Two Indians to feature at Tatarstan ethnic festival

Moscow: Two Indian artists will feature at the sixth edition of Tatarstan`s Krutushka ethnic festival that began in the village of the same name and will showcase the culture of different parts of Russia and the world.Parul Mishra will sing mantras in Sanskrit and Dhruv Bedi will perform on the sitar during the three-day event that will comprise performances of the ethnic music of Tatars, Russians, Maris, Chuvashs, Mordovians, and Udmurts, screening of ethnographic films, art workshops and exhibitions. The festival is being held in Krutushka village close to Tatarstan capital Kazan, 800 km from Moscow. Five thousand people had visited the festival last year. "Parul Mishra and Dhruv Bedi were invited by Russian band Samhey. They are doing a project together," Damir Nasyrov, one of organizers said. Parul Mishra is a talented singer who was born and brought up in Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh. She participated in an Indian hit music show in 2012. Dhruv started learning sitar from his father, the internationally renowned sitar and surbahar artist Jagdeep Singh Bedi, when he was 4 years old. Dhruv, who has won many awards in India, is now honing his skills with sitar maestro Budhaditya Mukherjee. Dhruv is thoroughly enjoying the place, as also Russian food. "I think it`s a beautiful place. The people are so nice. And they are really fond of music and they also like Indian music very much. Performing with Russian musicians is lovely," Dhruv said. Parul Mishra and Dhruv Bedi will also visit Kazan, Moscow and St.Petersburg before returning home.