Queen Elizabeth II on Monday hosted a reception at the Buckingham Palace to launch the UK-India Year of Culture 2017 with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley representing the Indian government at the historic event.
Jaitley was joined by an Indian delegation that included the likes of actors Kamal Hassan, Suresh Gopi, cricket legend Kapil Dev, singer and actor Gurdas Mann, fashion designers Manish Arora and Manish Malhotra and sitar maestro Anoushka Shankar, at the grand event this evening.
"This is the kind of celebration of India-UK culture that should have happened long ago," said Kapil Dev
Indian High Commissioner to the UK YK Sinha invited the Indian cricket legend back to the UK in June to launch a special cricketing event celebrating India-UK ties as part of the UK-India Year of Culture events, which he accepted.
The 90-year-old Queen was joined by her husband, Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip, and grandson Prince William and his wife Kate.
High-profile guests from various fields were greeted to the main foyer of the palace with a special Indian dance performance on the steps titled 'Ekam', presented by the Akademi and choreographed by Arunima Kumar.
It showcased the cultural diversity of India in the form of dance.
Musicians from the Bhavan Centre in London performed Indian music with Balu Raghuraman on the violin and Shri Balachander on the Mridangam.
"We were under this regime and we have lots of good things they initiated in India, which we carry on with pride...but we built over that and are zooming to one of the most developed nations," he said.
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