Indian musicians 'at home' in Yunnan

Cultural exchanges and people-to-people communication are conducive to the development of bilateral relations, said Indian musicians who have been experiencing Chinese music and culture during their trip to the country.

At the invitation of the Consulate General of China in Kolkata, India, the six-member delegation of musicians is visiting Southwest China's Yunnan province from Monday to Saturday.

They began their trip in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan. During their two-day visit there, members of the delegation watched Chinese performances, met with teachers and students at Yunnan Minzu University, and took part in cultural exchanges with experts and scholars at the Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences.

After watching Dynamic Yunnan, an original ethnic dance musical at the Yunnan Art Theater, Alobo Naga, an Indian singer and composer, said he was amazed by the performance.

"It's a very good experience, especially the culture. I could see lots of similarities (of our cultures). It's something very unique, but we feel that we are at home," Naga told China Daily in an exclusive interview.

He also noted that India and China are and will always be neighbors.

"We have to be good to one another, and to be friends, because no matter what happens, we will be neighbors for a lifetime," Naga said.

He said the delegation has come to know more about China, and he hopes the cultural exchanges initiated in China will continue so the friendship between the two countries will grow stronger.

Led by composer, conductor and music teacher James Shikiye Swu, the delegation includes tribal singers, folk musicians and educators.

Music instructor Nise Meruno said that the purpose of India-China bilateral exchanges is not only to celebrate diversity, but also to celebrate unity and to make the world a more peaceful place to live.

During the visit, some members of the delegation found that many of Yunnan's ethnic groups, especially the Yi and Jingpo people, had many similarities in dress, language, food and architecture with their counterparts in India.

Swu, head of the delegation, said that the musicians learned so much by coming to China, and he hopes the trip marks the beginning of increased people-to-people exchanges between the two nations.

"Maybe we should come back here again and do some research and stay longer, and go to the villages of the Yi and Jingpo people to take a look," Swu added.

According to Zhang Zhizhong, director of the Bilateral Section of the Consulate General of China in Kolkata, this is the third delegation that the consulate has sent to Yunnan this year, with three Indian Buddhist monks having visited the province in April, and 10 artists and young scholars in July who participated in events at the China-South Asia Cooperation Forum.

The current delegation's itinerary includes visits to Mangshi city, Longchuan county and Ruili city. On Friday, it will return to Kunming, where members are expected to participate in a cultural exchange activity with musicians from the Yunnan Musicians Association.