FESTIVAL OF INDIA 0 A TRUMPETfanfare from the President's Bodyguard, especially flown in from India, the twinkle of Ravi Shankar's nimble fingers on the sitar, the mellifluous voice of M.S. Subbalakshmi and under the benevolent gaze of Prince Charles, Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Margaret Thatcher. the Festival of India was officially inaugurated last fortnight. Outside, the sudden passage of an Indian summer after a spell of cold weather, had encouraged a few hundred demonstrators. From slogans like "Thatcher-Stop Virginity Tests" to "Kashmir Liberation Front", all manner of public protests were being voiced. Earlier, there were rumours that Jaglit Singh Chauhan's Khalistan group had planned a major demonstration. "Cl~ui~~chus", shouted other protestors, as elegant and well-heeled members of the audience entered the Royal Festival Hall. passing through two rows of policemen patrolling the entrance. Inside. the atmosphere belonged to another world altogether. Celebrities from the Indian world of art, craft, literature, politics and trade congregated to listen to Subbalakshmi, her diamonds glittering, her hands beating time gracefully. A motley Indo- British crowd. the audience may not have been able to understand much of her music, but were only too eager to applaud. Ravi Shankar's Second Concerto for the sitar and orchestra. with Zubin Mehta conducting the London Philharmonic, was in itself a remarkable partnership but the music it produced was an incom- patible confusion of western melody and poor harmony on drums. Occasionally. its discordant notes were reminiscent of a Red Fort wedding band or a Bombay film studio orchestra. But the packed hall lappped it up eagerly. Rare Gesture: Earlier in the day. Mrs Gandhi and her entourage were received at London's Heathrow Airport by the British prime minister, in a rare gesture that cut across limitations of protocol. But a more serious departure in British-or was it Indian?-protocol at the airport was the presence of the portly London-based industrialist Swaraj Paul at the end of the official red carpet upon which already stood Mrs Thatcher, Indian High Commissioner Syed Muhammed with his wife and Pupul Jayakar. Paul's presence irked some members of the Indian community in Britain and many British who noted the conspicuous absence of Sir Michael Walker-chairman of the British Festival Commi- ttee-and former high commissioner in New Delhi. Snapped an irate Paul when the criticisms were pointed out: "Where were these people who now criticise me in 1978, when Mrs Gandhi needed friends?" Although the British media exercised itself in taking note of the Indian prime minister's arrival, reaction to the Festival was mixed. and some sarcasm evident in the tone of the major dailies heralding her achievements. In general. the popular press blanked out the whole affair, but The Times dwelt upon the sentimental relationship between the two countries in an editorial on the Festival. Tile Guurdiun called it the "biggest nation-to-nation festival in history" adding that it "should be seen as a celebration of the continuing links with a country from which one million of our citizens have sprung and a recognition of the changing contours random remark of an Englishwoman outside the "See India" promotion at Selfridge's who said that "it makes me want to go to India and learn more about it" was any indication, then the Indian Tourism Ministry which organised the show hasn't done too badly. The Selfridge's show which is to run for six months, before travelling to other British towns, is built around some tacky treasures from the Maharaja of Jaipur's collections. The limelight is shared by the Handlooms & Handicrafts Export Corporation's (HHEC) Sona Boutique, Shahnaz Husain's herbal products and a well-stocked. if boxy. gifts section (made up of marble boxes, bamboo boxes, brass boxes, mother-of-pearl inlay boxes. There are some glaring omissions such as of utility items; and the special silks and prints for the textile department failed to arrive for the opening. Although 12 show-windows have been well-dressed with lndian designer Benoy Sarkar flown in to help, the 1,800 sq ft of sales space (and f 120,000. or Rs 21.6 crore, required for the HH~C to recover costs) is poor on merchandise. HHEC Managing Director Diljeet Arora is optimistic about "selling at least 60 per cent of the goods on display" but concedes that there was no determined effort at market research. For this reason perhaps, the HHEC had ro enlist the help of lndian entrepreneurs to supply goods such a Nalini saris, Zodiac shirts and Vaishali brassware. Splendid Show: Mrs Gandhi's packed schedule on the six-day official visit included the opening of a permanent Nehru exhibition at Ambika House. set up by Paul and described as "a memorial to Nehru which will illustrate the meaning of his life for new generations in this counrry". Also n visit with Mrs Thatcher to the splendid Hayward Gallery show entitled "In the Image of Man" containing the finest collection of 500 works of Indian art and sculpture ever seen. The gallery, a vast concrete structure, contains tine pieces of lndian sculpture sensibly seated on sand, thereby giving an earthy touch LO the stone images of Hindu gods and goddesses and evoking a sense of great beauty and peace. With only the opening events of the Festival taking off, money is still pouring into the official Festival fund which is now worth over f 500,000 (Rs 90 lakh). This will help support Indian perform- ing artistes. some 200 in number. who will be visiting Britain through the year. "Their care has been our special concern", says Lady Thompson, wife of the British high commissioner in New Delhi who is on the British committee and was instrumental. together with her husband, in originating the Festival. Lady Thompson admits that the Festival has had a sticky time financially. but luckily for both sides. sponsorship from private companies has come in handy. Grindlays Bank. for example. underwrote expenses for the inaugural concert at a cost of over Rs 12.5 lakh. Barclays Bank has been another major backer, and among London-based lndian companies that have contributed over f 5.000 (Rs 90,000) are Paul's Caparo Group, the Chandaria Foundation, the Chellaram Foundation. Bajaj Auto Ltd. the Hinduja Foundation and others. Backing from lndian companies includes subsidies by Hindustan Lever, the Tatas, - - of British culture". A group of children in national costrime at Heathrow to welcome Mrs Gandhi creditable : Reactions from the man-on-the-street to 2,000 (ahove) who;.v(helnn.) receil,ed by tlze Britislr Premier Margaret Thatchrr.. years of Indian culture on display were hard to gauge in the first few days-many had not even heard of the event-but if the PHOTOGRAPHS BY RAGHU RAI 56 INDIA TODAY, APRIL 15, 1982