The Sunday News
AN Indian cultural music and dance group Shree Vasuki Sanskrutic is in the country and will be performing at the Harare International Festival of Arts (Hifa) today.
The group met and performed with Siyaya at Amakhosi on Thursday before performing for the Indian society and other music lovers at the Amphitheatre in Bulawayo with local traditional music and dance groups.
The group is in the country courtesy of the Indian Embassy, itself a crucial Hifa partner. The embassy has always invited groups from India to come and perform at the country’s biggest arts festival.
Group leader Patdiya Yogesh told Sunday Leisure that this was their first time to be in Zimbabwe and that they were happy to showcase their folk dance as well as learn a thing or two from their Zimbabwean counterparts.
“This is our first time in Zimbabwe and Africa. We are very happy. We met some traditional dance groups at Amakhosi in the afternoon and we were largely fascinated by their energetic performances. We wish to get more and more involved in the cultural exchange programmes with the Zimbabwean groups and mostly create synergies that will even see us collaborating at some stage.
“We realised that Zimbabwe has a rich cultural heritage and it is through music and dance that the culture can be conveyed,” said Yogesh through an interpreter.
The group consists of 12 members, seven males and five females.
It was established in 1985 in Saurashtra with the aim of preserving the culture of the ancient colourful land of Panchal.
The Vasuki cultural group is renowned for producing folk dances in the form of Ras and Garbas in their original forms as well as introducing them to modern society.
They have performed in countries such as Russia, Turkey, Greece and Czechoslovakia and Cyprus and have won awards.
The group specialises in dances such as the Hudo Ras, Dandiya Ras, Misra Ras, Garbo, Doka Ras and Banety.
The Hudo Ras is practised by young boys and girls who are closely related with each other and attracted. Most of them are from Rabari and Bharward community and if they like each other they may as well marry.
The Misra Ras is performed by young boys and girls as an expression of love, dedication and devotion of Lord Krishna. It is a combination of ancient and modern dance and they use musical instruments like the tabla, dhol, manjira and flute.
