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Canada celebrates its South Asian heritage
The festivities in Ontario began with a media launch of the South Asian Heritage Festival at the Olympic Spirit Toronto's Podium Bar and Restaurant.
A Canadian province is busy soaking in the flavours of arts, culture and cuisine from the Indian subcontinent as it celebrates the South Asian Heritage Month.
The festivities in Ontario began with a media launch of the South Asian Heritage Festival at the Olympic Spirit Toronto's Podium Bar and Restaurant.
More than a hundred guests, including Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, Toronto Mayor David Miller and Ontario Minister of Culture Madeleine Meilleur joined the launch event.
"We celebrate the fact that we live in a province and country where we are free to be who we are...we celebrate diversity which makes us all richer and stronger," McGuinty said, speaking at the event.
He also praised Jyafest Arts Collective, the organisers, for putting together "the longest celebration of South Asian culture anywhere in the world".
"Our theme this year is 'connect, explore, unravel,' highlighting the holistic idea of connecting with each other, promoting unity between communities, and creating an environment of mutual respect and collaborative artistic expression," Shairal Chandra, festival director and cofounder of Jyafest, told IANS.
"We are proud to showcase Canada's wealth of artistic talent, as well as using the festival as a platform to present to the world what we as Canadians, and as inhabitants of this city, have to offer," she said, adding that this would also help newcomers to the city to acclimatise to the new neighbourhood.
Mayor Miller read a proclamation and presented it to Chandra. The proclamation said that immigrants from South Asia constituted the largest source of immigration to Toronto.
The proclamation also read: "South Asian Heritage Month is a time to honour the rich cultural heritage and accomplishments of people of South Asian heritage and pay a tribute to them and the community organisations that contribute to the social, cultural, economic and political life of our city."
The launch event included a sneak preview of performances by local artists: kathak dancer Joanna De Souza, fusion dancer Geeta Shinde, and students of Sanskriti School of Dance and Yoga, who will be performing throughout the month at various locations in the city.
Musicians Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Subhen Chatterjee, Kala Ramnath, Vineet Vyas will perform during the festival. There will also be Bollywood style entertainments throughout the month of May.
The month-long celebrations will come to a conclusion with "Hungama!" a two-day street festival downtown, featuring a concert by a Delhi-based band.
