It?s going to be an Indian summer this year in London, courtesy HSBC. One of the world?s leading banks is sponsoring a five- month-long event of India culture, Indian Summer, with a direct aim of boosting business.
?The objective of Indian summer is to boost what is great and beautiful in Indian culture,? Naina Lal Kidwai, CEO, HSBC India, says. ?India is a key market for the group, and what the show will do is provide an insight into the country, fostering cultural understanding to further business interests and trade ties between the two nations.?
The three-fold event, which will be on from May to September this year at the British Museum in London, is part of HSBC?s global initiative to have cultural exchanges to enhance cultural awareness and provide tangible benefits for the brand and the business, reveals Marah Winn-Moon, head of Cultural Sponsorship, HSBC. ?The programme was launched in 2007 and last year a China Now series saw about 1600 events in the UK as a build up to the Beijing Olympics.?
A unique programme of exhibitions, installations, performances, lectures and film screenings will form part of the summer. ?There will be three main parts to the season ?paintings, an Indian landscape garden and public activities,? says Richard Blurton, curator, British Museum.
The British Museum will host an exhibition called ?Garden and Cosmos: The Royal Paintings of Jodhpur?, which will consist of 55 paintings from the Mehrangarh Museum Trust, Jodhpur. These paintings, largely from the 18th and 19th centuries, are large format paintings that have been relatively unknown till now. The first part of the three-part series are from times of Nagaur?s Maharaja Bhakt Singh (1725-51) are ?all about pleasure ? life in the zenana, music, dance ? we see flowering trees, jungles etc,? says Blurton. The second part dates from the reign his successor Vijay Singh and are part of a Ramacharitmanas text. ?The last part is a series from the work of Nathpathi yogis and in their depiction of the unfathomable universe by plain canvas, predate the current craze, Mark Rothko?s spiritual zone by centuries,? he points out. This exhibition, which has already been shown at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington and is currently on at the Seattle Art Museum, is expected to travel to Delhi towards the end of the year.
The India Landscape section a specially commissioned space presenting Indian biodiversity in the Museum?s forecourt in collaboration with Kew Gardens, both of which are celebrating their 250th anniversary. The landscape will present a section through the diverse habitats of the Indian subcontinent, from the Himalayas, through temperate regions and ending in a sub-tropical zone centred on a pool filled with lotus flowers. It will also focus on the plants that will travel and highlight the consequences of habitat destruction.
?There is a sort of unity in the two as both look at garden and cosmos,? says Blurton, explaining the choices. Also on during the five months will be series of events and activities, including public debates, lectures and talks, screenings of films and a wide range of family and educational activities to complement the exhibition. Music and dance performances, food and drink events will also form part of the festivities.
?We are expecting about two million visitors to visit,? says Blurton. Kidwai sees this as an experiment, which should further the interests of the bank, making way for other such experiments in the future.
For those in London during this summer, it promises to be an experience of a lifetime.