Artists from all over the world are showcasing their talents and getting a glimpse of the diverse Indian culture at the event organized in Chhattisgarh.
Artists from all over the world are showcasing their talents and getting a glimpse of the diverse Indian culture at the event organized in Chhattisgarh.
From the wide spread served to this group of teenagers from North Sumatra, they choose chapati – the humble Indian flatbread – as his favorite. For all the similarities between Indian and Indonesian cuisine, wheat is a rare household, and they want to indulge in this local staple in the limited window on offer, he says.
Sitting a few tables away is Marco Pandelich (25) and his troupe from Serbia. For this group – all members of the Talija Art Company who have been performing together for the past 20 years and have traveled around the world – the most striking thing about India is the number of people who watch their dance performances here. The number is too high.
Tribal artists performing during the National Tribal Dance Festival in Raipur on November 1, 2022. Photo Credits: PTI
He was among delegates from 10 countries who shared their experiences in India while they gathered in Raipur for the National Tribal Dance Festival. The third edition of the three-day event, which the Chhattisgarh government claims is one of its kind anywhere in the world, concluded on Thursday.
While teams from all over the country participated in the festival, international contingents, which included artists from Mozambique, Mongolia, Togo, Russia, Indonesia, Maldives, Serbia, New Zealand, Rwanda and Egypt, were invited to add an international flavor to an event. it was done. Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel said that its aim is to unite the world for the rights of tribals.
rich experience
While the crowd enjoyed their performances, the dance troupes also described the experience as enriching, getting a glimpse of the diverse Indian culture as well as fellow international participants.
15-year-old Shahira Nafisha from Indonesia said her group was formed by combining students from different schools in her area and had been practicing for a month to improve coordination. Their group leader Davy Marlina Marv, who has been to India before, said that on the way to Raipur, the troupe members had many questions about the country. “He asked me questions like ‘Is dance compulsory for girls in India’ or ‘What are their different dance forms’ or ‘How is the food there.’ I was happy to share what I knew.
Language was a barrier for many parties, such as Indonesia and Mongolia, but using a handy mix of interpreters and modern tools like Google Translate, they managed their interactions with the media and others. For people like Olivier Agbemedji (29) of Togo, the former French colony’s school system that teaches “seven languages, four of them European”, life as a globetrotter becomes much easier.
hindi movie number
One aspect of India that most of this cross-section is familiar with is Bollywood and prominent names like Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol. Some succumbed to media requests and some sang songs from Hindi films, while happily admitting that they didn’t know much about the language, and it was mostly from rehearsals and repeating clocks that they were able to pull off the show. Were.
By a combination of on-the-spot training and repeated requests from the organisers, there was a Chhattisgarhi word in their repertoire. During their media interactions, most were “signing with” chhattisgarhia sable good [Chhattisgarhis are the best],
reconnect to the roots
Over 1500 artists performed with Chhattisgarh and Sikkim receiving the top prizes in the competitive categories. For some, the event was also an opportunity for a brief reconnection with the roots. Dr. Satendra Singh, a fifth generation Indian living in New Zealand who accompanied the Indigenous cultural team of New Zealand, said that the Indian people had very close ties with the Maori people and they even marry each other.
A similar “homecoming” was the sideshow for Luciana Toppo and Teresa Toppo, members of a troupe from Assam dancing the Kurukh Karam. Most of the group’s members now have their roots in tribal-dominated areas of northern Chhattisgarh. From there, their ancestors were taken by the British four generations ago to work in the tea gardens of Assam. “It is great to be reunited and I love the local culture here as well. I would like to come back again,” said Teresa, a college student.