Commemorating the completion of 70 glorious years of Independence on August 15, 'Festival of India', a ten-day long celebration of Indian history, culture and literature is being organised in Brasilia, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro from August 31 to September 9 by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India and Embassy of India in Brazil.
The inaugural day of the festival saw an extensive performance based on the life of Mahatma Gandhi, along with an enthralling performance of Carnatic music by renowned Indian musicians at the University of Brasilia (UnB).
Ambassador of India in Brazil, Sunil Lal inaugurated the exhibition on the life of Mahatma Gandhi. The bilingual exhibition in English and Portuguese familiarized the Brazilian visitors with aspects of Gandhi's life and his decisive role in India's independence.
This was followed by the soulful performance of Indian Carnatic music by Anuroop Sugathan on the violin, Govindarajan and Palakal, the vocalists and Viswanathan on the Mridangam.
In an evening marked by patriotic fervor and invocation of the divine, the Brazilian audience were treated to renditions of Vande Mataram and devotional and classical Carnatic numbers, reaching the crescendo with a rendition of the Indian National Anthem.
The group of musicians are now scheduled to perform in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro on September 4.
More From This Section
On September 1, the Brazilian friends of India were treated to another stellar evening of a Kathak performance by an 11-member group led by Nandini Singh in Brasilia.
This would be followed by Kathak performances in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro on September 3 and 5 respectively. The widely appreciated exhibition on Mahatma Gandhi would also be on display in Sao Paulo on September 5.
The final leg of the festival would celebrate Indian literature with renowned Indian poets Shiva Reddy Kolli, Shauq Mohammed Shafi Lone and Monalisa Jena sharing gems of Indian literature in Telugu, Kashmiri and Odia languages, with their translations, to introduce the Brazilian audience to the world of Indian poetry. The literature festival would be celebrated on September 5 and 6 in Brasilia, September 7 in Sao Paulo and September 9 in Rio de Janeiro.