The London Mela 

The London Mela is a free outdoor arts festival inspired by the culture and creativity of South Asia. Musicians, DJ's, dancers, actors and artists come together to entertain, excite and enthrall.

Amongst other things, last year's festival saw DJ Bobby Friction mixing it up with leading Tabla expert Pandit Sharda Sahai, Pakistan's Atif Aslam rocked the crowds in his debut European performance, and Bollywood Steps performed a dance extravaganza.

2006 was also the year Concern Worldwide began its collaboration with the Mela, exhibiting Natures Fury, a photo story about the South Asian earthquake by leading photojournalist Shahidul Alam.

Now in its fifth year, the London Mela is a major free festival including a variety of stages and zones:

• main stage features upcoming and established British Asian talent and international artists
• classical stage
• indo-electronica stage
• community and cabaret stage
• London Flavas stage presented by BBC Radio 1’s Bobby and Nihal
• BBC Asian Network stage
• Other zones include Magic Mela for children, food, stalls and funfair.

This year’s highlights include performances of the Mela Trilogy – which catapults iconic mela instruments into the 21st century: ‘In the Dhol Drums’ and ‘Tabla Blab-Blah’ both featured in previous Melas, and the final instalment, the premiere of ‘Sitar Rhapsody’, pays tribute to Freddie Mercury’s Indian connections. The grand finale of the Mela features godfather of British Asian Urban music Pandit Dinesh teaming up with Afro-Latin jazz pianist Kishon Khan. Expect an uplifting performance with percussion and pyrotechnics.

http://www.londonmela.org/