All India Dragon Boat Festival - Event - Schmoozing Over Coffee
- June 28, 2016
- By Samriddha Bhattacharya
- 0 Comments
Dhakuria Lake and Calcutta Rowing Club played the host this year to the All India Dragon Boat Festival.
The celebrations started off with professional rowers putting their oars to the water, on boats with a dragon head. The first boat to the shore wins. Mostly a Chinese audience, there were many Indians too rooting for the rowers, there were many Indians who had taken part in the competition. The winners were given trophies after the Chinese Lion Dance was over.
There were throngs of people waiting for the Chinese Lion Dance. It is a wonder to see and you cannot help but appreciate the effort of the boys under the costume. Not being able to see but maintaining your balance and coordination requires talent and a hell lot of practice. The typical music to which the Lions dance was played by a group of Chinese musicians. Here are a few videos for you to enjoy.
The emcee said that the Dragon Boat Festival is incomplete without eating a Zhong. A zhong is basically a sticky rice dumpling with a sweet or salty centre. The sweet filling is made up of bean paste and the salty filling can be anything you want, but the ones which were available had a mushroom filling.
A lot of stalls selling authentic Chinese delicacies were set up serving Chicken/Pork Pao, spring rolls, dumplings, wantons and many more. Tea is a speciality of China, so lemongrass and jasmine tea were available for the beverage lovers.
The celebrations started off with professional rowers putting their oars to the water, on boats with a dragon head. The first boat to the shore wins. Mostly a Chinese audience, there were many Indians too rooting for the rowers, there were many Indians who had taken part in the competition. The winners were given trophies after the Chinese Lion Dance was over.
There were throngs of people waiting for the Chinese Lion Dance. It is a wonder to see and you cannot help but appreciate the effort of the boys under the costume. Not being able to see but maintaining your balance and coordination requires talent and a hell lot of practice. The typical music to which the Lions dance was played by a group of Chinese musicians. Here are a few videos for you to enjoy.
The emcee said that the Dragon Boat Festival is incomplete without eating a Zhong. A zhong is basically a sticky rice dumpling with a sweet or salty centre. The sweet filling is made up of bean paste and the salty filling can be anything you want, but the ones which were available had a mushroom filling.
A lot of stalls selling authentic Chinese delicacies were set up serving Chicken/Pork Pao, spring rolls, dumplings, wantons and many more. Tea is a speciality of China, so lemongrass and jasmine tea were available for the beverage lovers.
The Dhakuria Lake has a beautiful atmosphere and the lights and hubbub of the festivities brought about some life to the otherwise serene ambience.
A member of the club said that they should hold such an event in Park Street next time, to which the crowd vociferously agreed.
It was a nice to see the Chinese feeling comfortable and finding a home in Kolkata, away from their native land. It felt good to see the diverse cultures coming together, respecting each other and enjoying the moment.
Lets hope that this acceptance of all the good things in the world continues and many more festivities of such kinds come to the fore in our Kolkata.
A member of the club said that they should hold such an event in Park Street next time, to which the crowd vociferously agreed.
It was a nice to see the Chinese feeling comfortable and finding a home in Kolkata, away from their native land. It felt good to see the diverse cultures coming together, respecting each other and enjoying the moment.
Lets hope that this acceptance of all the good things in the world continues and many more festivities of such kinds come to the fore in our Kolkata.
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