Celebrating 25 years of Dusherra

Scottish Indian Arts Forum (SIAF) celebrated its flagship event Dusherra on Sunday. More than 1500 people braved the heavy rain and celebrated the 25^th Dusherra at the top of Calton Hill.

The celebration started with a special reception by Lord Provost of Edinburgh at the City Chambers, Edinburgh on Friday 4^thOctober with performance of a traditional Indian dance to contemporary Indian and Scottish music. The event was attended by Councillors, Consul General of India, Governor of Edinburgh Prison and a number of Indian community organisation representatives.

SIAF released a special commemorative brochure to mark this special occasion.

Started by a small group of Indian and Scottish volunteers interested in Indian art, culture and heritage, SIAF remains a volunteer led a registered Scottish charity which has been promoting Indian culture and arts through festivals and performances of music, dance, drama and film since its inception in 1994.

Joined by Cllr Joan Griffiths, Deputy Lord Provost for the City of Edinburgh, Mr David Abernethy, Governor of HM Prison Edinburgh, Consul Indian Consulate Edinburgh Mr. B Bhattamishra, Culture and Community Convener Cllr. Donald Wilson, Sarah Boyack, MSP, Cllr. Graham Hutchison and a huge gathering of around 1500 people from the local community participated this year’s Dusherra festivities despite heavy rain.

Dusherra remains a free and open event at Calton Hill where every year more than 3000 people enjoy the music, dance and food available and witnessing the grand burning of the effigies of the demon and electric fireworks on display. Dusherra helps further in bringing different communities within Edinburgh and wider Scotland together and plays a very key part in exposing Indo-Scottish cultural amalgamation.

The event was supported by grants from City of Edinburgh Council, One City Trusts and sponsorship from Purview Consultancy.

The Main marquee had more than 3 hours of dance and music extravaganza by more than 100 artists ranging from amateurs to professionals including the dance drama of Ramlila. There was a separate marquee dedicated for kids’ activities – arts and crafts coordinated by Balagokulam Glasgow.

One of the key highlights of Dusherra has been the construction of effigies of the demons. Since the past 12 years the effigies are built by in-mates from the Saughton Prison, Edinburgh. This partnership with the HM Prison forms a key initiative in enhancing the skills of the in-mates in carpentry, painting and decorating along with providing SIAF with the opportunity to support within the community. This provides a spectacular finale to the event in the form of effigies burning and fireworks.

The event had food stalls from two reputed restaurants – KamaSutra restaurant Glasgow and Bawarchi restaurants.

Rajnish Singh, the President of SIAF gave the welcome speech and Abhijit Chakraborty, Secretary SIAF, gave a Vote of thanks on the occasion. Deputy Lord Provost , Governor Edinburgh Prison, Consul General of India and Culture and Community Convener CEC also addressed the gathering on the evening.

Rajnish Singh, President of SIAF, said “SIAF is a volunteer led organisation right since its inception. Completing an active and successful 25 years is a big milestone for us and we are very proud of it. We are grateful to Lord Provost for honouring this and hosting the reception for commemorating the milestone. The City of Edinburgh Council had been an integral part of our journey and we at SIAF are very thankful for their support.

“On behalf of the entire Committee of SIAF, I would like to extend our big thank you to all those who had been part of this journey in any form – Funders, past Committee members, Volunteers, Performers, Suppliers, and attendees to our events. I would also thank HM Saughton Prison for their excellent support in building the effigies through their prisoners’ woodcraft projects, for more than 12 years now.

“We at SIAF are extremely proud of completing 25 years Dusherra celebration in a format where it is open to all with free entry despite all the challenges. We are very grateful for the continued support from our long-standing funders City of Edinburgh Council and One City Trust, and first-time sponsorship from Purview Consultancy.

“It is one of the most popular Indian events in the city and we highly appreciate the support of local Indian and Scottish community who participate in the celebration in big numbers. The event showcased our engagement with HM Prison in the form of effigies being built by the prisoners. This year event was a great success despite heavy rain this year and would like to extend my thanks to my Committee members and wish everyone in Edinburgh a great festive season’’

Abhijit Chakraborty, Secretary of SIAF, said “We are very proud that we are celebrating 25^th year of Dusherra this year, it is a very momentous occasion for us and the whole team is incredibly proud and appreciative of the support of the Indian community. 25 years is an incredible journey and we are delighted to be part of this journey”.