JAIPUR, Rajasthan: Nearly three weeks after I have returned from California in the United States, I still feel the hang over of exploring the new city. I look back on the days I was invited to attend the Festival of Globe FOG, in St Jose CA as a guest of honor.
When I was boarding the flight, my heart was full of mixed feelings. Of course leaving your place of being for many years and visiting a new country and new people gives goose bumps in your belly. At the same time it was a scary night dream. It took me few hours spent in the flight to get a subtle feeling of being happy and lucky to be part of the renowned Film Festival; the FOG.
Being a journalist and an art and literature lover, I have been interested in witnessing excellent work and it was a great experience watching Rajat Kapoor’s film ‘Ankho Dekhi.’ Also Kumar Raj’s ‘Tara’ starring Rekha Rana was a very good experience. I also had an opportunity to interact with both film makers which made me understand their deep vision on the cinema today.
Marking my presence where Bappi Lahiri and Deepti Naval, the renowned personalities of Indian Cinema, was indeed an exciting venture. And meeting with international stars of China, Vietnam, Fiji was a great experience.
It was the Rajasthan International Film Festival (RIFF) team that was invited and I as Organizing Secretary accompanied by Sanjay Gaur the Event Coordinator were part of the Festival of Globe, feeling honored and thankful to the entire team of FOG. I have heard the love for the country grows bigger and wider when you are away from your roots.
I felt it come alive in the personality of Dr Romesh Japra, abiding the culture of his country. Meeting with Dr Romesh Japra, the organizer of FOG and the Independence Day Parade, made me to have fallen in love with my country India once again.
The Independence Day parade at Fremont CA was one of the best experiences I have had in my life. Watching the Republic Day parade on 26 January every year on public media channel and having been thought of being part of the ceremony physically has been a dream till date but being a part of the similar event in another country is captivating. I realized that a tear rolled down my eyes with due respect for being part of a country like India whose festival was being celebrated abroad.
Having been together for almost 24 hours during the travel to CA, Sanjay Gaur and I shared lots of ideas but while coming back the only repetitive line we had to say to each other was “it was a lifelong best experience”.
Creating a better world requires teamwork, partnerships, and collaboration, as we need an entire army of companies to work together to build a better world within the next coming years. I am feeling great to have been associated with FOG and looking forward to welcome the guests from the FOG at Rajasthan International Film Festival RIFF scheduled from January 17to 20, in Jaipur, Rajasthan.
Anshu Harsh is Editor, Simply Jaipur magazine and Organising Secretary of Rajasthan International Film Festival.
Anshu Harsh
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