Friday 15 August 2008

India Is ...

This evening I went to the Bible College
for a celebration of our Independence Day
The students and teachers presented a colourful program
representing our cultural, lingual and ethnic diversity.
Lighting of the ceremonial lamp.
A painted map of India was decorated with
earthen oil lamps
A war dance from Nagaland
The dancers in the photo above are from Mizoram.
The North Eastern States of Nagaland and Mizoram
are predominantly Christian. Before Christianity came to these parts,
the war-like tribes were head hunters
Now they are sending missionaries to various states
of India

Tribal leg covers.
They are hand woven on special looms.
More Mizo dancers.
There are two little girls too,
daughters of teachers
This sister from Europe teaches Hebrew.
Here she is taking part in a skit.
She is wearing a beautiful Indian saree.
She had henna on her hands
I really liked that I told her
Musicians from South India.
They are playing a variety of drums

These are folk dancers from the
neighbouring state of Jharkhand.
The women have henna on their feet and are wearing anklets
This group represents a number of
North Western States.
Here they are performing a Gujarati dance
It was a fun evening followed by a vegetarian dinner.
There were prayers for our country
and good fellowship with believers.

30 Fertilize my soul:

Angie said...

Such beautiful colors!

Amrita said...

Thank you Angie.

Saija said...

Happy Independence day! :o)

Robin said...

wow!

Sara said...

so beautiful! makes me want to wear a saree. is that allowed if you're not indian?

Donetta said...

What a wonderful time of acceptance and celebration. How delightful to enjoy life to it's top. I am glad your day gave such a pleasure. Thank you for sharing it.
The cultural diversity is so rich in history of the various lands and peoples. How fun that must have been.

Amrita said...

Yes it was a really good time.

Oh Sara, you are most would be most welcome to wear Indian dresses.Lots of tourists travellers and foregners working in India wear our clothes and look very good in them.They like our Indian jewellry too.

Sita said...

So wonderful to celebrate one's heritage. The Mizos have been coming regularly to Peoples Church in Toronto for a long time.

(Oh by the way, something weird happened with all those videos posted today. There was only supposed to be one for TSMS. I think that in the past I directly downloaded from YouTube and it did not seem to work, and those ones just 'showed up'---weird. Anyway, deleted them as they are duplicates of previous posts.)

Jo's-D-Eyes said...

Thanks Amrita my pretty Indian Friend with your beautiful eyes,
I love your blog and I am glad you took pictures from the costums and from the dancers, thank you!

have a great weekend

Amrita said...

Good to hear you 've met the Mizo peole in Toronto. They are very talented musicians.One my of first exposures to choral music was through a Mizo choir.

Yes JoAnn my country is a land of dazzling colors , sights and sounds. I love my land and wouldn 't exchange it for any other place.

Roo said...

what a beautiful saree (the lady from europe is wearing). i really like it too.

Anonymous said...

Oh, wow...so you had a beautiful evening & the celebrations look so colourful & elaborate with the beautiful portrayal of the culture & diversity of our country...hope you had a wonderful independence day & raksha bandhan!

Julia Dutta said...

Hi amrita,
So to 61 years of Independence!! Beautiful pictures and oh what a number of activities. Just loved it all, especially the Sister in the sari - wow!
Julia

K M F said...

Happy Independence day..Amritha

Anonymous said...

Happy Independence day to all of India my friend! After more than two hundred years of British rule, India won backs its freedom on 15th August, 1947...MORE

Felisol said...

Dear Amrita,
congratulation with your independence day.
Both India and Norway got their indipendance without a war, just through negotiations. That's a tremendous victory.
I pray for India these days, that she may remain in peace.
You've got a most elaborate and highly developed historical culture.
It's a good thing that you cherish that and thus take care of your proud roots.
From Felisol

nannykim said...

Wow; interesting and so colorful!

Renae said...

Happy Independence Day, Amrita!

Anonymous said...

isn't it nice to see people, native dances and costumes of your country? it makes me proud to see mine.

happy independence day, amrita.

Andrew said...

Thanks for stopping by our blog (www.comingstobrazil.com). I LOVE the pictures you posted! I knew India was diverse...but had never contemplated just how diverse.

Blessings on you and your ministry

Dick said...

Wonderful pictures, 61 years, congratulations.

Kate said...

WOW! Some poeple traveled quite a distance to attend, huh?

Rebecca said...

What a celebration this must have been - full of energy, color and joy. It is a real gift - times of celebraton. I am glad you enjoyed your time together with friends.

Sita said...

Hey, is everything OK...

Ash said...

Lovely celebration!

Mel Avila Alarilla said...

What a wonderful way to celebrate the National Day of India. The events evoke nostalgia for your motherland. Thanks for the post. God bless you all.

Julia Dutta said...

Thank you Amrita for that link. I went there...it was fun and I know I will be there again....quaintly British!
have a good weekend too. See you Monday.
Julia

Susan Skitt said...

What a nice celebration. How colorful everything is! It's good to hear about the missionaries. God's good! Thanks for sharing!

monsoon dreams said...

very interesting and colourful post,amrita.i love to see the dance forms from different parts of India.it is very rare to see them all together even on independence day in kerala.

Maisie said...

This would have been so neat to see. You make me want to go visit India.