Published Date: 10 August 2009
By Jan Fairley
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PILRIG PARK, LEITH
THIS gem of a multicultural festival was buzzing. Happily returned to Pilrig Park, its programme of music,
dance, craft and food stalls was a kaleidoscope for the senses. In the big top, an early highlight was Yatra,whose eclectic fusion of Taiko drumming, south Asian and Scottish traditional music featuring Indian dancers, has matured, with fluent exchange among all involved for their Homecoming commission.
The laid-back jazz styles of Singapore’s New Asia group set a cool mood. In contrast, Gol brought politics to the fore, playing against dramatic recent images from Tehran. Their music gained gravity with Azeri singer Aidin Poori and Ilhan Barutcu on Turkish flute, complementing Vosough Ahmadi’s delicate dulcimer sounds.
Bhangra queen Mona Singh then got the public dancing, hooting carnival horns as they did so.
Outside Garden Stage acts included pin-up soul singer Anshul Tomer (with a Michael Jackson lookalike doing a stunning Billie Jean tribute). Three dazzling Bollywood tribute sets by the Desi Bravehearts delighted an enormous family audience.
The Zawadi Women’s Choir showed the strength of the local community with their African songs, as did the shifting samba rhythms of the Pulse of the Place. Sword-swallowing magician Jardu was a hoot, drawing a woman from the audience to magic away her gold ring and watch into a closed tin can.
Creativity was abundant at the food stalls, where a man deftly made naan breads in a charcoal oven. I ate some with spicy chicken, then explored the Forest Workshops, where a group made a yak herder’s hut and kids were weaving Chinese dragonflies and making Nepalese kites. Now there’s diversity in action!
