The Festival of India in Kenya took place on Thursday 3rd November at Moi University’s Student Center. As part of India and Kenya’s two-year ongoing Cultural Exchange Programme (CEP), the event was well attended by high officials and students alike. The event marks part of the exchange programme between Kenya and India. This was agreed upon during the visit that Narendra Modi,India’s Prime Minister, made to Kenya a few months ago.
The event was graced by H.E Suchitra Durai, the High Commissioner of India and representatives from the Ministry of Arts and Culture. There were performances by Alobo Naga, a multi-award winning Indian music band.
The event kicked off at around 2pm as the venue filled up with excited students. Milcah,one of the students in the organising committee said: “the event will be interesting and fun-filled.”
Some of the major highlights of the event included thrilling performances by Alobo Naga, Moi University Students’ Choir and Moi University Music Band. A tree planting ceremony conducted by Prof Laban Ayiro, Moi University Vice Chancellor with Indian High Commissioner Suchitra Durai.
The pop band Alogo Naga kept the audience entertained as they debuted some of their new songs and also performed cover versions of popular songs such as John Legend’s ‘All of me’, Justin Bieber’s ‘Sorry’ and DNCE’s ‘cake by the ocean’.
As the event drew to a close, Professor Nathan Ogechi, Deputy Vice Chancellor gave the last remarks. He stated, “we are honoured to host one of India’s festivals in Kenya and this will go a long way in bringing integration between the Indian and Kenyan communities”. The inaugural Festival of India in Kenya was held at the Kenya National Theatre in October. Another festival is scheduled to be held at Kenyatta University in the next few weeks.
This article was written by Capital Campus Contributor Anthony Mbugua.
