Music, dance, culinary delights, a bazar, puppet show, yoga, plus hands-on and information programmes: India could once again be experienced in the centre of Karlsruhe during the DAS FEST weekend – and the INDIA SUMMER DAYS 2024 were once again a great success.
Thanks to the wide range of activities on offer, the sixth edition was a real immersion in Indian culture. According to Karlsruhe’s Lord Mayor Dr Frank Mentrup, interest in India is steadily increasing and the number of India enthusiasts and international guests is growing every year. The integration of the Indo-German festival into DAS FEST has been particularly well received. This demonstrates the good and long-standing network between Karlsruhe and India.
With its many good contacts to India, Karlsruhe has the best conditions for such a festival, emphasised the Indian Consul for Culture, Rajiv Chitkara: ‘Karlsruhe with its internationality is perfect for such a festival. There is a visible gateway to India in Karlsruhe, a shining example and symbol of the good partnership!’ This strong connection between Karlsruhe and India is no coincidence, as there have been good connections in many areas for years – whether through the ‘Indo-German Network’, in which representatives from business, education, events, tourism, science, culture, politics or social affairs regularly exchange information on current projects, utilise synergies and jointly tackle activities, contacts between Karlsruhe universities and India or activities of the state of Baden-Württemberg.
Variety of offerings was again in high demand
Whether Bharatanatyam dance from South India, classical music, arts and crafts in the bazaar, cricket, henna painting, Indian specialities, hands-on yoga or Bollywood dance: the offerings were diverse. The dance and music school ‘Lasya Priya Fine Arts’ from Karlsruhe presented many examples of Indian culture. The ‘Dindi Dance Group’ presented Indian festivals, the ‘Kirtaniyas’ played melodious ‘Worldbeat’ music to the call and response chanting of ancient Sanskrit mantras and Shany Mathew and her dancers from the ‘Nisari Kalakshetra Dance Academy’ from Mannheim realised stories from Indian mythology. The ‘Revathi Dance Academy’ from Munich presented a dance journey through the history of India and Ravi Bhatt from Jaipur told impressive stories with his classical puppets on strings. The INDIA SUMMER DAYS have long been more than just a symbolic connection between Germany and India, they allow visitors to immerse themselves and experience India in Karlsruhe.
The free programme at INDIA SUMMER DAYS showcases the diversity of India. ‘The authentic offer that we can provide with our strong partners from the network, including the Indian Consulate General in Munich, the Indian Honorary Consulate in Stuttgart, ‘Indien aktuell’ and the ‘Deutsch-Indische Gesellschaft’ in Karlsruhe, makes it possible to experience India in Karlsruhe,’ says Martin Wacker, Managing Director of the organising Karlsruhe Marketing und Event GmbH. ‘Whether with music, dance, Indian cuisine or as a travel destination. The important thing is that we can present Indian culture and tradition here in an authentic way,’ continues Wacker.
This wide-ranging programme was very well received: Once again this year, several thousand of the 250,000 visitors to DAS FEST found their way to the Indian village under the trees, where they had the opportunity to immerse themselves in Indian culture, participate, enjoy and also gain their own experiences. The INDIA SUMMER DAYS – once again with the grand ‘India finale’ on the DAS FEST cultural stage – were once again enchanting and offered numerous insights.
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