Renowned artists from India will be descending in Israel to participate in a three-week-long cultural festival which has kicked off to commemorate twenty years of Indo-Israel diplomatic relations.
The festival has kicked off with a lot of fanfare here with India enthusiasts descending in large numbers from all over the country to watch a house packed performance by Aditi Mangaldas Dance Troupe.
The festival will be showcasing India’s cultural dynamism, blending classical and contemporary offerings of music, theatre, dance, food, film, literature, arts and crafts, drawing renowned names from various cultural spheres like Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, Sharmila Tagore, Zila Khan, Namita Gokhale, Reba Som, Tarun Tejpal and Urvashi Butalia, besides several other dance, theatre and visual arts group in what would be the biggest Indian cultural festival in Israel till date.
“It was like poetry in flow on the stage. The rhythm and the colours have convinced me to pursue learning Indian dance.
The next three weeks are going to be very busy for me”, Tamar, a young India enthusiast from Jerusalem, who has spent a lot of time in India and plans to learn Kathak, told PTI.
The organisers told PTI that all the tickets for the Chaurasia performance in Jerusalem on May 19 have been already sold out and they are hearing calls of disappointment from his fans in the country who have seen him perform in Israel in the past.
At a reception thrown prior to the formal launch of the festival, attended by several prominent local figures, Israel’s Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz described ties with India as “one of the most important for Israel“.
“It is difficult to imagine that 20 years ago we didn’t have diplomatic relations. Now it is not just diplomatic, but economic, cultural and security ties are so deep and wide that it is one of the most important relations for Israel”, Mr. Steinitz told the gathering. “It has in fact been 20 years of pure celebrations”, he emphasised.
Prominent among those in attendance at the reception included Prof Stanley Fischer, Governor of Bank of Israel, distinguished personalities from Israel’s literary field, AB. Yeshohua and Meir Shalev, and several leading local media persons and business leaders who dubbed it a “unique initiative”.
Israel’s Minister of Science and Technology, Daniel Hershkowitz, watched Mangaldas’ performance and several other Israeli ministers and leading political figures have expressed an interest in attending various cultural events.
