South Asian Diaspora Convention 2013

An annual arts festival, Kalaa Utsavam celebrates Indian arts during the festive period of Deepavali – the Festival of Lights.

Into its 12th edition this year, Kalaa Utsavam is proud to present two groundbreaking local works in the Theatre and Concert Hall. Anchoring the festival are Angkor: An Untold Story, an enthralling dance theatre premiere that traces the story behind one of the most magnificent Hindu temples in the world; and musical travelogue Taal Express, a mesmerising musical travelogue on a train journey across eight regions of India. India's celebrated music duo, the Colonial Cousins bring back their fusion of Indian music and western sounds to Singapore after 10 years.

In the Recital Studio, some of Singapore and India's top classical carnatic vocalists take centrestage as Sushma Somasekharan and Chitra Poornima Sathish pay tribute to womanhood and child prodigy Abhishek Raghuram demonstrates his virtuosity and versatility in musical improvisations. Literary stars Amish Tripathi and Chetan Bhagat share their individual literary journeys while children can delight in the tales of The Indigo Jackal and The Hornbill and the Bulbul in Forest Fables: Animals of Mischief.

Over at the Theatre Studio, you can catch some sterling solo performances by Rajit Kapur in Girish Karnad's Flowers, MD Pallavi in C Sharp C Blunt and bharatanatyam dancer Dr. Janaki Rangarajan in Antaryatra – The Journey Within.

At the Outdoor Theatre, free performances entertain while enlivening the waterfront with song, dance and colour as seen through the classical dance drama Kathakali and fusion rock band Agam.

Full festival information is available at www.kalaautsavam.com and we look forward in having you join us in celebrating the rich and diverse textures of Indian arts.