The official launch of this year’s Bradford South Asian Festival took place today, as events will be underway from today (Friday, 12 August) till Sunday 14 August.
In a three-day celebration and commemoration of South Asian arts, culture, heritage and creativity as viewed through the lens of the district’s desi diaspora, the festival is being held at Kala Sangam arts centre.
Kickstarting the programme today, BSAF launched a special ceremonial exhibition, which took place at 5.30 pm at the Broadway shopping centre in Bradford city centre.
A dhol and dance performance was exhibited by Punjabi Roots Academy, along with a puppeteer and his friendly creations from Bradford, India and Pakistan as the ensemble paraded together to Kala Sangam, for some karak chai from local tea vendors and South Asian snacks.
The organisers then had a profusion of welcome speeches and poetry performances planned, before officially opening this year’s Bradford South Asian Festival, which is brought to you by Bradford South Asian Heritage Forum and our amazing partners.
Uzma Kazi, who is one of the event organisers, says, “This year’s launch is a special one, as it is a double landmark anniversary, with 75 years of partition and 50 years of Ugandan expulsion, which will be commemorated in our festival”.
Opening the launch with a giant dragonfly puppet strapped to him was Purvin the puppeteer from Herefordshire, who has worked in South Asian communities not only in Birmingham and Manchester, but also in India and Pakistan.
“A lot of the puppets I have brought up today, are characters from different communities in both Lahore and the Punjab part of India,” says Purvin.
Trying to be an advocate for insects, Purvin says “During the lockdown period, I made hundreds of different types of giant insects. I really love insects, because as you know, they are in decline at the moment, because of climate change and various other reasons”.
The giant turquoise coloured dragonfly, he says, took him around three or four weeks to curate, as he will be working closely with children in a workshop tomorrow as part of the festival, showing them how to operate puppets and bringing them to life.
Also in attendance at the launch, Dr Manoj Joshi, who commented “It’s fantastic that we are celebrating the Bradford south Asian festival, it’s about time that we start to get recognised for the contribution we make, and this is a great opportunity and can I just thank the organisers for taking this initiative.
“It’s a double landmark, the 50th anniversary of the Ugandan Asians. I being one of them, I’m very proud to be marking this occasion and to acknowledge the contribution of Ugandan Asians, which is lavish and whole-hearted, so thank you to the United Kingdom for allowing us to come in and make our contribution”.
Highlights this year include acclaimed comedian Aatif Nawaz from BBC3’s Muzlamic, and Channel 4’s Bounty, who will headline the Gigglewalas comedy night on Friday, with Keighley’s own Nick Ahad from BBC Radio Leeds, who will be on hosting duties.
The duo will be joined by a host of up-and-coming comedic talent from Bradford and the UK, with more surprises planned for the evening and the remainder of the festival.
Young rappers and musicians will showcase their talents on Saturday night at B3: Bradford, Beats and Bars, followed by a celebration of the golden age of Bollywood disco – Disco Deewane, dubbed a must for fans of all things kitschy and retro.
And the festival winds down on Sunday afternoon with a tribute concert to Lata Mangeshkar, the legendary Bollywood playback singer adored by millions, who passed away earlier this year.
West Yorkshire singer Shabnam Khan and her band will interpret some of Lata’s biggest hits, with the chance of a singalong with audience members.
A jam-packed weekend of family-friendly activities, with a series of powerful talks and workshops, including a round-table and interactive Migration Map exploring and marking 75 years since the partition of India, as well as many more interactive activities, such as a chapati making workshop, which was a huge hit with children during the Bradford curry mela weekend in July.
