Happy Anniversary!

Israel and India together forever. How sweet.

To celebrate 15 years of India and Israel’s hot diplomatic love for each other the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, Israel, will play host to the “From India with Love” Festival.

Among the many highlights, Kavita Dwibedi, world renowned Odissi dancer, will perform several shows at the museum, from August 17^th- August 20^th. The dancing queen has toured all over the U.S. and Europe, performed at almost every major dance festival in India, and appeared on CNN and the Discovery Channel.

Purbayan Chaterjee, sitar player virtuoso, will also be on the bill performing during the festival. The talented Purbayan has been stringing away at the sitar since he was 4, winning the prestigious President of India award for best instrumentalist at age 14, and bringing his sweet sounds to various corners of the globe ever since.

Besides the requisite music and dance there will be art exhibitions, puppet shows and storytelling (for the kiddies) as well as guided tours.

Of course, no festival South Asian festival would be complete without a nod to Bollywood. To make sure that Bollywood is represented, several movie theaters in both Jerusalem and Tel Aviv will be showcasing a variety of crowd pleasers.

Here’s to fifteen more years of diplomacy and goodwill. In the words of the Beatles “All You Need is Love”.

The Israel Museum, www.imj.org.il