Crowds flock to Asian festival

By Pauline McLean
BBC Scotland arts correspondent

The last of the summer festivals to be held in Edinburgh is in full swing.

About 40,000 will be at the event

The Edinburgh Mela, a celebration of the many south Asian cultures in Scotland, takes place from Friday to Sunday in the capital.

Organisers believe it is important to win new audiences for the event, which has become one of the largest multi-cultural festivals in the UK.

Artists are travelling to Edinburgh from as far afield as Chile, Nepal and Pakistan.

But it was not always so.

Ten years ago it was just another small event, barely noticed in the midst of the city's other arts festivals.

The Mela's chief executive Alan Tweedie recalled: "It was quite an event when it started, but it has gradually grown in many directions.

"There is far more public participation in the event. There's far more diversity in the acts and it's achieving quite a big scale in Scotland and in the UK."

Edinburgh is a very important venue for cultural events of all kinds PS Randhawa Indian Consul General

It is not just audiences which have grown - to almost 40,000 - but the programme itself.

Performers will collaborate with musicians based in Scotland, like last year's the fusion of Scots and Asian musical styles which was overseen by Colin Blakey.

But it bridges more than just musical divides.

The Consul General for India in Edinburgh, PS Randhawa, stressed the gathering helps unite whole cultures.

He said: "Edinburgh is a very important venue for cultural events of all kinds and India has a rich cultural heritage which manifests itself most vividly in its brilliant costumes and dance.

"So dance is just one way of bridging the cultures between the two countries."

The gathering is one of the UK's biggest multi cultural parties

Asian actor turned film maker Annie George has been a regular Mela-goer since it first began.

She says it helped inspire her to make her latest film, Curry and Irn Bru, which has already won a clutch of awards on the film festival circuit.

"It's a look at the experiences of young people from Glasgow particularly, but also looking at people who straddle the two cultures," she explained.

"They are very much a part of Scottish society and yet they are very much influenced by their Asian background and it's really an attempt to give them a voice."

There will be no shortage of voices, music, dance, food and fashion in the capital's Pilrig Park over the weekend.