As part of 75^th India’s independence anniversary, the Indian Embassy in Niger hosted a cultural evening on the afternoon of Saturday, 17 September 2022 at the Mahatma Gandhi International Conference Center in Niamey. This evening, which comes a few days before the departure of the Indian ambassador to Niger, HE. Prem Kumar Nair is an opportunity for ANACIMM to pay tribute to the diplomat who inspired and energized cultural diplomacy between India and Niger. Several members of the Government, heads of State agencies and representatives of the diplomatic corps accredited to Niger were honored by their presence.

Obviously, cultural cooperation between India and Niger is only reaping satisfactory results. This is because this is not the first time that an event like this has been held where Nigerian artists perform Indian and Nigerian songs. For the occasion, the bands Sogha and Kaida from Phono Bi, two legendary Nigerian musical groups, were chosen to entertain and fascinate the public. Indeed, for more than an hour of entertainment and atmosphere, these artists perform live with covers of Indian songs, to the best of their ability, even if otherwise the pronunciation, vocal pitch, and tone still need to be perfected for some. The most important thing is to contribute to a promising cultural mix and demonstrate the power of music to transcend boundaries.

Artist Pheno Bi, surrounded by two talented young women and their musicians, all dressed in traditional blue embellished with white, set the scene for this performance with the Indian song ”Vanné Mataram”. A tough workout to start with, in front of an audience made up of Nigers and the Indian community in Niger. For 35 minutes, the rocky, deep-voiced man and his stage mates were able to climb the slope, though they laughed at first.

Pheno was sweating in her inseparable turban, her new look, but above the songs, she found her breath. The young ladies of the Kaida Band reached out with piercing voices that were melodious and harmonious, the group was doing well. The audience died from laughter, as in a stand-up scene. Thus, Pheno and his “Band”, the band Kaida, interpreted several Indian and Nigerian songs, from their repertoire, without pause.

The second part of the show is reserved for the Sogha group. The brave women and musicians of this group are used to this practice. Before an attentive audience, they sing gracefully and casually to popular Indian songs from the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s … and even more recently. They entered the stage in traditional clothing of several tribes and identity makeup from Niger. The three stars of the Sogha group lined up on the stage, accompanied by talented dancers and musicians, making the audience shudder with their talent. They blew and wowed the audience. As in most live shows, the closer the night ends, the more interesting it gets. Artists from the two groups invited for the occasion met again on stage to co-interpret the famous Indian work “Selydjaha”, then Fulbé, etc. It is in this atmosphere that the night ends, even if there is the impression that the artists do not want to stop performing.

Abdul Aziz Ibrahim (onep)