Aiming to showcase vibrant Indian art in the
outlying areas of the country, a two month long Festival of India in South Africa has started here.
"South Africa is no stranger to Indian culture. I see a lot of activity taking place through private and commercial effort - it has almost become a ritual that every month there is
some big artist from India being brought in here for houseful shows," India's High Commissioner to South Africa Virendra Gupta said during the launch of the festival.
Gupta said this was because past efforts of a similar nature have largely been concentrated in the metropolitan centres of South Africa, but this time round, the visiting groups would also go to outlying areas to take Indian arts there.
"But we thought that there must be something done at the government level to showcase not just the commercial aspect of culture. There are several things which you are able to sell, but there are finer aspects of the culture which require government support", Gupta added.
Gupta emphasised that despite the centuries old traditions of Indian culture, it has always been vibrant and evolving, adapting without compromising the traditional basis of the arts.
"We are grateful to the South African government for their support and hope to be able to reciprocate with a South African Arts Festival in India soon as a bridge for India to connect to South Africa," Gupta said.
Louise Graham, Chief Director of the South African Department of Arts and Culture said that South Africa would indeed host such a Festival in India if not by the end of this year, then early in 2012.
"Culture is a driver of economic development, and not just entertainment," Graham
said as she explained that provincial Arts and Culture Departments would also be involved in taking the visiting artists to smaller towns and cities.
The Festival is part of the South Africa-India Programme for Cultural Co-operation
which the two countries were committed to during the SA-India Joint Ministerial Meeting which was held in India in March 2011.
The Department of Art and Culture aims to strategically use the Festival to market South African arts and culture internationally.
The colourful Rajasthani Folk Dance troupe of Mehruddin Langa will feature at the Grahamstown Arts Festival in July as part of the tour.
"Fusion musician Abhijit Pohankar will interact with local musicians and hopefully some collaborative work will result for this as well," Deputy High Commissioner Shambhu Kumaran said as he played samples of Pohankar's work during the launch.
Other activities will include Kathak dance by Uma Shankar, a film poster exhibition at major shopping centres across South Africa and a grand finale at the State Theatre in Pretoria on August 19 with a concert of Carnatic Classical music by Dr TV Manikandan