ENARADA, Bengaluru, February 15, 2015
The Jnana Jyothi hall of Central College in Bengaluru was abuzz with myriad activities as part of the Japan Habba 2015 held today.
There was a festive atmosphere in and around the campus as the cultural exchange programme gave an opportunity for many to get a peek into Japanese culture in addition to promoting Indo-Japanese relations.
The cultural programme included Indian dance performances by Japanese like Bharatanatyam and Mohiniyattam, Odori, a traditional Japanese dance performed by Indians and Japanese martial arts – aikido and Ninjutsu and a costume play.
There was also a chorus singing by Japanese group ‘Muse Choir’. The lip-smacking Japanese delicacies proved to be the final icing on the cake giving gourmets an opportunity to savour traditional Japanese dishes. Japanese artefacts especially hand fans which are an important symbol of Japan, were also a major attraction of this festival.
The assembled audience was enthralled witnessing the performance by Kuboki Kazumasa to the unforgettable songs “Anisuthide yako indu” from the blockbuster Kannada movie Mungaru Male, released in 2006. Japanese women and children also danced to the melodious tunes of popular numbers from Hindi film “Hasee Toh Phasee”. It was indeed feast to the eyes to see Japanese women dancing perfectly to classical rhythm and tunes of traditional Indian dances along with their Indian counterparts and also to the popular film song tunes.
[dropcap style=”inverted”] Japanese Festival is held every year in Bengaluru and every year the festival picks one particular theme. This was the 11th Indo –Japanese festival and this year’s theme was ‘hand fans’ known as ‘uchiwa’ in Japanese. All those who participated in the programme were gifted with ‘uchiwa’.[/dropcap]
The festival was organised by Bangalore University along with the Consulate of Japan in Bengaluru, the Japan Foundation, New Delhi and other Japanese organisations in the country. The major objective is to promote Indo-Japanese relations and mutual understanding of Indian and Japanese cultures through cultural programmes and activities. This festival also provides a proper forum for Japanese in India to showcase the knowledge they have gained over our languages and culture. It also provides a direct interaction between Indians and Japanese residing in Bengaluru and also among various institutions and business establishments.
In his message of Greetings, Nobuaki Yamamoto, Head of Consulate of Japan stated
“India and Japan have been enjoying amicable relations and strong ties over many years. Both countries have a rich and centuries’ old long indigenous history and culture. At the same time, both countries share ancient cultural heritage such as Buddhism and influence of Sanskrit on the Japanese Language.
The Japan Habba has become an important annual event in Bengaluru which promotes cultural exchange between India and Japan. It has been attracting visitors across all age groups each year. Some of them are already interested in Japan but I am more pleased to note that there are others, first time visitors who evinced interest in my country’s culture after visiting Japan Habba.”
True to its main objective Indo-Japan festival has proved to be the right forum to grow better relationship and understanding between people of India and Japan.
