Several of India's most-talented musical acts have been selected to perform at a major festival in Scotland next year, Scottish External Affairs Minister Humza Yousaf said today.
Yousaf said there would be a significant Indian presence on the line-up for next year's Celtic Connections, a renowned folk music festival held each January in Glasgow, Scotland. The festival is known to draw more than 1,00,000 people.
Saurav Moni, Ruhaniyat, Suhail Yusuf Khan, The Raghu Dixit Project, Parveen Sabrina Khan, Asin Langa and Bhungar Manganiyar have been invited to take part at the festival, Scottish officials said.
Yousaf was speaking ahead of a folk concert in Mumbai today. The concert, organised to highlight and celebrate cultural ties between Scotland and India, is one of the highlights of Folk Nations, the British Council's three-year programme focusing on folk music in India and the UK, officials added.
Yousaf's visit to India this week coincided with the start of the 2014 Commonwealth Games Queen's Baton Relay which saw the minister bring the baton from Scotland to India - its first stop on a 248-day journey around 70 nations of the Commonwealth.
A three-year reciprocal agreement for performances had last year been signed between 'Celtic Connections' and the Rajasthan International Folk Festival (RIFF).
