Malaysia-India Cultural & Tourism Friendship Day
Greentown Indian Cultural Society Ipoh hosted the Malaysia-India Cultural & Tourism Day on Sunday, to welcome the High Commissioner of India to Malaysia, His Excellency T.S. Tirumurti, his deputy, His Excellency Acquino Vimal and the First Secretary, Mr. Ramachandran, to Perak.
The entourage from the Indian High Commission visited Perak, the first Malaysian state to visit by HE T.S. Tirumurti since his appointment as High Commissioner to Malaysia on 20th December, 2013.
The afternoon of cultural and tourism extravaganza at the Perak Culture and Arts Department was, in a nutshell, a colourful way to introduce Perak through the arts to the dignitaries, in the aspects of the state’s multi-cultural community, and the hidden tourism treasures of the state that are often overlooked by visitors.
While awaiting the arrival of VIPs, guests were entertained by Indian drums and trumpets (Thavil Nadaswaram) from Tamil Nadu.
With their arrival, the lineup of programmes began with a slide show presentation of Malaysia, followed by Perak. Once over, began the joint cultural performances of a Chinese lion dance by students of SMJK Sam Tet, a medley of Malay dance by dancers from the Perak Culture and Arts Department (Jabatan Kebudayaan & Kesenian Negeri Perak) and last but not least, a high-energy bhangra presentation by Black Bhaj Bhangra. These three items were all presented by local Ipoh talents.
Apart from speeches by founding member of Greentown Indian Cultural Society, Dato’ Dr. M. Majumder and the High Commissioner of India to Malaysia, HE T.S. Tirumurti, there was a presentation of golden shawl and garland by various NGOs such as Party Punjai Malaysia, Perak Sikh Union, temple committees like Khalsa Diwan Malaysia and Gurdwara Sahib Greentown Ipoh, and government offices Ministry of Tourism & Culture Malaysia, and also Greentown Indian Cultural Society, the host-cum-sponsor.
The finale of the afternoon was a breath-taking “kathak” dance presentation by Pandit Santosh Kumar Chaterjee, who has spent the past four years teaching at the Indian Cultural Centre (ICC) in Kuala Lumpur. It was possibly his final public performance in Malaysia, before he returns home to India. The maestro, who has 500 students under his tutelage at ICC, also brought along some of them to perform on stage.
Video (below): Pandit Santosh Kumar Chaterjee recreates the sound of two trains meeting, just by stomping his feet, with bells strung around his ankles
With the wrapping up of the performances, the VIPs and some invited guests made a move to Impiana Hotel Ipoh, for a hi-tea reception hosted by Greentown Indian Cultural Society Ipoh, where the High Commissioner presented tokens of appreciation to various heads of organisations. The objective of Friendship Day was to foster closer relations between the two countries.
Event: Malaysia-India Cultural & Tourism Friendship Day
Venue: Perak Culture and Arts Department & Impiana Hotel Ipoh
Date: 23rd Feb, 2014
Time: 3pm
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