Red Fort
“WALK OF COURAGE” - EVENT @RED FORT
Together with the German Embassy in New Delhi, One Inch Dreams organised a day-long event featuring Indian and German slackliners at the Red Fort in New Delhi on February 26th 2022. The unique collaborative performance is part of ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’, the Indian government’s celebrations on the 75th anniversary of India’s Independence. This open-to-all event at the Lahori Gate promotes Indo-German friendship and brings together many people to enjoy adventure-sports, arts and music.
This was never seen ad Red Fort: In approximately 30 meters height, Megha Thiara, Adarsh Bhat and Mohit Tanwar, experienced Indian slackliners and Alexander Schulz, slackliner from the internationally renowned professional slacklining group ‘One Inch Dreams’, balanced on a high line and celebrate India’s Independence and the friendship to Germany. At the same time, on a one meter high trick line in August 15 park in front of Red Fort, Indian artists performed breath-taking stunts and tricks. Everybody who is curious, including many visitors of Red Fort, could put first steps, carefully supervised and 100% secure, on a small training slackline in the park.
Slacklining, with approximately 2000 followers in India, started in 1980, when two American climbers in the Yosemite national park in California looked for a new thrill and spanned their climbing ropes between two trees. Today, Slacklining is a fast growing sport around the world with thousands of young people enjoying park life in cities in a new and exciting way.
#WalkOfCourage
The guiding principle of slacklining is one that unites so many adventure sports and forms of art that today’s event celebrated: Celebrating courage, overcome doubts and fears, try something new and push your own boundaries towards new experiences, creating little and big moments that make our lives so special. Many people flowed into the August 15 park, to see and participate in street art (Delhi Street Art Collective by Yogesh Saini), to listen to music by India’s legendary underground radio station Boxout.fm and to an acoustic performance by Indian singers as well as to marvel at art installations by Sagar Singh. Is might has been the beginning of a bigger conversation about sports and art in public places and the celebration of courage. German Embassy and its friends and partners organized an event around India’s Independence as well as of sportsman- and womanship, arts & creativity in the historic background of the Red Fort.
The German Ambassador to India, Mr. Walter J. Lindner, said, “India is a vibrant and diverse country and we wanted to celebrate it in a way that as many people as possible can see , participate and try it out themselves. That’s why we went to the historic and so popular Red Fort, next to vibrating Chandni Chawk. In 40 meters height in front of India’s iconic building, an Indian and a German slackliner greet each other. In 40 centimetres height in the park, everybody can put a first step on the slackline. The message is clear: Germany and India walk the talk. We stand together and we have the courage to explore new and creative paths in our long lasting friendship. Sports and arts make each of us pushing our boundaries, discovering new perspectives to look at the world and creating very personal meaning for ourselves. In this special year, together with our Indian friends, we want to create moments of unity that stay in the heart and not only in the head. It is these people reunited here that we need most for our way of public diplomacy and that really carry the Indo-German friendship. Because they are hungry to explore, they are curious and adventurous.”
He added, “The Indian Independence that we remember today was a struggle is full of resilience and courage that we all can learn from, an inspiration for the whole world. Telling the story of Indian Independence can make us all stronger and overcome our own obstacles in life, individually and as countries. Today’s event is about courage and community in sports and arts as well as in Indo-German friendship.”
The event included four performances through the day, by Indian and German athletes. It also featured smaller open guided workshops for participants, making it an interactive learning experience.