Marvellous Mela Paisley Town Hall hosts amazing celebration of Indian culture
Paisley Town Hall became a burst of colour as Indian dance, music, food and culture were all celebrated in style.
The first Paisley Winter Mela was a partnership between the Abhinaya Dance Academy and the University of the West of Scotland.
Together they put on a day of brilliant events in a bid to bring communities together and celebrate and promote the many cultures that exist in Paisley.
A Sa n s k r i t w o rd meaning a gathering or a fair, Mela is widely used across the Indian subcontinent, but amazingly this was the first time it has been used in Paisley for a major event.
One of the organisers of the event, Navis Binu, said it went down very well with all who attended.
“It was a great success and we had a lot of people telling us how much they enjoyed it,” he said.
“There must have been 900 or 1,000 people there.”
On s t a g e w er e perf o rmances from Ab h i n ay a’s Dance Academy, Scottish step dancing, Bollywood-style dancing and a display of Carnatic vocal music from South India.
There was also henna hand painting, Chinese calligraphy, children’s art and craft workshops, stalls selling gifts and clothing and a food court selling cuisine from the continent.
More than 100 students of Abhinaya Dance Academy, which runs classes in Paisley, perform Bharatanatyam dance where every movement of the fingers and eyes, feet and body has a meaning and dates back at least 2,000 years.
The festival was supported by the National Lottery, Renfrewshire Council, and the University of the West of Scotland among others.