Juan D. Latorre
Last Saturday the Auditorium of the Parque Enrique Tierno Galván was dressed in luxury to host the Ole India Festival organised by the Embassy of India, which brought together many families and members of the Indian community in Madrid and a large number of Spaniards interested in Indian culture.
The Ole India Festival was a cultural extravaganza of Indian music, dance, cuisine, performing arts, games and handicrafts. The date, 11 November, is significant because it is the eve of Diwali, the Festival of Lights, which is celebrated all over the world as a symbol of the victory of good over evil. It marks the return of Lord Rama to the holy city of Ayodhya after his victory over the demon king Ravana.
Indian Ambassador Dinesh K. Patnaik expressed the meaning of the Festival by highlighting the phrase in his country ‘The world is one family’. “And so today is an occasion to celebrate with our family both Indian and Spanish and everyone else. Happy Diwali!”
The Ole India Festival is an occasion for happiness, joy and appreciation of the sense of community. And it was at all times just that: the celebration of these sentiments. It is the first time that such an enthusiastic participation of the Indian community was seen in a celebration of this magnitude. The audience was also treated to a diverse set of activities, from yoga to storytelling, Bollywood to dances from different regions of India.
