From India’s Bonjour to France’s Namaste

“How much the people of both countries know about other’s art,dance and music,depends on the medium we are talking about,” says Hubert.

“Take the cinema and literature today. Indian and French people are very much aware of each other’s art (in film arena) because of the major global platform given to the cinema (like the festival in Cannes promoting Indian movies) and because both of them value the art of reading,listening to poetry or singing old songs because of the romance of the words!” Hubert said over email.

Ace Bharatnatyam danseuse Rukmini Chatterjee who has been settled in France for past two decades and participated in “Bonjour India” shares Hubert’s excitement.

Born in Bengal and brought up in Gujarat,Chatterjee says,”I am very happy that the two countries I belong to (India and France),both culturally very rich,are tying up and exploring the cultural domain. This will lead to better understanding between these cultures”.

“The Pianist,” singer and composer Hubert,a French – American born in Paris and now settled in India,was also a part of both “Bonjour India” and “Namaste France.”

“It is bound to reinforce the link between the two countries. I participated in both the ‘Bonjour India’ festival in New Delhi and the opening of the ‘Namaste France’ in Paris.

This is indeed a great way to create a stronger link with the Indian audience while sharing my own tradition,” says Hubert.

Choreographer,dancer and a noted activist Mallika Sarabhai,who shared stage with Hubert during the inaugural ceremony of “Namaste France”,thinks such events are necessary but at the same time could do with more innovative thinking.

“I think they are necessary but some more innovative thinking can be done. I would like to see much more mingling with the people and youngsters of the host nation,workshops,residencies etc,so that tangible long term understanding gets created. Also there is the possibility of more collaborative work” says Sarabhai.

According to the ‘trio’ such festivals are creating cultural awareness between citizens of respective countries and promoting various forms of arts.

Such festivals are creating cultural awareness between citizens of respective countries and promoting various forms of art,say officials of Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR),the body behind the cultural festivals.

Chatterjee says even though interest in Indian art form has developed in French people over past few years and she has been getting regular queries,there is however limited awareness among people when it comes to intricacies of art of either country.

Giving music as a case in point Hubert says she observed while performing extensively in both countries a kind of fascination for both traditions but average western audiences do not understand in depth the intricacy of Indian classical music,nor do average Indian audiences follow the art of polyphony,in western music.

“On an average even Indian audiences don’t have much understanding of our dance,keep aside French,” says Sarabhai whose tribal dance “Adi Nritya” was included in the inaugural performance in “Namaste France”.

All three Hubert,Chatterjee and Sarabhai- are dismissive of fusion of different cultures. “I don’t believe in ‘fusion’ with regards to the dance forms,because I like keeping the specificity of each style,” says Chatterjee.

“What interests me,is that the same themes are explored through various different styles and because of this,the styles,as well as the artists come together” says the dancer who is well versed in Bharatnatyam,Kathak as well as European Ballet and Black Metal Music.

Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR),which has organised “Namaste France” as a reciprocal event for “Bonjour India” is also planning to establish a cultural centre in Paris by this year end.

“Given pre-eminent position of France on the cultural landscape of the world and also in keeping with our close and cordial relation with them,this would be an important cultural centre for us in Europe,” says Virendra Gupta,Director General ICCR.

“French Government has already identified a property for housing the cultural centre and we are presently in negotiations with them for acquiring this property. It is our hope that this Centre would be established before the end of the year,” says Gupta.