Alliance Francaise to organise World Music Day event in Delhi

When French minister of culture Jack Lang and composer and music journalist Maurice Fleuret came up with the idea of the Fête de la Musique (better known as World Music Day) in 1982, one wonders if they envisioned it growing into a global celebration of music that now takes place in over 800 cities across 120 countries.

Delhi is one of the cities participating in this year’s World Music Day festivities, during which citizens are encouraged to play music in their neighbourhoods, public spaces and parks. Free concerts are also organized. “What is special in this is the fact that it is dedicated to amateurs, not professionals…. It is the beginning of summertime in France and also the time for vacations. July and August, traditionally, are the two months where people want to take vacations," says Jean-François Ramon, director, Alliance Francaise de Delhi.

Fête de la Musique will have a mix of concerts and competitions. “This year, we are organizing something for our students as well. We have around 4,200 students a year and we know a part of them likes to play music," says Ramon.

The programme on 21 June will include Faites de la Musique—a singing competition for Alliance Française students. This will be followed by a concert by Delhi-based rock ‘n’ roll/blues band Knight Shades, which will also perform a selection of French songs. The rest of the evening will see DJ Roli at the turntable, spinning up a storm of Afro, Latin and Oriental beats.

Ramon says it’s important that World Music Day remains free and open to everyone. There is, he says, no money in this story. It is music by anybody for everybody, he adds.

“What I know is that in France, there are not so many possibilities to play (music) on the streets. It is very restricted. Only on this evening, everything is possible. In India, I have a feeling something is happening every day. It is difficult to compare, but for us the rules are strict and maybe that’s the reason the government in 1982 decided to open the gates for more cultural actions on the street. In India, the situation, for me, is pretty different," explains Ramon.