Namaste Japan Fest 2020: Perfect fusion of Indo-Japan culture descends in Delhi
NEW DELHI: More than 5000 people swarmed the Garden of Five Senses in New Delhi on Sunday (February 9) to experience the fusion of Japanese and Indian art, culture, language, food and friendship.
The occasion was the 2nd edition of ‘Namaste Japan Fest 2020’ that witnessed scintillating performances by artists from India and Japan who also delivered cross-cultural performances. Some of the Japanese artists performed Indian Classical Kathak Dance and danced to the tunes of Bollywood numbers. The majority of artists also came from Fukuoka, Japan.
Kenzi Sugino, Secretary-General, Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCII) who was the chief guest of the event, inaugurated the fest with the Indian traditional way of lighting the lamp. Sugino san told the audience that they must visit Fukuoka whenever they visited Japan next as it was a beautiful city.
Other guests on the occasion included Director Fukuoka International Exchange Foundation Ms. Kamori Yukiko, Director Japan Foundation Kousuke Noguchi, Director JNTO Yuji Ueno, Director of Nihongo Language Center Noriko Nasukawa, and Editor, Foreign Affairs (Asia) of Asian Community News (ACN) Network Sanjeev K. Ahuja.
While paying his gratitude for making the event a huge success, Dharmendra Kumar who hails from Fukuoka said events like this created opportunities for both countries and bring the people closer.
“Namaste Japan Fest helps Japanese and Indian people get closer to experience their rich cultures and activities as well. It also accelerates tourism activities and business opportunities between both the countries,” he added.
The event took office with the heart-stopping Japan drums beat performance by the Japanese drum team. Led by Mitsutaka Sekino, the Delhi Wadaiko Association consists of employees and their families who live in India. Most people start with as a beginner and playing Wadaiko (Japanese drums) in Delhi and Gurugarm area.
Some Japanese students living in India rocked the floor with their performance on Indian dance. Team Sonama Bollywood dance team. They danced to the tunes of Bollywood songs like Jai Jai Shiv Shankar, Illegal Weapon and Coca Cola tu etc.
DPS Gautam Buddh Nagar students performed on Japanese songs and dances like Ton-Ton.
Delhi Wadaiko has expanded its reach to Mumbai, Bangalore, and Shillong Meghalaya State and also in Sri Lanka. Recently, they played Japanese drums during the opening ceremony of Japanese companies in India like Muji, UNIQLO, and Suntory. They are playing really great role to promote Japanese drum in India.
The visitors also experienced activities, like wearing Japanese traditional attire Kimono, Yukata, Japanese Calligraphy Art, and Green Tea drinking session.
IASK India that is affiliated with Shotokan Karate International Federation – SKIF, Japan, exhibited Japanese martial art techniques on this occasion. The Zen IASK method of teaching Karate is not for defense training as a martial art but also for its health benefits and meditation. As per Sensei Manish Kapoor, the Technical Director IASK India, Karate is not just sports or techniques to defend oneself, but the path to find oneself.
Hiroko Sarah who is from Tokyo and now lives in Mumbai in India is a multi-faceted artist. She is a singer-songwriter, model, and dancer (Indian Classical Kathak Dance & Indian Fusion Dance), and also learned to play piano and singing for 10 years since she was 5 years old. She turned out to be a crowd-puller during the fest.
A disciple of Guru Smt. Jayanti Mala Mishra, Banaras Gharana, she began performing on stage in acting and dancing at a tender age.
And what left the audience of all age-groups was the artist duo – Bhadra Sinha and Gayathri Sharma, the disciples of Guru V Krishnamoorthi. They delivered Bharatanatyam performance on Lord Shiva’s Ardhanareshwar dance. Bhadra Sinha is a well-known journalist, presently with the Hindustan Times, and has been pursuing training as a dancer when she was four years old. Gayathri Sharma is a seasoned communications professional, currently working with a leading MNC, was trained in Bharatanatyam from an early age, and continues to be an active performance artist in Bharatanatyam with the belief that women can achieve everything they believe in.
On this occasion, the audiences also enjoyed food and beverage stalls service Japanese cuisines.
Officials at the Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO) stall informed the visitors of the reasons and attractions for touring Japan.
Established by committed individuals with nearly four decades of experience and with a 360-degree approach, manufacturing facilities driven by technology and stringent control systems, Himalaya Siddha Yogaowns a holistic approach to health and wellness.
Another stall that attracted crowd was that of Krisumi City Gurgaon Waterfall Residencies, a mini Japanese waterfall residency in Gurgaon, and the first-ever Japanese township coming up in Gurgaon in sector 36A. The project is backed by the collaboration of Sumitomo Corp, a Japanese Company and Krishna Group, an Indian company that is bringing in the best of their expertise and today’s technology for the development of the project. Krisumi City Gurgaon will be the first of its kind as it will feature the participation of a Japanese company in India. Krisumi City will be the first to deliver a Japanese living experience in Indian Homes.
