FESTIVAL OF INDIA

0 A TRUMPETfanfare from the President's Bodyguard, especially flown in from India, the twinkle of Ravi Shankar's nimble fingers on the sitar, the mellifluous voice of M.S. Subbalakshmi and under the benevolent

gaze of Prince Charles, Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Margaret Thatcher. the Festival of India was officially inaugurated last fortnight. Outside, the sudden passage of an Indian summer after a spell of cold weather, had encouraged a few hundred demonstrators.

From slogans like "Thatcher-Stop Virginity Tests" to "Kashmir Liberation Front", all manner of public protests were being voiced. Earlier, there were rumours that Jaglit Singh Chauhan's Khalistan group had planned a major demonstration. "Cl~ui~~chus", shouted other protestors, as elegant and well-heeled members of the audience entered the Royal Festival Hall. passing through two rows of policemen patrolling the entrance.

Inside. the atmosphere belonged to another world altogether. Celebrities from the Indian world of art, craft, literature, politics and trade congregated to listen to Subbalakshmi, her diamonds glittering, her hands beating time gracefully. A motley Indo- British crowd. the audience may not have been able to understand much of her music, but were only too eager to applaud. Ravi Shankar's Second Concerto for the sitar and orchestra. with Zubin Mehta conducting the London Philharmonic, was in itself a remarkable partnership but the music it produced was an incom- patible confusion of western melody and poor harmony on drums. Occasionally. its discordant notes were reminiscent of a Red Fort wedding band or a Bombay film studio orchestra. But the packed hall lappped it up eagerly.

Rare Gesture: Earlier in the day. Mrs Gandhi and her entourage were received at London's Heathrow Airport by the British prime minister, in a rare gesture that cut across limitations of protocol. But a more serious departure in British-or was it Indian?-protocol at the airport was the presence of the portly London-based industrialist Swaraj Paul at the end of the official red carpet upon which already stood Mrs Thatcher, Indian High Commissioner Syed Muhammed with his wife and Pupul Jayakar.

Paul's presence irked some members of the Indian community in Britain and many British who noted the conspicuous absence of Sir Michael Walker-chairman of the British Festival Commi- ttee-and former high commissioner in New Delhi. Snapped an irate Paul when the criticisms were pointed out: "Where were these people who now criticise me in 1978, when Mrs Gandhi needed friends?"

Although the British media exercised itself in taking note of the Indian prime minister's arrival, reaction to the Festival was mixed. and some sarcasm evident in the tone of the major dailies heralding her achievements. In general. the popular press blanked out the whole affair, but The Times dwelt upon the sentimental relationship between the two countries in an editorial on the Festival. Tile Guurdiun called it the "biggest nation-to-nation festival in history" adding that it "should be seen as a celebration of the continuing links with a country from which one million of our citizens have sprung and a recognition of the changing contours

random remark of an Englishwoman outside the "See India" promotion at Selfridge's who said that "it makes me want to go to India and learn more about it" was any indication, then the Indian Tourism Ministry which organised the show hasn't done too badly.

The Selfridge's show which is to run for six months, before travelling to other British towns, is built around some tacky treasures from the Maharaja of Jaipur's collections. The limelight is shared by the Handlooms & Handicrafts Export Corporation's (HHEC) Sona Boutique, Shahnaz Husain's herbal products and a well-stocked. if boxy. gifts section (made up of marble boxes, bamboo boxes, brass boxes, mother-of-pearl inlay boxes.

There are some glaring omissions such as of utility items; and the special silks and prints for the textile department failed to arrive for the opening. Although 12 show-windows have been well-dressed with lndian designer Benoy Sarkar flown in to help, the 1,800 sq ft of sales space (and f 120,000. or Rs 21.6 crore, required for the H H ~ C to recover costs) is poor on merchandise. HHEC

Managing Director Diljeet Arora is optimistic about "selling at least 60 per cent of the goods on display" but concedes that there was no determined effort at market research. For this reason perhaps, the H H E C had ro enlist the help of lndian entrepreneurs to supply goods such a Nalini saris, Zodiac shirts and Vaishali brassware.

Splendid Show: Mrs Gandhi's packed schedule on the six-day official visit included the opening of a permanent Nehru exhibition at Ambika House. set up by Paul and described as "a memorial to Nehru which will illustrate the meaning of his life for new generations in this counrry". Also n visit with Mrs Thatcher to the splendid Hayward Gallery show entitled "In the Image of Man" containing the finest collection of 500 works of Indian art and sculpture ever seen. The gallery, a vast concrete structure, contains tine pieces of lndian sculpture sensibly seated on sand, thereby giving an earthy touch L O the stone images of Hindu gods and goddesses and evoking a sense of great beauty and peace.

With only the opening events of the Festival taking off, money is still pouring into the official Festival fund which is now worth over f 500,000 (Rs 90 lakh). This will help support Indian perform- ing artistes. some 200 in number. who will be visiting Britain through the year. "Their care has been our special concern", says Lady Thompson, wife of the British high commissioner in New Delhi who is on the British committee and was instrumental. together with her husband, in originating the Festival.

