New Egypt's revolutionary old colours celebrated at cultural festival

By Adila Matra Updated: 06:21 EDT, 3 February 2012

Egypt has become synonymous with mass upsurge, revolution, and maybe the flawed victory of its people, but its multi-cultural wealth has stayed untouched by the tumult on the ground, and it was evident from the Egyptian Cultural Week organised by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) with the Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt earlier in the week.

Eftekasat, Egyptian 'Oriental Jazz' band, played compositions inspired by Indian music - a novel experience for the packed Kamani Auditorium on the opening evening this past Monday.

'This is the first time we are performing in India. Our composition 'Greeking' has a definite Indian touch to it,' band leader and keyboard player Amro Salah said.

The Tanoura dancer created a ¿wow¿ moment when he twirled around pulling flags from his rainbow-hued skirt

'The new political situation has led to an explosion of many novel ideas that were just waiting for a trigger,' he added.

The Deaf Dance Theatre Company explored the rise and fall of Egypt's most celebrated queen in Cleopatra: The Queen of Queens.

The rhythm of the hearing impaired dancers, stole the show. The hit of the week was the act presented by the Nubian drum players, who enthralled the audience with their foot-tapping beats.

And the accompanying Tanoura dancer evoked a collective 'wow' when he pulled out the Indian Tricolour from his whirling skirt. Ambassador Khaled El Bakly said the 'new' Egypt was driven by its youth.

'Egypt has a new language - that of the young and the enthusiastic,' he said.

The week was a showcase of Egypt's changed reality. What emerged as the constant was the old relationship between the two countries.