixit, about his Bangkok-show- “This will be our first time in Thailand, but we have many friends and fans here, and can’t wait to perform! We’ll ensure that the people of Bangkok have a real great time!”

To ensure the audience have a really enjoyable time, the well-known Thai pop band ‘Cocktail’ will also be performing at the concert, including a joint number with the Indian band.

It’s a concert not to be missed, at Central World (Open Air) on Tuesdat, March 10, 6-30 p.m.

Yet another outstanding artiste, who will perform at the Festival of India, is the legendary dancer Daksha Sheth, who with her magnificent troupe,has stunned audiences in nearly every part of the world, from the U.S. to China, Finland, and the Middle East. The group, which includes her Australian composer-husband Devissaro and Bollywood star daughter Isha Sharvani, will enact their much-acclaimed production ‘Sari’. The drama traces the magical mystery and history of the Indian garment, with sensuous style and exotic beauty.

The Daksha Sheth Dance Company will perform on Friday 13 March, at the Aksara Theatre (Pullman Hotel), 6-30 pm.

A special feature of this year’s Festival will be a literary program ‘Words on Water’, with five top contemporary Indian writers. These include Vikas Swarup, the diplomat-writer whose book ‘Q & A’ was translated into the sensational Oscar-winning film ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, Amish Tripathi, the management guru-turned-writer whose ‘Shiva Trilogy’ was one of the fastest-selling book-series in Indian publishing history, noted Indian translator and author Arshia Sattar, Jammu-based spiritual writer  Shailendra Gulati , as well as spiritual  writer Charu Singh, who has written on various  facets of  Hinduism and Buddhism.

The Literary Event will be held on Monday, May 25, at the Main Auditorium, Chulalongkorn University.

There’s also a grand art-exhibition ‘Forms of Devotion’ to be held at the Chulalongkorn University, for two months. The Exhibition features more than 200 works by 100 artists, and deals with continuity and change, as reflected in various faiths and cultures, through a collection of traditional and recent works of art. The mediums are totally mixed- paintings, drawings, collage, video, installations, and sculptures.

The Art Exhibition will be launched in Bangkok, after which it will tour Europe, America, the Middle East, and finally find a permanent space in the specially-built MOSA (Museum of Sacred Art), in Belgium.

The Art Exhibition ‘Forms of Devotion’ will be held at the Faculty of Fine Arts Hall, Chulalongkorn University, from April 27  to May 10.

On the lighter side, there will be an Indian Fun Fair, with a lively performance from the ‘Rajasthan Josh’ folk dance group. They will play an exhilarating mix of Rajasthan music, folk dances, interspersed with Sufi and Punjabi rhythms, creating a vibrant amalgam of many folk forms of music and dance from Western India.

The ‘Rajasthan Josh’ will be held at Thammasat Varsity, on Sunday, march 22, 3 pm onwards.

The Grand Opening of the Festival of India in Thailand will be held on Friday 6 March, at the Grand Millennium Hotel. (By Invitation only)

Called ‘Celebrating Assam’ ,the program is dedicated to the rich culture of Assam, in the exotic North East part of India. This will include a fashion-show of three of their top designers, exhibiting the best of the region’s exotic textiles and jewelry.The fashion show will be interspersed with local music forms, as well as exotic folk dances like the Bihu and Jhumur dances, not to forget their famous Sattriya classical dance.

This focus on the little-known Indian region has been inspired by the visit of Thai Princess HRH Mahachakri Sirindhorn to the North Eastern state of Nagaland, last year.  All in all, it’s a multi-faceted and multi-layered Festival of India in Thailand, which should win new audiences, by the diversity and dynamism of its new-age entertainment.

The Festival of India is being organized by the Embassy of India in Thailand and Teamwork Arts, in cooperation with the Chulalongkorn University.

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For more details, check out:  http://www.indianembassy.in.th,  and http://www.festivalofindiathailand.com