Germans revel Indian exposition at Bonn cultural fest

Bonn, May 19 (UNI) The current Biennale Bonn cultural festival here has generated an unprecedented interest among the German public in India's contemporary arts and literature and has become the most popular cultural event in this city.

A large number of people have been queuing up at the theatres hosting the festival in the past days to watch some of the most outstanding stage and music productions from India. Several performances have been sold out and the other programmes shown so far also were in great demand among the public, organisers of the Biennale Bonn told UNI. There has also been enormous interest to attend music concerts held in the open and in concert halls, to visit several art and photographic exhibitions and to participate in podium discussions on India.

According to the regional daily Bonner Rundschau, Bonn is living up to its name ''Benares on the Rhine,'' which was given after Augustus Wilherlm Schlegel founded the first chair for Sanskrit studies in Germany at the Bonn University in 1818. ''The fragrance of India pereating all over Bonn is unmistakable,'' the newspaper wrote.

Bonn's largest-circulation daily the General Anzeiger wrote that the nine-day festival, which was opened on Saturday, has transformed Bonn into a 'centre of Indian culture.'' The Biennale visitors have the opportunity not only to enjoy some very fascinating cultural rarities but also to relish a variety of culinary specialities from India. Both the Rundschau and the General Anzeiger have been giving extensive coverage of the events since the opening and have carried special articles every day on some of the festival highlights.

Several stage, dance and music productions shown in the past days were highly acclaimed by art critics. By opening the Biennale Bonn 2006 with outstanding theatre productions like ''Uttar Priyadarshi'' (The last Blissfulness) from Manipur, the festival ''has unleashed a magic spell that has drawn the audience into its path and awakened their curiosity,'' commented the leading German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung published from Frankfurt. The story of Ashoka's transformation from a brutal conqueror into a follower of Buddhism ''has been presented very artistically and colourfully by a 24-member troupe from Manipur,'' the newspaper wrote.

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