A celebration of culture running from October through July 2010, the "Festival of India" will showcase classical and folk music, theater, dance and visual art, culinary feasts and fashion shows in more than six major cities in Indonesia.
While inaugural performances featuring folk and classical dance and music troupes will kick off the festival on Oct. 29 and 30 at the Balai Kartini and Usmar Ismail halls respectively, a smaller, curtain-raising launch will be held this Friday in conjunction with HSBC at the Four Seasons Hotel.
"It is after a number of years that we have organized a festival on this scale," Indian Ambassador Biren Nanda told The Jakarta Post.
"India and Indonesia share a historical relationship over 2,000 years old, and culture and business are an important focus of our relationship."
As the much-awaited "Festival of India" draws nearer, he has urged all potential audiences to partake in and experience what promises to be a spectacular series of cultural events across Indonesia, bringing the Indian and Indonesian peoples ever closer together.
While regular performances will be concentrated before New Year, the festival will continue to bring Indian lecturers and artists until July next year. In an effort to extend the cultural experience to as many people as possible, entry to all events has been made free.
"Our aim is to have as many of our Indonesian friends as possible participate in the events," the ambassador said.
"Troupes have been chosen from the Indonesian perspective. and there has never been such a variety of performing troupes *as we are bringing this time*. We are going to have scores of performers."
Among the high-profile artists set to charm local audiences will be vocalist Pandit Jasraj, vina and guitar player Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, tabla player Tanmoy Bose, dancer Ananda Shankar Jayant, film and theater director Rajat Kapoor, designers Tarun Tahliani and Malini Ramani, and celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor.
Moreover, collaborations between Indonesian and Indian artists have been encouraged by the Indian Embassy, resulting in a dance-drama based on an episode from the Mahabharata by Didik Nini Thowok, the Karinding Collaborative Project's blend of Javanese and Hindustani music, and Indian and Indonesian designers' take on each other's fabrics and prints.
The inaugural Diwali show will be a showcase of three of India's seven classical dances, which will introduce the different faces of India that the festival will bring to audiences here.
"We look forward to an enthusiastic response from both our Indonesian and Indian friends in Indonesia, and are eager to share the joy and festivity of this cultural extravaganza," said M.K. Singh, the festival director and director of the Jawaharlal Nehru Indian Cultural Center.
Tickets to of all performances are available at the JNICC and an hour before showtime at the venues, while updated schedules are available online at www.foijakarta.com and www.jnicc.org.
