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Bonjour India is back! Riding the wave of success of the first edition of
Bonjour India (2009-2010), the Embassy of France in India and the Institut
Français en Inde, in association with the Alliance Française India network and
the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), unveiled the second edition of
the festival from January to April 2013. Bonjour India is a festival celebrating
Indo-French relationship and cooperation through a series of exhibitions,
concerts, literary meetings, film festivals, debates, conferences, food
festivals and economic, educational and scientific exchanges.
A total of sixteen cities will play host to over a hundred outstanding cultural
events. These will encompass all dimensions of cultural exchanges between India
and France: art, literature, cinema, education, sports, architecture, fashion,
photography, performing arts.
“Bonjour India is an invitation to discover and re-discover France through its
whole artistic dimension. As a real cultural dialogue between French and Indian
artists, Bonjour India shows the sheer friendship linking France and India”,
maintains H.E. François Richier, Ambassador of France to India.
Giving pride of place to original productions jointly conceived by Indian and
French artists for this edition of the festival, Bonjour India 2013 includes:
• Luminocity, the inaugural event by light sculptor Patrick Rimoux and Nandita
Palchoudhuri transfiguring reality
• Indo-French designer duo Hemant Sagar and Didier Lecoanet
• Ballet Preljocaj on a stage designed by Subodh Gupta
• Eric Vigner casting Nandita Das in Marguerite Duras’ play India Song
• Composer Pierre Thilloy and the Avignon Symphony Orchestra in an original
performance with sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan
• A global platform of choreographic navigation for ipads and iphones by French
choreographers N+N Corsino with Indian dancers Revanta Sarabhai and Pooja
Purohit
• ‘Flying angels’, directed by Stephane Girard and the late Pierrot Bidon, a
spectacular performance recently seen at the Olympics to enthrall the public
with aerial acrobatic dance transforming the open skies into circus tents
Other festival highlights include exhibitions on urban development and
sustainable architecture, photography and painting exhibitions by Anay Mann and
Gigi Scaria respectively revisiting French heritage in India, and the
analogue-digital-acoustic-electronic signature music of Scratch Bandits.
During the festival, there will be a strong French presence at major literary
events in India. France is the guest country for World Book Fair 2013 in Delhi,
while Prix Goncourt laureate Tahar Ben Jelloun (2007) participated in the Jaipur
Literature Festival. Albert Camus’ birth centenary will also be celebrated
across India through a series of events.
Innovation to fashion and new trends, revisiting the past (baroque music
interpreted by Amaryllis Dieltiens), navigating the present and fast-forwarding
to the future (Greater Paris architecture exhibition on creating sustainable
futuristic cities), discovering higher education options, the eclectic offerings
of Bonjour India 2013 promise something to delight everyone’s palate. Reflecting
the longstanding ties of friendship between France and India, the events express
our common passion for the arts, a rich nurturing ground for new encounters, and
inscribe yet another significant chapter of the relationship of the two
countries.
France wishes you a happy festive season and says, Bonjour India!
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