Salaam Namaste: Melbourne streets abuzz with sounds of India

Melbourne, Mar 11 (UNI) The streets of this vibrant city today came alive with the spirit, sights and sounds of India through a fiesta that kickstarted the series of cultural events to be held showcasing the country in both the lead up and throughout the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games.

Indian culture will be a highlight in both the ''Adopt a Second Team - India Festival'' and ''Festival Melbourne'' activities.

Today's festival was part of the Adopt a Second Team programme which has matched all 71 competing Commonwealth nations with a municipality in Victoria for a cultural exchange throughout the Games.

The festival celebrated the colour and vibrancy of the Indian culture, injecting Melbourne with the flair of music, dance, food and films.

The highlights of the ''India Festival'' included ''Indian Cultual Festival'' and ''Bollywood Dance Party''.

Once the Commonwealth Games get underway, ''Festival Melbourne'' will kick off with 12 days of non-stop music, dance, street performances and cultural events.

Set to capture the culture and sparkle from all corners of the globe, the Indian spirit will be a showpiece of the festival with a series of events scheduled to take place throughout the city and the regional areas.

Nine Indian events will take place across 24 performances. Key performances include ''Bollywood at the Bowl'', powerful percussion from Punjab, captivating blend of North Indian traditional and classical music with global sounds, an electric troupe of fire-eaters, snake charmers and world class musicians and Bhukamp or ''Circus of Earth and Sky'', a spectacular production of beauty, human skill and daring Indian dance.

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