Multi-facetted
beauty of India on display
By Kizito Makoye
Dancing, singing, music, fashion,
jewellery, beautification and art are crucial in the Indian culture and when it
comes to religion and festivals they come to the forefront. Indian festivals are
full of cultural, artistic and colourful displays. ‘Holy’ is the festival of
colours, the festival of Nine Nights is full of colourful costumes and stick
dances. The so called Diwali is the festival of lights and Lord Krishna’s
birthday is the festival of merrymaking.
Recently in Dar es Salaam the Tanzanian film director Pratima Shah organised a
thrilling multicultural variety Pre-Diwali programme with dances, music, fashion
and a catwalk, in which several beautiful young ladies lined up to show their
talents.
All the Indian communities have various kinds of programmes on different
religious festivals and Diwali. But this programme involved all communities of
different cultures and gave the audience a rare treat before the next Diwali.
The theme of the programme was to remind the communities of their heritage.
Several magnificent and sparkling colours decorated the stage. A huge picture of
a dhow was showcased to remind the communities of how their forefathers came by
sailing dhows long before the African continent was partitioned by the
Europeans.
The communities have always looked for religious and cultural inspiration from
across the Indian Ocean. At the official opening, dozens of candles were lit
followed by the pooja (prayer) dance by miss Forum Ramaiya.
Various remarkable people, who have contributed to the society were mentioned
and honoured, including Kantilal Jhaveri, the former Member of Parliament and
President of the then Asian Association of Tanganyika.
When time came to the catwalk, three words came into your head: fresh, natural
and beautiful. Sixteen girls took part in the catwalk and for all of them it was
their first time displaying their multicultural arts and heritage. The event
went under the name Miss India Global-Tanzania and the audience was kept on
their toes.
Dr. Ramesh Shah, a practising economist and a consultant who leads the Miss
Tanzania judges and the competition’s chief consultant, led the community jury
on the allocation of awards.
The girls made their outmost to display quality and uniqueness, adding their own
charisma and personality.
The participants displayed their colourful costumes and jewellery with
traditional Indian wear, Tanzanian wear and eveningwear. In dances they played
their skills to the perfection. The ribbon dance of Farha was new to the
audience, while Payal and Dhrushna displayed their skills in the Indian
traditional classic dances.
The grand session was a stirring mix of music and dances, beauty and fashion and
the participants strived to give a lasting impression when they spoke with
clarity, diction and content.
One of the Indian film actors, Mr. Sudhir was invited as a special guest and
entertained the audience with one of his dialogues.
The overall objective of the pageant was to provide the participants with an
outlet for their cultural and artistic talent and reward all with education. All
of the participants were provided with rare rewards of computer scholarships.
The youths were given counselling on HIV/AIDS, nutrition and food hygiene.
The event also provided an opportunity for breaking the silence on HIV/AIDS
which is a very sensitive topic in the communities.
Pratima Shah was pleased with the successful intercommunity event and she
expected to enrich it further by giving guidance to the youths, educating them
and giving them confidence and courage. Other ambitions were to train them in
self defence techniques as well as work towards reducing unemployment in the
country. Her goal is to bring development for the communities.
Similar events are held in Kenya Uganda, Zimbabwe and South Africa.