ENTERTAINMENT

New entertainers, performers from India, including Bollywood for festival

Expect a new group of dances and entertainers from India including from Bollywood, as part of the six-month Namaste Pacifika, Festival of India’. Various groups and entertainers have so far held their performances at various locations around the country. The festival organised by the Indian High Commission is part of India’s 70 years of Independence celebration.

On Thursday night, the Commission hosted an Indian Food Festival at the Grand Pacific Hotel in Suva.

The Indian High Commissioner to Fiji, Vishvas Sapkal, said: “Namaste Pacifika is a celebration of the rich and diverse Indian culture in its full glory, art, music, folklore and mythology along with the celebration of people and their linguistic heritage and history.

He said the Commission will be facilitating a wide range of dance and music concerts within the country.

“We already have the Sabri Brothers- a Qawwali (devotional music) in the country performing in the West and in Labasa,” Mr Sapkal said.

“We are bringing 11 groups to showcase a plethora of activities.”

In saying so, Mr Sapkal also revealed that a major Ramayana drama group will be arriving in January to perform for the locals. The group is rooted in the history of Ramayana, an ancient Hindu mythology.

“This is a way of strengthening our cultural bonds though we are far apart in distance but we are like two parts of one heart,” Mr Sapkal said.