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India Pakistan music festival 'Saanjh 2008' held in
Amritsar
by Ravinder
Singh Robin
Amritsar:
Thousands of music lovers converged here on Sunday
evening (Oct.19) to enjoy the musical celebration
of Indian and Pakistani culture through "Saanjh 2008",
a music festival in its fifth edition this year. About
35 artists from Pakistan arrived in India for the
event on Saturday through Wagah border. Pakistan's
Rafi Peer Theatre Workshop in collaboration with Punarjyot,
a non-Government Organisaton, organized the festival,
which originally started in 2004. The annual festival
is held in India and Pakistan in two phases in Amritsar
and Lahore. The objective was to bring the people
Indian and Pakistani Punjab closer. Over the years
the festival has emerged as a small but special endeavour
by artists of both the countries to bring people closer
to each other culturally and promote brotherhood through
music. This time the festival began with the resounding
and thunderous performance by 22 drummers who enthralled
the audience with the well-orchestrated presentation.
The audience applauded the 10-minute long performance
full of exuberance. "We don't nurture any hatred for
anyone in our hearts. It is only at the political
level. I have seen these kind of political developments
of the past 60 years, neither India nor Pakistan has
benefited out of it. It is just that India being an
elder brother, is doing well and there are little
problems between the two countries. But people of
both the sides have their our own identities and we
have to protect them," said Faizaan Peerzada, Director
of Rafi group.
The artists of the group, however, lamented that they
face hardship in getting Visa despite their objective,
which is apolitical. Indian artists including Lakhwinder
Wadali and others won everyone's heart. Manveen Kaur
Sandhu, the Director of Punarjyot, the non-government
organisation, in her welcome address said that Punarjyot
and Rafi Peer Theatre group intend to achieve and
promote a feeling of peaceful coexistence through
this festival. "Whoever comes here to attend this
'Saanjh' festival' either in Lahore or in Amritsar,
he or she doesn't come here just to be a part of one
such programme or a seminar. He rather comes to spread
the message of peace and harmony. Everyone wants peace
and I have been seeing this since the past five years
that so many people have come and become a part of
it," said Manveen Kaur Sandhu. The event besides musical
renditions comprises seminar, theatre presentations
or folklore presentation, and theatre artistes that
basically promote brotherhood through traditional
themes in all performances. An extension of this musical
and cultural extravaganza will take place in New Delhi.
-
Oct 20, 2008
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