A move to strengthen cultural ties

The City has been lucky to see a lot of cultural festivals recently, and the number seems to be increasing daily.

Celebrating tradition and the ties across various mediums, is yet another festival -- ‘Bonjour India 2013’ — an Indo-French cultural exchange, which will be held from January 25 till March, in the City.
This second edition of the festival, which will be held at 15 cities across the country, is brought together by the Embassy of France in India, the Institut Francais en Inde, in association with the Alliance Francaise India, and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR).

Elaborating on this festival, Francois Richier, French Ambassador to India, says, “The relation between France and India has been developing over time, in respect to commerce, defence, technology and culture. Celebrating one of these facets is this festival. The purpose of the festival is to add more light and colour to our lives.”

Asserting on the concept of the festival, Francois says, “This is a step forward to celebrate the existing ties between the two countries — this isn’t a French programme, but a collaboration of both, with excellent quality assured and a longtime investment to foster future ties.”

The ‘Bonjour India 2013’ will see an array of events in music, dance, short films, seminars and a film festival.

The events, which are a part of this festival, start with an interaction with author Kenize Mourad on January 25 and 26 about her last book, which is based on India.

This will be followed by contemporary dance ‘Urban Ballet’ on January 27; Christophe Chassol’s music show ‘Indiamore’ on January 30; ‘An evening with short films’ on February 8; an Indo-French seminar on February 15; food art ‘The Floating Buffet’ on March 27, and more.

Philippe Gasparini, the director of Alliance Francaise de Bangalore, says, “This festival aims at children, teenagers and adults alike, and different themes in different art mediums will be explored here. People here are very keen about French cuisine, and the food art show is bound to please everyone.”

Free passes for all events can be availed at the Alliance Francaise de Bangalore. For details of the festival, log on to www.bonjour-india.in.