Republic Day of India was celebrated in London at The Bhavan on Friday, 28th January jointly organised by Sanskruti Centre for Cultural Excellence, the Nehru Centre (ICCR, London), High Commission of India, and Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. Parliamentarians Bob Blackman and Baroness Verma were Guests of Honour on the occasion. The cultural spectacle had dances and music presentations representing different regions of India, the heterogeneity of which has intensely delighted the packed hall of 300+ audiences. A total of 60 performers have showcased their talent on the stage in dance and song.
After rendering the national anthem, an overview of the Republic day parade was shown through video snippets, followed by messages by H.E. High Commissioner of India Mrs. Gaitri Issar Kumar, President of ICCR Dr. Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, and Minister (Culture) and Director of the Nehru Centre Amish Tripathi. Best wishes by honorable Chief Ministers of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma, and Shri Pema Khandu were printed in the booklet “Gamanam” released on the occasion and disseminated to all.
Cultural representations of different states and union territories were presented in alphabetical order. Tributes to the freedom fighters were paid through a presentation on Andaman and Cellular Jail by Sushil Rapatwar preceded by a video message from Ranjit Savarkar, grandnephew of Veer Savarkar.
Attendees have relished and appreciated the rich cultural tapestry showcased on the stage. During the two- and half-hour spectacle, some vibrant dances from North, South, West, East, and North East regions of India were presented. Rabha from Assam, Nyishi from Arunachal Pradesh, Gabar from Chhattisgarh, Kamsale and Kolata from Karnataka, Thiruvathira from Kerala, Shondol from Ladakh, Odissi from Odisha, Kalbelia from Rajasthan, Mathuri from Telangana, Kajari from Uttar Pradesh and Rabindra Nritya from West Bengal were presented. Bhojpuri song was presented representing Bihar. Shiva- The Indian Youth Choir of England concluded the cultural program with shlokas and songs, artistically led by Rakesh Joshi, accompanied on Tabla by Rakesh Jugal.
Singers in this amazing choir were the young & talented Saanvi Akula, Tanvi Sharma, Jyothi Pallavaram, Prerna Thakkar, Ved Vyas, Ambika Sharma, Shruthi Ranjani Murli, Aadhyasree Praveen, Veer Thakkar, Mithra Pallavaram.
Rabha dance was presented by Shouri Kokkonda & Sravanthi Tadakamalla, Nyishi dance was presented by Pinky Talegaonkar, Jahnavi Chitte and Harshada Bandreddi, Gabar dance was presented by Vishakha Tokikar and Mona Jethwa Patel, Kamsale/Kolata was presented by Harsha Srinivas, Hamsa Rajashekar, Akshata Bhat, Vyshali Gowda, Ramaa Rao, Sujatha Byrappa, Sriranjani Simha, Pratima Gowda, Sindhu Harsha, Rekha Kandikere, Rashmi Hegde and Neeti Prasad, Shondol dance was presented by Santhi Aripirala, Suvarchala Madireddy, & Swarnalata Pasupuleti, Thiruvatira was presented by Manju Sunil, Deepa S Nair, Maya Joseph, Ancy Joe, Lakshmi Aveen and Lakshmi Vineeth, Odissi was presented Pritha Dasmahapatra, Kalbelia was presented by Dr Piyali Basu, Prerita Basu, Siya Malik, Reva Mehta and Varshita Vanka, Mathuri dance was presented by Vanamala Accha, Ananya & Anuja Tirumalasetti, Kajari was presented by Priya Amit Kumar’s Vishwam Dance Academy, by Vaishali Srivastava Nagpal, Karishma Dalal, Tanisha Atri, Rakshika Chaudhary, Sharda Chaudhri, Akanksha Sinha, & Neetu Singh, and Rabindrik Nritya is presented by Ankita Pal, Sanchita Bhattacharya, Sreyashi Deb Roy and Radhika Ghosh.
Ravi Sharma and Miss Chinmayee hosted the programme. Vote of Thanks was presented by Ragasudha Vinjamuri, who has also conceptualised the content. All performers, their teachers, and families, volunteers, supporters, community members, and groups were sincerely thanked. (BY:Ragsudha)
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It is nice to hear the news about our diaspora replicating Republic Day celebrations in London with so many themes and artists
Unless I’m wrong I can’t see any Labour Party politicians attending the event