Indo Latvian Friendship Festival 2012 - Riga, Latvia (March 15, 2012)

The Embassy of India in Stockholm with the support of Indo Baltic Federation of Culture and Commerce, (IBF) and other co-organizers proudly presented the Indo Latvian Frienship Festival - 2012 on 15th March 2012 in Riga. Mamata Shankar and her dance troupe were flown into Riga, Latvia for performing Rabindranath Tagore Compositions "Horikhela" and "Tagore in Symphony" to celebrate the event. Mamata Shankar, an accomplished dancer, choreographer and actress received her basic training in dance and choreography at the UDAY SHANKAR INDIA CULTURE CENTRE in Calcutta from her mother Amala Shankar and imbibed her father Uday Shankar's rare talent for adapting western theatrical techniques to traditional Indian classical dance, imbued with elements of Indian classical, folk, and tribal dance. Over the past 29 years Mamata has choreographed several dance-dramas and short dance items on wide ranging contemporary themes. Amongst the most notable are Tagore's "CHANDALIKA", "HORIKHELA", "AAJKER EKALABYA", "MILAP", "SHIKAR", "VASANTOTSAV", "PRAKRITI", "KALMRIGAYA" & "MOTHER EARTH", "AMRITASYA PUTRA". Hon'ble Minister of Defence of Republic of Latvia Dr Artis Pabriks was the Chief Guest of the celebrations. In his speech, Ambassador thanked the audience for their overwhelming support. The performance was deeply appreciated by audience which included senior officials of the Latvian Government, Ambassadors of several countries as well as prominent members of the Latvian and Indian communities. The cultural performance went a long way in further enhancing and promoting Friendship and Cooperation between India and Latvia.