On June 17 this year, artistes from northeast are travelling to perform at the prestigious Hand Shake Concert to be held at Hanoi, Vietnam. Rida & the Musical Folks, from Meghalaya; Vekhriyi & Vetahulu from Nagaland; Polar Lights from Nagaland along with Charaideo Sanskritik Gosthi from Assam will be the performers from the region participating at the concert. The concert is commemorating 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Vietnam also it celebrates the 10th anniversary of strategic partnership and the 3rd International Day of Yoga.
The Handshake Concert began as a means to celebrate friendship and culture, and promotion of goodwill through music, and has come a long way from where it first began. The idea was born with the World Music Day celebration organised by the Rattle and Hum Music Society, Nagaland under the patronage of Northeast Zone Culture Centre, Government of India on 21st June during 2008 at Shilpgram, Guwahati. Northeast India is better known for its rich and unique culture that needs to be explored further and showcased on an International platform. That need led to making this concert International in the year 2013. Since its beginning, the concert has travelled 10, 373.45 miles from Guwahati, Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru, Thailand, Jakarta, Kohima, Yangon, China and South Korea, and this year, the concert is reaching out to Vietnam for the same.
Art, culture and music have no language but transcend all boundaries because of its universal aspect. The Handshake Concert is, thus, a medium towards creating a better impression of our art, culture and people to appreciate other cultures as they go along the way. It is, thus, essentially, a link towards building better international understanding, respect and appreciation for each other’s cultures.
After a few international cultural handshakes with Thailand, Indonesia, Myanmar, China and South Korea in the past, the concert this year shall further strengthen the bond of friendship between India and Vietnam, and will once again, set an example of friendship and goodwill amongst countries.
The objectives of the concert is to promote friendship and cultural exchange amongst countries through the means of music and culture; Provide a platform for artistes to showcase our art forms on an International platform; Grow deep respect, awareness and appreciation of our cultures amongst different countries and Help the world and the people from the rest of the country know this region better and see it for the beautiful, culturally and musically rich region it is.
This edition of the Hand Shake Concert is Rattle and Hum Music Society, Nagaland along with Eclectic Northeast, the premier monthly English Magazine of the region published from Assam.
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