An unmissable event in the Lot Valley as spring approaches: the India Festival returns for a 26th edition from March 22 to 24 at the Casseneuil multipurpose hall.
She spent the weekend decorating the Yves-Duclos space in Casseneuil in the colors of India. Radha Devi and her team of volunteers from the association Laxmi – ‘light’ in Indian – will mobilize all week to celebrate this country and its traditions and discover all the actions carried out with Indian children. This year too, dance, music, gastronomy and culture are in the spotlight.
If the general public is expected on Friday from 4 p.m., the week will be reserved for schools. “This year there will be nine schools in Greater Villeneuvois and Lot-et-Garonne, but also the Villeneuve Senior Home,” he says happily Radha, who is eager to discover the daily lives of the children supported by the association, which has been operating for almost thirty years was founded ago. The goal is clear: send money and restore buildings to meet health standards and establish a school there. In 1995, she founded an ‘India Day’, which became the India Festival in 1998. 26 years later, the event is no longer unmissable. And above all, united.
Festival of Colors Saturday
This 2024 edition has a special touch as the past few months have been marked by severe bad weather in India. “Three of our schools were under 1.5 meters of water,” says the Laxmi chairman. “It was very complicated, there were floods for three weeks.” 1,000 parcels were sent by the Villeneuve structure during this period, Radha even went there a few days later. “The houses there are not solid,” she says. To reflect the work of Laxmi – 2,400 children, spread across seven schools in northern India, in the state of Uttar Pradesh – a photo exhibition will be hung during the festival.
In addition to the exhibition, the India Festival is peppered with regular events, such as traditional dance and music shows, as well as yoga classes and Indian cooking workshops. “It will be different every day,” Radha adds. The society’s second godmother, Karine Salmon, will also be on hand for a sacred dance demonstration. As the highlight of the event, the public is invited to a fireworks show… full of colors! Just like in India, where spring is celebrated for 40 days, participants throw colored powder at each other. “We are going to do this on the banks of the Lot, you have to dress in white,” warns the chairman of Laxmi. A festive moment that allows the Villeneuvois to also welcome the sunny days.