Indian cultural show brings out crowd |01 March 2018

A large crowd of people gathered at the International Conference Centre Seychelles (ICCS) on Monday evening for a cultural concert organised by the Indian high commission in Seychelles.

The concert saw the participation of the Indian Navy Band as well as Kathak dance performances by renowned dancer Kaveri Sageder.

Some of the important dignitaries among the audience included the Minister for Fisheries and Agriculture Pamela Charlette, deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Nicholas Prea, the wife of the Indian high commissioner to the Seychelles Farha Sayeed, and the ambassador of the People's Republic of China to Seychelles Yu Jinsong.

The cultural evening debuted with the lighting of a lamp by Minister Charlette, Mrs Sayeed and Ambassador Yu. It is a traditional practice in the Indian culture to light a lamp before the start of any auspicious ceremony.

This was quickly followed by thrilling and captivating Kathak dance performances by Kaveri Sageder, an Indian dancer who is currently based in Vienna.

Ms Sageder was later accompanied by young students of the National Conservatoire of Performing Arts who had been taught the art of Kathak dancing during a workshop the day prior.

Kathak is one of several major Indian classical dances and is traditionally regarded to have originated from the travelling bards of North India referred as Kathakars or storytellers.

Additionally the Kathak dance form emphasises rhythmic foot movements whereby the dancer’s feet are adorned with small bells called ghungroo, and the movements are harmonised to the music.

The legs and torso are generally straight, and the story is told through a developed vocabulary based on the gestures of arms and upper body movement, facial expressions, stage movements, bends and turns.

It was then the turn for the Indian Navy Band, comprising 25 musicians, to take to the stage and regale the crowd. The band is from the Indian Navy’s First Training Squadron that is currently in Seychelles on a ten-day goodwill visit.

Their musical selections ranged from Western to Indian classical music to popular English numbers as well as a tribute to veteran Indian actor Raj Kapoor.

The crowd consisting of a healthy amount of locals as well as Indians was later treated to snacks and refreshments.

The accompanying photographs show some of the performances during the concert.