Dance, music, drama performed in cultural celebration of 70th anniversary of Indo-Japan diplomatic relations
Dance, music, drama performed in cultural celebration of 70th anniversary of Indo-Japan diplomatic relations
To mark 70 years of establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Japan, the Indo-Japan Chamber of Commerce and Trust and the Japanese Association in Chennai organized an evening of cultural performances on 6 August. In the disastrous Hiroshima-Nagasaki nuclear attacks, the event was intended to celebrate the strength of humanity and culture that survived the horrors.
Students from the Chennai Karaoke Band (CKB) and IJCCI Language School performed that evening, with Taga Masayuki, the Japanese Consul General playing his trumpet tune.
“India-Japan relations have never been stronger than ever. I like these types of programs because it has more people-to-people interactions, and they get to know each other better. I am especially happy to hear the performance of Indian students who are learning Japanese, and their Japanese is excellent,” said the consul.
Students performing at the India-Japan Cultural Evening took place recently in Chennai. , photo credit: Srinivasan KV
Beginning the show with a beautiful Bharatanatyam performance, Sarishma Sreejath, a student of IJCCI Language School, showcased the art and heritage of India’s performing arts. He performed Alarippu and Ulagam Pugazhum, which invoked solemnity and elegance reflecting the richness of Indian culture.
Subsequently, the Chennai Karaoke Band, consisting of Arata Kato on drums, Kusuke Kumagai on keyboards, Yoshiyuki Sakamoto on guitar, Shigehiko Tanaka and Masaki Naka on guitar and bass, Shinichiro Mirura and Neerja Sundar Rajan on vocals. General. Taga Masayuki on the trumpet saw several students of the IJCCI language school performing and singing in Japanese. A notable performance was the Japanese-language rendition of the evergreen ‘Take Me Home, Country Roads’ by John Denver.
India Japan cultural evening which took place recently in Chennai. , photo credit: Srinivasan KV
A comic skit in which the characters were only talking through Japanese tongue twisters was followed by a game of tongue twisters, in which the audience—involved—they got a shot at saying it in Japanese or in English.
The anime cultural phenomenon that has sparked global interest in Japan took the form of a musical drama filled with songs from famous anime such as Yuri on Ice, Naruto, Fullmetal Alchemist and K-On, to name a few. It showcased the life of a teenager through different stages of development. After all, as Yuri on Ice tells us, we are all born to make history. We learn from history; We carry it with us, and we have the power to make history again.