Mela

For the Roman geographer, see Pomponius Mela.

For Mela Festivals today, see Mela Festival.

For the Bollywood movie, see Mela.

Mela is a Sanskrit word meaning get together. In modern usage in the United Kingdom it has become a term for a multicultural (though mainly Asian) festival incorporating music, dance, food and other aspects of British Asian culture in the UK.

Melas regularly are held in larger towns in the UK, especially in areas with large ethnic minority populations. They are often considered important as a way of improving relations between the "indigenous" (white) UK population and the Asian population. The Melas began in the nineteen nineties.

Public money is sometimes available for these festivals. They have also been seen as a way of ensuring that festivals are available for the whole population. (The Arts Council produced a study on this examining eleven festivals in the Leicester region).

External links

* UK Summer 2006 Mela Guide
* What's On, Mela News, Listings and Mela Festival Information.
* BBC list of UK Melas in 2004

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