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Gala evening brings curtain down on Seychelles-India Day |08 October 2013

A stunning finale!



“We do not need speeches after such wonderful music. I wish this never ends. During the last two days we have been celebrating the friendship between India and Seychelles, friendship based on trust and mutual support.

 A few months ago we thought about Seychelles-India Day in a very small way but it has turned out many times bigger. We now look forward to next year for an even bigger event.”

Those were the words of Indian high commissioner Thanglura Darlong as the curtains went down on first ever Seychelles-India festival which brought together Seychellois and Indian culture and which had been going on since Friday last week.

For the last evening on Sunday, the organisers had brought together in the form of a grand finale some of the great stars who had flown all the way from India to grace the event with their remarkable presence and immense talent.

Sunday’s gala offered the large crowd present an evening of Bollywood music and dance. First to take the stage was no other than the public’s favourite Siva, the percussion virtuoso who from a standing position produces different beautiful music tunes and rhythms on a variety of percussion instruments and from any object his gifted hands can hold. In a concert on Saturday, he chose a water dispenser and a suitcase to wonderfully entertain the cheering crowd.

“Rhythm is God. My first drum sound was my mother’s heart beat when I was in her womb. My father was a drummer and he showed me the path,” said Siva, promising that he will come back next year.
After a marathon round of applause filled the space long after the drums’ echoes had died down and surely entered the hearts of all present, Akriti Kakar, known as “the singing sensation of India”, did not give the public time to breathe as she performed a series of rhythmic songs.
 
The night’s master of ceremony, no other than the stunning Ushoshio Sengupta, presented as “the complete package of grace, elegance, beauty and talent”, provided the perfect transition between music and dance by dancing to a piece of modern Bollywood music.

She paved the way for Terence Lewis, India’s contemporary dance guru, celebrity choreographer and judge of a dance reality show and his dancers from the Terence Lewis Contemporary Dance Company (TLCDC) to, by means of their rhythmic and athletic repertoire, told the story of Bollywood music and dance from 1950 to today.

Sunday’s gala was also celebrating 100 years of Indian cinema. During the week-end, an Indian film was launched at the Deepam Cinema in Victoria. The film, the title of which is translated as ‘A golden evening’, has been produced by Dr V. Ramadoss.

It was thus logic that the Seychelles-India Day closing words were reserved for the guest of honour, the great Bollywood actor R. Madhavan or ‘Maddy’: “Bonswar Seychelles! Such a wonderful trip and festival I cannot forget. My presence here is an honour that I will pay back by boasting about the Seychelles. The weather is hot but the people are hotter. The hospitality has been

exceptional so I am going to take this back with me and I will surely come back for more.”

So the scene is already set for the second edition of the Seychelles-India day next year!
The accompanying photos show highlights of the gala evening.

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