By Shakir Husain
NEW DELHI, April 7 (NNN-Bernama) — Kuala Lumpur-based Sutra Foundation presented its newly-published book on a famous Indian religious festival in three cities in India.
“The Kumbh Mela” book is inspired by a performance of Malaysia’s leading exponent of the Odissi Indian classical dance Datuk Ramli Ibrahim and his team of dancers gave at the 2019 Kumbh congregation in Prayagraj city, formerly known as Allahabad, in the state of Uttar Pradesh.
The 196-page coffee table book, published in November 2021, is a joint publication of Ramli’s Sutra Foundation and KL Jazz and Arts Centre (KLJAC).
“It is not only a unique record of a rare Malaysia-India cultural experience, but also provides foreigners a glimpse into one of the world’s biggest Hindu religious celebrations,” Ramli told Bernama.
The High Commission of India in Malaysia has ordered 200 copies, he said.
Ramli said he was encouraged by the attention the book received in India’s cultural circles.
With most COVID-19 restrictions on public events gone, Sutra Foundation’s book launches and performances in India witnessed an impressive turnout.
Ramli and Sutra’s principal dancer Geethika Sree gave an Odissi dance performance at the April 2 book launch in Bhubaneswar, with similar shows accompanying the events in Chennai and Puducherry on Tuesday and Wednesday.
“In Chennai, it was an evening of sheer joy as we met up with many dancers and visual artists whom I had not seen for more than two and a half years,” Ramli said.
— NNN-BERNAMA