Letters, Sounds, Images - Performance by Indian and Bulgarian Artists
An Evening Dedicated to the Day of Bulgarian Education and Culture,
and the Slavonic Alphabet

On the occasion of the Day of Bulgarian Education and Culture, and the Slavonic Alphabet, celebrated in Bulgaria on 24 May every year as a tribute to the brothers Cyril and Methodius who created in the 9th Century A.D. the Slavonic alphabet, the Embassy of Bulgaria in collaboration with the India Habitat Centre organized on 18 May 2009 at the Amaltas Hall, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, a cultural programme "Letters, Sounds, Images - Indian and Bulgarian Artists in Dialogue" - an interactive performance by Rana Dasgupta (writer), Georgi Tenev (writer) and Kalin Nikolov (composer).

Inaugurating the programme the Ambassador of Bulgaria to India H.E. Mr. Borislav Kostov emphasised the special historic significance of the Day of Bulgarian Education and Culture, and the Slavonic Alphabet for all Bulgarians as a symbol of the Bulgarian national identity and a contribution of the Bulgarian people to the world cultural heritage and diversity.

Emphasizing the fact that the stage that evening would be shared by young and talented artists from India and Bulgaria, who having pursued separately their artistic careers have been brought together by a common theme - Bulgaria, the Ambassador introduced the participants to the audience.

The Indian writer Mr. Rana Dasgupta gained wide international recognition with his debut novel "Tokyo Cancelled". His critically acclaimed second book "Solo", released earlier this year, traces the history of Bulgaria during the 20th century through the eyes of an ordinary middle class Bulgarian who lived to be 100 years old and had witnessed it all. To quote Joanne Hayden in Sunday Business Post, ""Solo" is beautifully symphonic - elegiac and prophetic, underpinned by intelligence, compassion and a wonderfully unfettered imagination".

The Bulgarian writer Mr. Georgi Tenev is author of novels and plays for stage and radio, as well as author and host of a popular programme for literature on Bulgarian National Television named "The Library". His plays have been performed in Germany, France and Russia. He received the PRIX EUROPA award for the best European radio play at Berlin Festival in 1999, and his novel "Party Headquarters" is winner of the annual award for the Best Bulgarian novel of 2007.

Mr. Kalin Nikolov, a Bulgarian musician, composer of music for films, theatre and radio plays, is holder of the prestigious Bulgarian theatre award "Askeer" for the music of the performance of "King Lear" at "Ivan Vazov" National Theater, Sofia. He composed the music of the Bulgarian film "Zift", which won the Best Director Award and the Best Film Prize of the Russian Film Clubs Federation at the 30th Moscow International Film Festival in 2008.

The artists presented an interactive performance combining texts, music and images on Bulgaria based on Rana Dasgupta's novel "Solo" and Georgi Tenev's short story "The Holy Light". An additional Indian flavour to the evening was given by the performance of the young and talented Indian tabla player Mr. Sunil Ashtanya, who is a member of Sufi Music Band and has recorded 2 albums, and is a student of Bulgarian language and literature at Delhi University.

The artists captivated the audience with their performance in a full house. The event was attended among others by intellectuals, journalists, businessmen, representatives of the Indo-Bulgarian Friendship Association, members of the diplomatic corps.