President Pranab Mukherjee during an Indian community reception in Belgium
The Europalia festival, a cultural extravaganza showcasing India's rich cultural heritage through 450 events to be held over four months, was inaugurated here today by President Pranab Mukherjee and Belgium's King Philippe.
After the formal opening by Mr Mukherjee, the first Indian President to visit this European country, events will be held at 100 venues in Belgium and neighbouring countries between October and January 26 next year.
The event will present to Europe different aspects of Indian artistic diversity, with focus on seven themes - Body, Water, Indomania, India Tomorrow, Living Traditions, Bollywood and Beyond, and the Diaspora.
Ramayana, the epic tale of King Ram, will be the main attraction at the imposing Cinquantenaire Museum, which is exhibiting 100 miniature paintings related to the mythological book provided by the National Museum of Delhi.
The epitome of love and romance, Taj Mahal, will make its presence felt during the event albeit in a different form.
Nearly 200-year-old unseen photographs of the marble marvel are on display at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts here.
The ubiquitous sari, 100 years of Indian cinema, architecture and design, and Sanskrit, the language from the Vedic period, are the focus of a series of exhibitions and events organised as part of the mega-event.
Mr Mukherjee, who arrived in Brussels on Wednesday, said he was happy to jointly inaugurate Europalia-India with King Philippe.
During a lunch he hosted for Mukherjee earlier in the day, King Philippe referred to the festival as "an opportunity in the capital of Europe to approach the mysteries of another culture".
"This festival is the largest festival outside India.
These festivals greatly help to expand understanding and cooperation between our countries and would be a catalyst for enhanced people-to-people contacts," Mr Mukherjee said before the inauguration.
Under the theme Indomania, 50 concerts by Indian artists - ranging from the Sidi Gomas or "Black Sufis" of Gujarat to contemporary musicians like Charanjit Singh of Acid House fame - will be organised over the next four months.
Ace santoor player Amjad Ali Khan will present his unique brand of Hindustani music while Carnatic music proponent Sudha Raghunathan and violinist L Subramaniam will bring to audiences completely different genres of Indian music.
The mega-event is being organised by Europalia International in partnership with the External Affairs Ministry, the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and its partners.
Indian literature would be another key attraction, with 20 writers coming to Belgium during the festival for interactions with Belgian litterateurs.
In one such interaction, sarangi player Dhruba Ghosh will meet famous Belgian author Francois Emmanuel for a reading of the latter's short story "Amour deesse triste" from his latest book "Les Murmurantes".
There will also be more than 30 performing art events featuring dance and martial arts from India. From complex 'mudras' of Bharatnatyam to the subtle nuances of Kathak, artists will present the complete array of Indian classical dance to European audience.
"There is also a rich young contemporary scene which, far from the classical Indian themes, is outward-looking and explores all artistic genres from poetry to comics," said a statement from Europalia.
In the past, Europalia showcased BRICS members Brazil, China and Russia and other countries like Italy and Poland through similar events.