Music icons grace London Mela

Party time in the capital Asian style

IT IS BILLED as Europe’s largest outdoor party with an Asian theme and routinely draws crowds in their thousands.

Some 80,000 people are estimated to have participated in the 11-year-old London Mela, which was held in Gunnersbury Park, close to Ealing, West London on Sunday, September 1.

Numbers may have been dented slightly this year by the Premier League’s Super Sunday, featuring popular Asian-supported teams, Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal and Tottenham all in live TV action against each other, respectively.

There were also weekend celebrations for the Hindu festival of Janmashti (Lord Krishna’s birthday) and an award presentation to Indian film director Vishal Bhardwaj at the British Film Institute South Bank and the continuing season of Satyajit Ray films there on the same day.

The main stage at the mela was graced by two-stand out names, British Asian pop sensation, Bally Sagoo and global world music icon, Rahet Fateh Ali Khan, nephew of the late legendary  Ustad Nusrat, who introduced the world to the power of Qawali and Sufi.

In addition, youtube sensation and comedienne Superwoman, aka Canadian Lilly Singh, made a surprise appearance at the festival, at which the BBC Asian Network hosts the main stage and broadcasts the entertainment across the internet.

Former England cricket captain Nasser Hussain was at the Mela for the first time, challenging revellers to the Skype Superbowl challenge and also spoke about his career and his British Asian/Indian connections.

The festival has a number of stages or tents that showcase different aspects of British Asian music production from new acts to classical.

Also on the main stage were Punjabi folk maestro AS Kang, Sufi songstress Hashdeep Kaur and Nafees. It was Bally Sagoo’s first appearance at the London Mela and he used the occasion to remind everyone he has not disappeared from the scene, having lived and worked in India since the late 1990s.

Over at the new music stage, compered by BBC Asian Network DJ and presenter Nihal, tunes could be heard by Panjabi Hit Squad and Steel Banglez, among others.

On the classical stage, supported by the British Heart Foundation, the Philarmonia Orchestra performed ‘Samaagam’, a collaboration with renowned sarod players, Amaan and Ayaan Ali Khan.

In the Magic Mela area, the Kawa Circus got busy and wowed revellers, while there was a Nepali dance troupe that added to the sense of theatre and celebration.

As the organisers like to say, there is something for everyone of the family and they are not just talking about the food.

There are scores of stalls selling every conceivable type of takeway fare and many companies used the mela to reach out to both old and new customers.

A closing firework finale (pictured) loosely based on ‘The Ramayana’ brought a curtain on eight-hours of festivities in the 186-acre park.

Ajay Chhabra, artistic director of the London Mela, said: “Audiences were treated to a unique combination of international stars, UK premieres, and ambitious new projects.”

For the action, please see: www.bbc.co.uk/asiannetwork