Festivalgoers get to sample Indian culture, tastes, colors

Think of India and certain images may spring to mind: elephants, tigers, naan, tandoori chicken, maybe big Bollywood dance numbers. But there's so much more to India. The country, one-third the size of the United States, is home to many different ethnic groups, all with their own cultures, religions, languages and traditions.

Representatives of those different regions and groups now call Arkansas home, and they're putting their traditions on display for all to see and experience at India Fest, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Sunday in the River Market Pavilion.

The festival is a collaborative effort from associations with ties to India, including Friends of India, American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) and several groups representing the various Indian states and cultural groups.

It has been years in the making, according to Dr. Supriya Jambhekar, an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences who serves as medical director of the Arkansas Children's Hospital Sleep Disorders Center.

"We've always looked at the Greek Food Festival and the Turkish Food Festival and said, 'We could have an Indian food festival,'" she says.

There was actually a festival planned five years ago, Jambhekar says, but it was called off when organizers realized they didn't have the proper permits.

This year, it's all ready to go and the River Market pavilions will be full of the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of India.

"Lots of people are working to try and make this a fine event," Jambhekar says. "Most of our programs have a lot of dancing and singing, colorful clothes. We want everybody to come around and enjoy it."

The day features activities, booths and programs to highlight and share the multiple cultures of India. A long list of performances includes Bollywood medleys, Bengali folk songs and Marathi folk dances.

The Fest also will showcase the colorful clothes of India through fashion shows with bride and groom costumes from the different regions of India, modern casual clothes and children's costumes.

For those who are inspired by the Indian fashions, volunteers at a booth will drape saris on anyone who wants to try the traditional women's garment for themselves. Another booth will apply small temporary henna tattoos.

There will be plenty of take-home souvenirs as well, with a photo booth with Indian-theme backgrounds and stalls selling traditional clothes, jewelry and crafts from India.

A highlight, of course, will be the food, which is a huge part of Indian culture.

"Eating gives us a great deal of happiness," Jambhekar says. "If anybody comes over, you want to feed them."

Those who love to eat out at Indian restaurants may be surprised by what they find.

"There's so much more to Indian food than what you eat in the restaurants," Jambhekar says. "Most of the time the restaurants that serve food, it's from the northern part of India."

Instead, the festival will offer dishes including poha batata (steamed flattened rice and potatoes with mild spices), coconut chutney (grated coconut with spices, curry leaves and mustard seeds) and maddur vada (deep-fried fritters). All of it is being prepared by volunteers from the different Indian associations.

Jambhekar acknowledges, "There are a lot of myths about India, too."

So the festival will have an educational area where volunteers can clear up some of those misconceptions about their home country.

"Like, you won't find elephants on the streets of India," Jambhekar says with a laugh.

Weekend on 04/16/2015