Singers Lucky Ali and Liora Itzhak from Israel participated in the celebrations. (File)
New Delhi:
In a special virtual get-together to celebrate the Diwali festival, through music and food, singers Lucky Ali and Liora Itzhak from Israel provided viewers with a treat.
The meeting via Zoom between the singers was organized Thursday by the Israeli embassy in India. Deputy Israeli Ambassador to India Rony Yedidia Clein opened the meeting between two musicians who symbolize the special bond between Israel and India, according to an embassy statement.
Indian-born Israeli singer Liora Itzhak took a virtual tour of a market in the town of Ramla in central Isreal. The guided tour included Itzhak providing an overview of the fruits in the market and also drawing a comparison between the variety of fruits available in India with the fruits and vegetables commonly found in Israel.
Throughout the visit, she was seen jumping into different restaurants and grocery stores filled with Indian spices before finally visiting an Indian immigrant synagogue in Israel.
Mr. Ali explained how he fell in love with Israel during his visit to the country in 2017.
He recounted how he became good friends with famous Israeli singer Eliezer Butzer and decided to collaborate with him on a song that later became a collaboration for an entire album.
“In 2017, I had the pleasure of meeting a very prominent musician from your country, Eliezer Butzer. We planned to do a song together, then that song became a second song, then the third song, and then we finished an album together. We released the first song in November 2019, ”Mr. Ali said.
“With Eli Azhar and all the musicians who came to India, it was incredible. Then I went to Israel and we recorded a song there, we worked with local musicians there. It was very beautiful and very rewarding to work in an environment that was far from Bollywood, ”he added.
Video of the song “On My Way” by Mr. Ali and Ms. Butzer was shown during the meeting.
“It was very beautiful, very touching, like to the soul, I felt like this,” Ms. Itzhak said after watching the video for the song.
Ms. Itzhak’s famous Israeli song “On My Way” “Mala Mala” was also performed during the meeting, after which Mr. Ali invited her to join him and his friend Ms. Butzer for jam sessions. every time he visits Israel.
Speaking of his musical friendship with the Israeli musician, Mr. Ali said: “The whole album is very special. Eli is a very talented, very sensitive artist. It was very special to work with him and we heard pretty well. “
The Diwali celebrations between the two nations ended with Ms. Itzhak meeting with renowned Indian restaurateur and ambassador of Indian cuisine to Israel, Rina Pushkarna, at her Tel Aviv-based restaurant “Tandoori”.
During the meeting, Rina Pushkarma, who opened the traditional Indian-style restaurant in Tel Aviv 40 years ago, explained how Israelis were drawn to Indian cuisine.
“I don’t believe in the fusion of flavors, I always try to bring out authentic Indian flavors. Although my restaurants serve both North Indian and South Indian food, Israelis are more inclined to North Indian cuisine. The menu is tandoori which is grills, ”said the owner of“ Tandoori ”.
“When you go for another cuisine, there aren’t a lot of options for vegetarian food other than salads, but with Indian cuisine there are a lot of options to try. Many Israelis love them. traditional Indian thalis because they are like a complete meal with dessert and rice, naans and vegetables, ”she added.
At the end of the meeting, the Deputy Ambassador of Israel to India, Rony Yedidia Clein, explained how the Indian festival of Diwali is similar to the Israeli festival of Hanukkah, as both festivals revolve around lighting, food and sweets.
Diwali will be celebrated across India on November 14 while Hanukkah will begin on December 10 this year.
The diplomatic relations of India and Israel are admittedly new, but are growing stronger over time, especially with the great bond between the two leaders – Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Israeli Prime Minister – Benjamin Netanyahu.
The year 2017 saw the very first visit of an Indian Prime Minister to Israel. The visit was the fruit of years of cooperation in the fields of defense, security and agriculture which resulted in the widening of the relationship.
According to the Ministry of External Affairs, the meeting saw relations in new and diverse areas of cooperation in the fields of water, space, innovation and education, while building on traditional fields like agriculture.
(Except for the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)
