Delhi International Arts Festival extravaganza ends

New Delhi, November 26: A Russian classical ballet, a performance by Chinese musicians and Indian classical dances, rung down the curtains on the fortnight-long 10th Delhi International Arts Festival that saw 2,000 artistes from over 30 countries participating in the cultural extravaganza.

The DIAF came to an end on Friday evening amid entertaining as well as cultural performances.

The Russian classical ballet, performed with ethereal simplicity, kicked off the evening and was followed by other performances, ranging from Chinese musicians presenting their unique style to a panorama of Indian classical dance forms.

Speaking on the occasion, Delhi Tourism Minister Kapil Misra said that such events help forge closer ties between nations and that the Delhi government was happy to be associated with such a prestigious event.

Prathibha Prahlad, founder festival director, said that DIAF is a peoples' fest and has been supported over the decade with love and affection by people.

Thanking everyone for their support, she said that India has a rich cultural heritage and that it needs to increase its cultural footsteps internationally and become the culture capital of the world.

Veteran BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi, Union Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Art and Culture Minister Mishra attended the evening.

The 10th Delhi International Arts Festival was held from November 12-25 at 35 prime venues in the capital, including at famous heritage sites, auditoriums, amphitheatres, cultural hubs and other eidetic places.

Spanning over two weeks, these festivities covered a wide gamut of performances ranging from Classical Music, World Music, Band Music, Sufi Music to Dance, Festival of Plays, Book Reading, Book and Journal Launches, Children's Film Festival and Educational Tours, Interactive sessions, Quizzes among others.