Silk River 2017 – cultural event celebrates Indo-UK ties through River Thames and Hooghly

In a great initiative between Indian and UK artists, historians, writers, and musicians called Silk River 2017 is all set to enthral you. The 11-day long festival will allow visitors to get acquainted with, and also dive deep into the culture and history of the two nations. It is also a great opportunity to further strengthen Indo-UK ties. The ambitious project will put emphasis on London and Kolkata through their rivers, Thames Estuary and Hooghly.

Seen through the works of artists, historians, writers, and musicians of both nations, the exchange between the two communities is definitely worth visiting. The 11 day long project is the result of Kinetika’s initiative, headed by its founder and artistic director Ali Pretty, in collaboration with artistic directors Ruchira Das and Korak Ghosh. There is also the presence of a distinguished team of contemporary and traditional artists, writers, and photographers. Together, they are capturing and interpreting journey along the two mighty rivers.

Celebrating the unique relationship between London and Kolkata, the UK part of the project was held from September 15 to 24; the second leg is currently on along the Hooghly River until 17th December, 2017.
Debanjan Chakrabarti, Director, British Council East and Northeast said that Silk River Project 2017 is a way of creating awareness about Indo-UK cultural ties. A total of 20 locations have been shortlisted where the participants involved with the project would be working, in both London and Kolkata. Here, in Bengal, the stories of these 20 locations would be reflected through twenty hand-painted Bengali silk scrolls.