Gone are the days when the Seychelles-India Day Celebrations was trying to set its benchmark on the Seychelles calendar of annual events. Today, as the curtain has fallen on its second edition, the Seychelles Indian community has proved beyond a doubt that their event is here to stay and that it is growing bigger each year.
The second edition of the Seychelles-India Day Celebrations gave Seychelles an electrified three-day event, proving to be a real testimony that the Indo-Seychelles community is a gifted event planner. It is true that with very little resources, the first edition of the Seychelles-India Day Celebrations set the bar. But the real flash point of the second edition of the Seychelles-India Day Celebrations was the new committee spearheading this yearโs edition, and it took the challenge and shocked the Indo-Seychelles community with a new program of activities.
The Seychelles-India Day Celebrations committeeโs artistic strength was omnipresent with the most perfect replica of the iconic heritage site – the Taj Mahal – positioned at the entrance of โStad Popiler,โ right at the heart of Victoria, the capital of the Seychelles. The Indo-Seychelles community marched downtown through the Taj Mahal entrance in a festive mood to get a glimpse of their inspiring Indian legendary celebritiesโ performance. The line-up of known artists included: Minoti Parikh, Solid Bandโs Stephen Devassy and his โโflying fingers,โ Manoj George armed with a bow and fiddle, and others who gave Seychelles a cocktail of real blockbuster Indian hits. Packed with thousands of party goers, โStad Popilerโ gave a rare sight where music can break barriers and bring communities closer together.
Those who missed out on this spectacular performance that was attended by Vice President Danny Faure; Vincent Meriton, the Designated Minister; Alain St.Ange, the Minister for Tourism and Culture; and high government ministries and diplomats were able to make up for it with a Gala Lunch at Ephelia Constance Resort on the following Sunday.
As an โappetizzer,โ Stephen, dubbed flying fingers and known to be more than just an artist, played some trendy tunes leaving his spectators thirsty for more. For about an hour Stephenโs Solid Band and Indiaโs talented generation of artists left a rich artistic legacy in Seychelles. As the second edition of the Seychelles-India Day Celebrations closes on yet another successful note, the event’s organizing committee can proudly claimed that it has done it again for Seychelles and for India.
Seychelles is a founding member of the International Coalition of Tourism Partners (ICTP) .