Flying in High Winds by S.K. Misra

Author:S.K. Misra [Misra, S.K.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2016-03-31T18:30:00+00:00

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The US and French Festivals of India overlapped with each other, but while the Annee de L’Inde (Festival of India) was limited to one year, the American Festival continued for eighteen months. ‘Mela’ became a familiar word in French, with the spectacular opening of the festival at the Trocadéro in the heart of Paris on a balmy evening in June 1985. Hundreds of performing artistes from different parts of India played exotic stringed, wind and percussion instruments, or swirled and pirouetted in colourful ethnic costumes on the stages dotting the venue, while street acrobats enthralled audiences with their skilful routines. Food stalls serving kebabs and other Indian delicacies did brisk business, as did craftspersons selling their wares.

The Parisians went wild; they had never experienced such an event before. Everything was sold out. The Eiffel Tower was draped in the colours of our national tricolour. The waters of the Ganga were symbolically immersed in the Seine as a gesture of friendship and the mingling of two cultures. In the evening, a formal banquet was hosted on top of the Eiffel Tower by French President Mitterrand for Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. A baby elephant was also taken up the tower. It was a delightful evening with plenty of wine and bonhomie. Those present included French Prime Minister Laurent Fabius, Minister of Culture Jack Lang, Mayor Jacques Chirac, French industrialist Jean Riboud and his Indian wife Krishna—who were great connoisseurs of Indian art—celebrity fashion designer Pierre Cardin, the Indian ambassador and a host of other dignitaries.

As in the case of the US festival, exhibitions were held at different sites and museums. The event ‘Raga’ was held at the Grande Palais (curated by B.N. Goswami), ‘Saris’ at the Musée de la Mode et du Textile (Museum of Fashion and Textiles) at the Louvre (curated by Martand Singh and Issey Miyake) and Indian modern art at the Pompidou Centre (curated by Anjolie Ela Menon). Some other exhibitions were held at the Petite Palais, the Musée Guimet, Musée des Arts Decoratifs. Raj Rewal organized an exhibition on Indian architecture at the École des Beaux-Arts. Folk and classical dances were performed at the Paris opera to very appreciative audiences and Peter Brooke staged the Mahabharata with an international cast at the quarries in Avignon, a six-hour performance extending into the early hours of the morning. It was a great performance and an experience of a lifetime. Other events were held in Nice, Lyons, Arles and some other cities. A film retrospective of Guru Dutt was another feature of the festival.

Apart from the members of the headquarters staff who assisted me in organizing the festival, Dalip Mehta, Deputy Chief of Mission and his charming wife, Nandini, were always there either to sort out problems or to offer their lavish hospitality. I cannot remember the number of occasions when we imposed on them. Gautam Mukhopadhya, of the Indian Foreign Service, and at the beginning of his career, took on various chores and did a considerable amount of running about for the festival.

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