Indian Summer makes a mark on Vancouver

The organizers of Vancouver's sixth annual Indian Summer Festival launched their event with great aplomb last night at the Roundhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre.

The artistic director, Sirish Rao, appeared very much at ease as he introduced Rajasthan Josh, which performed haunting and blissful Indian music as an hors d'oeuvre in advance of their upcoming concert at the Orpheum Theatre on Saturday (July 9).

Rao should have been sweating, given that his wife, Indian Summer managing director Laura Byspalko, is on the verge of giving birth just as the 10-day festival has gotten underway. But the two of them seemed remarkably calm.

In its six years, Indian Summer has done a superb job in building bridges between Canada and India through its promotion of the arts, outstanding writing, and high-level political discourse.

In the past, Rao and Byspalko have brought some of India's most provocative thinkers and celebrated entertainers to the city.

The list includes Bollywood superstars Tabu (Life of Pi, The Namesake, Fitoor, Haider), Shabana Azmi (Fire, Earth, Mandi, 15 Park Avenue), and Sharmila Tagore (Mausam, Aradhana, Waqt, An Evening in Paris), as well as authors Arundhati Roy, Sudeep Chakravarti, Reza Aslan, and former political journalist and current MP M.J. Akbar.

This year, Indian Summer will feature another strong cast of writers and thinkers, including the world's leading critic of genetically modified seeds, Vandana Shiva, along with Samuel Beckett Award–winning playwright Karim Alrawi, filmmaker Leslee Udwin, human-rights activist and writer Monia Mazigh, and Devyani Saltzman.

Indian Summer wouldn't have been possible without the early support from some generous patrons, including celebrity chef Vikram Vij and Dr. Arun Garg, and the creation of SFU Woodward's, which has hosted many of the events over the years.

Last night, Vij, Garg, SFU president Andrew Petter, and SFU Vancouver executive director Laurie Anderson were all on hand for the grand opening, along with former premier Ujjal Dosanjh, his wife Raminder Dosanjh, Vancouver school board chair Mike Lombardi, Spice Radio broadcaster Shushma Datt, B.C. Liberal MLA Sam Sullivan, and many others.