Indian Summer Festival until July 15. For complete schedule visit indiansummerfest.ca.
The root word of festival is feast, and it’s an apt definition when used to describe this year’s Indian Summer Festival, now underway at various Vancouver venues.
In fact, there is such a cornucopia of music, film, dance, literature, workshops and discussions in the lineup that it’s nearly impossible to decide exactly what to partake in – or rather, which offering to reluctantly decline.
Sirish Rao, the event’s artistic director, chuckles knowingly at the observation, agreeing wholeheartedly.
“Yes, I have a hard time choosing myself,” he says. “But it’s better to have too much than too little.”
The Indian Summer Festival (ISF) is in its eighth year, and it’s on now until July 15. Billed as a festival for the curious mind, the theme for 2018 is mythmaking.
“Mythmaking explores 10 centuries of human imagination by presenting storytelling in all its many forms,” explains Rao.
From a rare bansuri, or bamboo, flute performance by a legendary classical musician, to an examination of the historical journey of yoga, to 1,000-year-old Sanskrit theatre previously seen only in Indian temples, the festival serves up “a litany of delights,” Rao says.
Sympathetic to the undecided, he suggests a few highlights:
- On Saturday, July 7 (from 7-9 p.m. at The Imperial, 319 Main St.), check out the 5x15 speaker series, featuring five eclectic artists who will speak for 15 minutes – unscripted – on a topic they care deeply about. Often compared to the intellectually stimulating TED Talks, 5x15 is a chance to hear “top minds talk about whatever they are passionate about,” Rao says.
- Also on July 7 (at 9:30 p.m. at The Imperial), is Confluence, which celebrates the power of the lyric in various genres of literature and music, interweaving South Asian, Indigenous, black and queer stories of love and resistance. It’s curated by CBC Radio host Jarrett Martineau of Reclaimed fame and features a diverse roster of performances, from haunting hybrids of word and song, to ecstatic percussion-driven ballads.
- On July 9 (8-11 p.m. at the Chan Centre for Performing Arts), experience Living Legends, a rare performance of Kutiyattam Sanskrit Theatre, the oldest surviving form of ancient Sanskrit theatre previously only seen in the temples of South India. Come ready for a visually arresting, percussion-driven dance performance that UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) has deemed it a “masterpiece of the oral and intangible heritage of humanity.”
- On July 14 (8-10 p.m. at The Orpheum), don’t miss Hariprasad Chaurasia in Concert, a rare performance by a master flautist renowned worldwide as the master of the North Indian bamboo flute, or bansuri.
“He has been making music for seven decades,” Rao says, creating sultry East-West fusion, “and he probably won’t be back this way again.”
- On July 15 (4-7 p.m. at the Ismaili Centre in Burnaby, 4010 Canada Way), the festival closes out with Songs for Scheherazade, featuring the performances of the Allegra Chamber Orchestra, one of the only all-female professional orchestras in the world, and noted sitar player and composer Mohamed Assani.
Rao points out that Scheherazade, the fictional narrator of One Thousand and One Nights (Arabian Nights), is one of literature’s greatest creations. Scheherazade and her stories – Alladin, Sinbad and Ali Baba – are a cornerstone of Arab culture.
As an added cultural layer, the concert will take place in the stunning formal gardens of the Ismaili Centre and will begin with a high tea service.
There’s so much more to make room for, including PAUSE in the Park (July 15 from 12 - 4 p.m. at Vanier Park, 1600 Whyte Ave.), a free series packed with art demos, performances, readings, music and talks. (Think mandala-making workshops, Sufi hip-hop mash-ups, and Indigenous fashion shows).
It’s all a result of Rao’s vision for a vibrant summer showcase.
Rao arrived in Canada from India nearly nine years ago and co-founded the ISF with his wife Laura. He says he was inspired by the incredible landscapes and abundance of diversity in his new home.
“I saw the possibility of an international network of people who could converse at a very high calibre,” Rao says, adding that “the easiest way to get people to try something new, to experience a new culture, is through food and music. Then a whole world opens up.”
The ISF opened July 5 with a party catered by Vikram Vij and chefs from five of Vancouver’s finest restaurants. The cultural nourishment continues.
Rao hopes people come away from the festival with a willingness to be a bit more talkative and try new things. After all, he says, with a curious mind, the more you feed it, the more curious it becomes.
“A good festival must be as sensual as it is cerebral.”
ISF is sure to satiate.
For the full lineup of free and ticketed events, and other details, go to IndianSummerFest.ca.
