This is how our city looks in summer!
That's the tag line of the Sydney Festival. This is the festival of arts & culture that started in 1977. I heard about it last year & I was not so keen on going for it. Nothing really motivated me to go. But this year its huge & it had AR Rahman & something called The Mangniyar Seduction.
The minute I heard about these events my ears popped up and I was really keen on knowing what exactly happens. I had the opportunity to chat with a few people organising the festival & got to understand that the effort that goes into the festival is huge. The preparation for the 2011 festival has already begun.
I got to understand that the new Director - Lindy Hume is making the festival multicultural & getting artists from all around the world. Sydney Festival 2010 has artists from about 20 countries. They have 360 performances and 80 events happening this year... some events are free. Josephine Ridge, the General Manager of Sydney Festival mentioned that they have 2000 staff members on the opening and 300 artists performing. Just imagine the scale of the event.
The AR Rahman concert was free from all & was at Parramatta Park. The park was jam packed with not just Indians but everyone who loves Rahman. He came with his troupe which included Hariharan, Sadhna Sargam, Shweta Pandit, Ryhannah, Lush, and many more... I don't remember the names... The enthusiasm of the audience was unmatched. Hariharan wanted to play a game to decide which side of audience is better... after the short game he asked Rahman who is the winner... Rahman said all are winners... Today is a night to celebrate & everyone is a winner! Rahman called it the concert of peace and friendship!
I think this is a great gesture from the side of the Australian Government. They have got A R Rahman & his troupe to perform for the audience of Australia for free... It is indeed a very good gesture of friendship and peace. I hope this gesture is a beginning of better relations.
And like Rahman said in his press conference:Good will will change things for better.
If you are interested in knowing about the rest of the events of the festival visit - Sydney Festival
