The world watched as India celebrated its 73rd Republic Day this year with colors as vibrant as the rainbow and as rich as India’s heritage owing to Ministry of Culture’s
spectacular Vande Bharatam extravaganza held as part of the parade in New Delhi. The ministry had roped in creative visualizer designer Sandhya Raman to design the segment for the world to take home a big message from – the message of accepting and respecting one another despite diverse community bubbles we live in.
As almost 500 artists sashayed through Rajpath depicting cultures and folk performances across the length and breadth of India, they showcased unity and diversity with an undertone and pride of being this young nation with a potential to make its mark on the globe. This was the first time the Ministry of Culture had appointed experts in their respective fields to bring about a cultural potpourri out in play in the most contemporary outlook ever. While Sandhya Raman designed the whole segment and the attires worn by the performers, eminent choreographers like Rani Khanum (Classical), Santosh Nair (Fusion and contemporary), Maitrryee Pahari (Folk) and Tejaswini Sathe (Fusion and contemporary) worked relentlessly to choreograph these pieces. The music and melodies were composed by Ricky Kej and Bickram Ghosh and the soul of the poetry recited by Ashok Chakradhar.
How colors can speak the language of heart was evident by the beautiful display culled out by Raman. In her vivacious mind she made the colors of the rainbow as lively as they could be; playing dutifully the role of portraying different cultures that decorate India’s platter, yet are together holding hands across every border that divides the country geographically just like the hues that bind VIBGYOR together.
Sandhya Raman is multiple award winning textile revivalist, visualizer and cultural curator.
