It’s raining ‘India’ all over UK’s capital

LONDON : An Indian summer is nowhere on the horizon, but India is bursting out of almost every nook and cranny of London, where even in the most dull and dreary times, India is part of everyday life – from connected historical sites to food and music.

India-related themes and events are common in London’s academic and cultural calendar but the last week or two have been particularly busy. It promises to be equally busy later as 2017 is the UK-India Year of Culture, with a large schedule of events.

Queen Elizabeth just hosted a lavish reception at Buckingham Palace to mark the UK-India Year of Culture, attended by finance minister Arun Jaitley and a host of celebrities (a wag said ‘the usual suspects’). The Duchess of Cambridge turned out wearing Anita Dongre’s earrings. The palace was wrapped in a projection of India’s national bird – the peacock – while inside the guests were treated to Indian-themed canapés prepared by chefs from Veeraswamy, London’s oldest Indian restaurant.

In cinema halls, it is Gurinder Chadha’s ‘Viceroy’s House’ that is drawing viewers of British and Indian origin alike. It is evoking mixed reactions: writer Fatima Bhutto called it a “servile pantomime”, while viewers of the partition generation leave the halls in a sullen mood.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has a busy schedule appearing at various events – from Oxford to the London School of Economics to Channel 4 – to promote his book, ‘Inglorious Empire’ (published in India as ‘An Era of Darkness’), based on his viral 2015 Oxford Union speech.

Another Congressman, Manish Tiwari, has just been to the International Institute for Strategic Studies to offer a ‘mid-term review’ of the Narendra Modi government’s foreign policy. But journalists were disappointed when it was termed ‘off the record’.

A host of Indian writers and publishers are due to appear at the London Book Fair in Olympia from March 14 to 16. Speakers include Amit Chaudhuri, Shrabani Basu and Anjum Anand. The event includes a performance of the ‘Kama Sutra Ballad’.

The British Film Institute made news with the announcement it had restored Himanshu Rai’s 1928 silent film, ‘Shiraz’ (90 min), to be set to music by composer-sitar player Anoushka Shankar. Robin Baker, BFI’s head curator, told HT: “This is just the tip of the iceberg”.