The Indian band Pranavanaadham band will perform a concert combining classic instruments with modern equipment at Da Nang’s Nguyen Hien Dinh Theatre on April 4 as a part of cultural exchanges between Vietnam and India.

The annual Quan The Am (Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva) Festival will be held on April 2-4 at the foot of the Kim Son Mountain – the largest of the Marble Mountains – in Da Nang.

The Vietnam-India Friendship Association in Da Nang said the band will perform a fusion concert, mixing Carnatic, music associated with southern India, Hindustani classic music and modern Western music at the theatre at 155 Phan Châu Trinh Street from 4pm.

The band will perform in the opening ceremony of the annual Quan The Am (Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva) festival – the city’s biggest Buddhism festival – on April 3 at Quan The Am Pagoda.

The Indian ambassador to Vietnam, Parvathaneni Harish, will plant a Bodhi tree taken from Bodhi Gaya, a Buddhist pilgrimage site in India, in a ceremony at Quan The Am Pagoda on April 4.

A photo exhibition of Buddhism relic in India will be on display at the pagoda at 48 Sư Van Hanh Street in Ngu Hanh Son District of the city on April 3.

It’s part of cultural programmes to mark the 46th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the tow countries.

Main festival

The annual Quan The Am (Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva) Festival will be held on April 2-4 at the foot of the Kim Son Mountain – the largest of the Marble Mountains – in Da Nang with a Buddhism lecture and meditation session, martial arts performance, folk games and a run for peace.

The main festival, which falls on April 4 (the 19th day of the second lunar month) will feature a procession of an image of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, and a prayer for peace, prosperity and happiness for the nation.

Tourists will be able to explore the stone sculptures of the 400-year-old Non Nước stone village – a piece of national intangible heritage – in Ngu Hanh Son District.

The festival draws about 10,000 residents and tourists each year. — VNS