India comes to you in the form of a fashion show, singing and traditional Indian bharatanatyam dances at Saturday night’s Experience India cultural show at the 1820 Settler’s National Monument.
India comes to you in the form of a fashion show, singing and traditional Indian bharatanatyam dances at Saturday night’s Experience India cultural show at the 1820 Settler’s National Monument.
“Our vision for the show is for people to experience India. It’s not something people in the Eastern Cape are exposed to,” says Dhiya Lachman, president of the Rhodes Hindu Students Society (HSS), who organise the annual show.
In its 11th, this year’s offerings are bigger and better than ever before. “We’re going very traditional this year. We’re focussing on the actual essence of India and South African Indians,” says Lachman. She describes this year as a “triple treat”: an authentic Indian experience, marking 50 years of Indian independence and 150 years of Indians in South Africa. The show is also diverse, including ballroom dancing to Indian music and mapantsula.
The R55 ticket includes two-course bean curry and Indian deserts prepared by a chef flown in from South Africa’s Indian mother-city, Durban. Guest of Honour for the night is Dean of Students Vivian de Klerk, who Lachman says has been a strong supporter of the society which is now in its 20th year.
The dinner starts at 5:30pm at the Monument fountain area and the show starts at 7:00pm for 7:30pm. Tickets are sold daily from 12-2:00pm at the Kaif opposite the Rhodes Library and programme details are available on the HSS Facebook page. 200 of the 700 tickets are remaining, 80 of which are reserved for the Grahamstown community at the door. Transport is available every 10 minutes from the Great Hall on Prince Alfred Street.
