India

Happy Diwali 2011 … from my office! :) By the way, I recently found some Maggi Masala Spice noodles in Brussels. I’m feeling like a student now ;)

Today is the Indian Independence Day. Photo credit: Boy holding Indian flag by myself on Flickr (CC-by-sa)

Although its presence in Belgium is more discreet than China or other European countries (for obvious reasons in the latter case), India has always something to show in Belgium. I decided to put some (most of?) events related to India in Belgium in a calendar so everyone can be aware of them. Here you are: [googleapps domain=“www” dir=“calendar/embed” query=“height=350&wkst=2&hl=en_GB&bgcolor=%23FFFFFF&src=09d2i9naunu5fpkm6sdeqsikvs%40group.calendar.google.com&color=%238D6F47&ctz=Europe%2FParis” width=“500” height=“350” /] ...

Diwali, the Indian Festival of Lights, is under way in India. But if you live in Belgium, there will be at least three occasions to celebrate! In Antwerpen, first, on October 29th, morning. Then in Leuven, on November 1st evening, organised by the association of Indian students in Leuven. Finally in Ghent, on November 3rd evening, organised by the Indo-Belgian Association of Ghent. Edit on November 1st: Bharatiya Samaj is also organising Diwali in Bruxelles on November 8th. ...

This evening, we went to see Mallika Sarabhai dancing Kuchipudi at Bozar. Kuchipudi is a dance from South India. It looks a little bit like Bharatanatyam (with my non-specialists eyes) but with more contact with the audience (or is it the way it was performed by these specific dancers?). I think that if you want to see only one dance from India, you have to see Bharata Natyam. If you want a gentle introduction to Indian dance, Kuchipudi can be more accessible.

Yesterday, we went for the Bazaar organised by the Bozar. While people were selling Indian bibelots and food ( yummy!), Nandini set up a “Spice Corner” where she exposed and explained everything about Indian spices (you could even taste Pan Masala!). She had quite a success but, unfortunately for some visitors, Nandini did not sell anything. Our famous Peter also had a table for Rose vzw that was represented by Swapna (they were still there on Sunday). ...

Today, 15th of August, is the Independence Day of India. Happy Independence Day! Picture from ISAL Today, the Indian Embassy in Belgium held a very small ceremony (but I was in my lab at that moment ; MS-Word invitation). I guess it is/was celebrated all over India ( more pictures on the Times of India website). By the way, Bozar are organizing an India Festival from October 2006 to January 2007. You’ll enjoy expositions, listen to music, see theatre plays, listen to literature, watch cinema and dance, both from old-style India and from modern India. If I have to pinpoint one event, it will be the Dhrupad concert where my father-in-law will sing with the Gundecha Brothers ( dhrupad on Wikipedia). It will be on Wednesday 17.01.2007 at 20:00. But, of course, there will be many more great artists from India …