A lesser seen foot soldier for cultural diplomacy

WORLD leaders from across the globe have hailed South Africa’s hosting of the G20 summit as a triumphant event.

- ISMAIL MAHOMED

SOUTH African singer and dancer Kumari Ambigay singing the popular song Ganga Maiya to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. | Facebook

Not even the tantrums thrown by US President Donald Trump could detract world leaders from a commitment of working towards a common purpose at the summit.

Packed with high-level deliberations and side meetings led to a victorious closure of the summit.

Downplayed, however, beneath a very focused political agenda, was a cultural programme that gave world leaders an insightful experience and understanding about the diversity that weaves ordinary South African people together into a singular and rich tapestry rooted in multiple histories, traditions and practices carried through generations.

It was a thoughtful, relevant and smartly interrelated cultural programme with the political gravitas of the summit, albeit it that it was downplayed.

India’s President Narendra Modi, for example, was welcomed at the G20 summit by South Africans in a very dignified recital of the Ganga Maiya —a devotional tribute to the River Ganges in India.

This recital was not just a random cultural performance to show the connection between South African Indians and the motherland in a week when South Africans were marking the 165th anniversary of the arrival of indentured Indians to South Africa.