ID :
179600
Tue, 05/03/2011 - 13:59
Auther :

Festival to commemorate Indo-Israel ties kicks off

Tel Aviv, May 3 (PTI) Renowned artists from India will
be descending in Israel to participate in a three-week-long
cultural festival which has kicked off to commemorate twenty
years of Indo-Israel diplomatic relations.
The festival has kicked off with a lot of fanfare here
with India enthusiats descending in large numbers from all
over the country to watch a house packed performance by Aditi
Mangaldas Dance Troupe.
The festival will be showcasing India's cultural
dynamism, blending classical and contemporary offerings of
music, theatre, dance, food, film, literature, arts and
crafts, drawing renowned names from various cultural spheres
like Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, Sharmila Tagore, Zila Khan,
Namita Gokhale, Reba Som, Tarun Tejpal and Urvashi Butalia,
besides several other dance, theatre and visual arts group in
what would be the biggest Indian cultural festival in Israel
till date.
"It was like poetry in flow on the stage. The rythm
and the colours have convinced me to pursue learning Indian
dance.
The next three weeks are going to be very busy for
me", Tamar, a young India enthusiast from Jerusalem, who has
spent a lot of time in India and plans to learn Kathak told
PTI.
The organisers told PTI that all the tickets for the
Chaurasia performance in Jerusalem on May 19 have been already
sold out and they are hearing calls of disappointment from his
fans in the country who have seen him perform in Israel in the
past.
At a reception thrown prior to the formal launch of
the festival, attended by several prominent local figures,
Israel's Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz described ties with
India as "one of the most important for Israel".
"It is difficult to imagine that 20 years ago we
didn't have diplomatic relations.
Now it is not just diplomatic, but economic, cultural
and security ties are so deep and wide that it is one of the
most important relations for Israel", Steinitz told the
gathering.
"It has in fact been 20 years of pure celebrations",
he emphasised.
Prominent among those in attendance at the reception
included Prof Stanley Fischer, Governor of Bank of Israel,
distinguished personalities from Israel's literary field, AB.
Yeshohua and Meir Shalev, and several leading local
media persons and business leaders who dubbed it a "unique
initiative".
Israel's Minister of Science and Technology, Daniel
Hershkowitz, watched Mangaldas' performance and several other
Israeli ministers and leading political figures have expressed
an interest in attending various cultural events.

"The idea is to bring the entirety of India,
showcasing the multi-layered nature of the country, and to
mainstream it into the Israeli society by choosing the
platform of prestigious venues", India's Ambassador to Israel,
Navtej Sarna, said.
"The fest will create shared platforms and build
partnerships that endure by taking the message of India to all
the sections of Israeli society.
It will lead to greater understanding of each others
culture, mindset and impact on all aspects of bilateral
relationship", Sarna added.
The festival is a fusion of India's best achievements
in the contemporary and classical domains that will be
displayed in Israel's three largest cities - Tel Aviv,
Jerusalem and Haifa.
Around 40,000 Israelis, mostly youngsters fresh from
mandatory service in the army, visit India every year, with a
lot of them spending several months in extended trips.
Diplomatic relations between India and Israel were
established in January 1992 by the Congress government led by
Narsimha Rao.
Soon after the ties were established they started to
shape into a strategic partnership making progress in diverse
areas with the change most prominently visible in bilateral
trade that made humble beginnings at USD 200 million in the
first year and went on to register an impressive figure of
close to USD 4 billion last year.

X