India’s 79th Independence Day was celebrated in Kuala Lumpur with a colourful show highlighting the nation’s links across the region.
“Celebrating India-Asean Cultural Harmony” was organised by the Indian High Commission in Malaysia with Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Indian Cultural Centre in Kuala Lumpur and Bharat Club Kuala Lumpur.
Indian High Commissioner to Malaysia BN Reddy said independence gave India the confidence to share its cultural wealth, traditions, diversity and vision of harmony with the world.
It was through music, dance, art and literature, he said, that societies continued to discover shared values, mutual respect and unity in diversity.
Speaking before the start of the show at Temple of Fine Arts, he said: “India’s relations with South-East Asia are built on a civilisational continuum that dates back more than two millennia.
“The epics Ramayana and Mahabharata continue to be retold in different languages and artistic expressions across South-East Asia.
“From the temples of Angkor in Cambodia and My Son in Vietnam, to the traditions of shadow puppetry in Indonesia and the dances of Malaysia, we see echoes of Indian epics, aesthetics and spirituality interwoven with local creativity, producing rich and unique cultural traditions.”
The cultural programme included a variety of performances such as joget from Malaysia, Coconut Dance from Cambodia and a dance drama from the Ramayana.
More than 600 guests were in attendance, including Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Insti-tutional Reform) M. Kulasegaran.