Lady Thompson admits that the Festival has had a sticky time financially. but luckily for both sides. sponsorship from private companies has come in handy. Grindlays Bank. for example. underwrote expenses for the inaugural concert at a cost of over Rs 12.5 lakh. Barclays Bank has been another major backer, and among London-based lndian companies that have contributed over f 5.000 (Rs 90,000) are Paul's Caparo Group, the Chandaria Foundation, the Chellaram Foundation. Bajaj Auto Ltd. the Hinduja Foundation and others. Backing from lndian companies includes subsidies by Hindustan Lever, the Tatas,

- - of British culture".

A group of children in national costrime at Heathrow to welcome Mrs Gandhi creditable : Reactions from the man-on-the-street to 2,000 (ahove) who;.v (helnn.) receil,ed by tlze Britislr Premier Margaret Thatchrr.. years of Indian culture on display were hard to gauge in the first

few days-many had not even heard of the event-but if the PHOTOGRAPHS BY RAGHU RAI

56 INDIA TODAY, APRIL 15, 1982

.". = - I schoolboys

*** **** Singer Visitors M.S. Subbalok@mi view a scintillates royal treasure at inaugural from India concert

,.-;--*OA M*.. c n n ~ b ; ;ntmArn..~ino rlnrrirnl InAinn rrslntrrvo tn Mr.* Thatcher at the Havward GaIIerv

An Indian guide promoting handicrafts at Serfridge's

An Indian guide displays a traditional Indian jhoola

Local Indians release pigeons in symbolic protest

An inside view of Selfidge's prr -

I n k children perform a masked dance beside the river 1 -.

S P E C I A L F E A T U R E

Mahindra & Mahindra and Indian Oxygen Ltd. Pupul Jayakar. chairman of the Indian committee organising the Festival, says that lndian expenses on the show will touch Rs I crore with roughly two-thirds of the funding by the Government and the rest from private sources.

Tremendous Skills: "I've always felt that irlndia has to project itself. it should project big or not all." said Jayakar before her departure for London. "And that." she added. "is not always a question of money. It is a question of showing the tremendous skills still available in this country. and also the tremendous sense of quality that is available." Says David Thompson. brother of Sir John Thompson. cha i~ man of Lazard and Company. merchant bankers. who sponsored the Hayward Gallery exhibition: "We have developed a growing interest in India and it was natural that we were asked to contribute." His company was. responsible for

Paradeep mining project. Local Indians meanwhile have continued to provide their own

background tableau of intrigues. quarrels and personality clashes. "We were only asked to collect money. we were never asked tor any suggestions," says Tarsen Singh Toor, a Southall businessman. Nevertheless. Toor and his fellow members of the Indian Overseas Congress have managed to raise upwards o f f 10.000 (Rs 1.8 lakh) from private donors for the Festival fund. Criticism of the Festival also continues to come from other sources. Said one lecturer in Indian languages TI-om London University. "What's the point in having a festival celebrating lndian culture when the British Government is determined to squeeze out the teaching of Indian and other languages at universities?"

Naseem Khan's group of lndian artistes in UK who in company with Toor and other local Indians feel that thev have

negotiating the massive British Government loan to finance the not been asked to make a useful contribution to the Festival Hall. made a lonely stand on the banks of the

The gifts section at Selfridge's and, below, *isitors at the Hayward Gallery exhibition on Indian art ~h~~~~ outside the ~ ~ ~ ~ i ~ ~ l ~ ~ 1 1 , one - .

hundred doves (or perhaps piyeons) were released each standing for a working Indian artiste in Britain.

Rising Discontent: Grouses in London are matched by rumblings of discontent in New Delhi. Last fortnight. revolt broke out in the ranks of some top-ranking lndian performing artistes who are slated to travel to London for concerts of music and dance when they discovered that. while the Indian Government expected them to perfo~m free of charge, singer Subbalakshmi. sitar mae- stro Ravi Shankar and conductor Zubin Mehta had all been handsomely paid by the British Government for the inaugural show. The performers include dancers Birju Maharaj and Sanjukta Panigrahi. singer Aminuddin Khan Dagar and sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan.

In a protesting letter to the r c c ~ Amjad Ali Khan pointed that: "In view of this discrimination I would like to state that I no longer wish to participate in the Festi- val. I feel that the attitude of the Indian Government lacks a certain grace. If it was not possible for the British Government to pay all the Indian artistes, the Indian Go- vernment should haveconsidered themselves responsible to match this commitment to- wards their own artistes."

While some of the organisers shrug off such complaints with a you-can't-please-all mumble, the Festival of India's chief patron. Indira Gandhi, obviously enjoyed her trip very much. Relaxed and exuding confidence during her private and public perambula- tions in London, she exulted at her press conference: "I have always regarded Lon- don as a friend. I am delighted to be here."

Lessexultant may be the reaction of the wary Briton who. after eight months of Indian art and culture in his country. may turn around to his Indian neighbour and ask: "All this is superb. why don't you go back to it?" --BONNY MUKHIRJEE in London with SUNIL

SETHI in New Delhi

INDIA TODAY, APRIL 15, 1982 6 1