India in the Sunshine City

Tafadzwa Kadani
ZIMBABWE and India are set to revive a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on cultural exchange programmes, signed in 1981 between the two countries, The Sunday Mail Leisure has learnt.

This came to light at a media briefing for the upcoming “India in the Sunshine City”, cultural festival to be held at Crowne Plaza Hotel in the capital.

As part of efforts to revive the cultural exchange, the Embassy of India and an Indian entertainment company, Teamwork Arts, will host the first Indian Cultural Festival in Harare.

“India in Sunshine City Cultural Festival”, will bring Indian music, theatre, dance, comedy, food and yoga to Harare.

The festival, which started last Friday ends this Saturday, September 10. It will showcase India’s cultural diversity and dynamism through both classical and contemporary offerings to Harare.

The festival will bring the splendor of Bollywood musicals onto the stage, and this will particularly be a great experience for the Bollywood lovers in the country. Speaking at the media briefing, Festival Director Mr Ankur Bhardwa said they have tried to bring artistes from all the country’s provinces.

“This festival will be good for everyone, that is, sponsors and audiences as we have tried to select some of the best stage performers that India has to offer,” said Mr Bhardwa.

The MOU for cultural exchange has mandatory requirements for both countries and this will be an advantage for Zimbabwean artistes. Both the Zimbabwean and Indian Governments are expected to send their troupes, led by Government officials in the areas of culture and arts to the respective countries as representatives.

The Indian ambassador to Zimbabwe Mr Rungsung Masakui said the programme did not take place in the last three years hence there is need for political level engagement to revive it.

“It is a very old one and had since been discontinued, but we are planning on reviving it. I have been discussing with the Foreign Office and the Ministry of Rural Development, Preservation and Promotion of Culture on how we can go about it.

“But if it has an expiry, then we will renew it by just saying lets renew that old MOU,” said the ambassador

He also added that it is the endeavour of the festival to add colour to the cultural landscape of the City of Harare and become a regular feature in its calendar.

“The festival intends to bring out our shared heritage and accomplishments, and all that binds our two countries together,” further added the ambassador.

“The festival is being presented by a local cooking oil manufacturer Zimgold and its partners include Zimpapers, Econet and MBCA Bank among others.