Business Standard

Indian written heritage showcased at Egypt exhibition

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Press Trust of India Cairo
A unique exhibition showcasing the rich cultural heritage of Indian scripts by combining the art of calligraphy and design is being organised here.

The Embassy of India in collaboration with Teamwork productions is organising the week-long exhibition of visual arts 'Akshara' at the Hanager Arts Centre.

The exhibition showcases India's great written heritage by focusing on of calligraphy through craft forms in multi-faceted ways by linking the art of calligraphy and design.

The main sponsors of the event are the Kirloskars, the Aditya Birla Group and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations.

The inaugural of the function witnessed a combined calligraphy by Dr Salah Abdel Khalid and Rajeev Kumar. Mohamed El Bergini, an icon of Egyptian calligraphy was also present among other dignitaries.
 

'Akshara' - Crafting Indian Scripts, is an exhibition of over 100 museum-quality exhibits created by Dastkari Haat Samiti.

It has worked with 60 producer-groups or individuals in 14 official Indian languages and scripts using 21 different craft, textile and art forms, covering 16 states of India.

The main person behind the whole event is Jaya Jaitly who founded Dastkari Haat Samiti, which enables traditional workers to gain confidence in the marketplace through many innovative strategies.

Speaking after the inauguration of the exhibition, Ambassador of India Navdeep Suri said, "The focus is on forging meaningful and sustainable collaborations between India and Egypt in the field of arts and crafts. The canvas produced jointly by an Indian and Egyptian calligrapher is an example of this.

The Indian Embassy and Teamwork productions in collaboration with the soloists of the Cairo Opera Ballet Company also presented 'Bollywood Music and Dance Fusion' at the Opera House main hall on April 14-15.

The spectacular show weaves together melodic music, vibrant costumes, amazing lighting and great dancing into a colourful spectacle.

A Bollywood workshop preceding the performance was also conducted by Gilles Chuyen at the Al Sawy Culture Wheel.

Trained in France in folk, modern Jazz, ballet and contemporary dance styles, Gilles Chuyen, has been teaching Bollywood dance style extensively in India, UK and South Africa.

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First Published: Apr 18 2013 | 6:30 PM IST

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