BY PHUMZILE NDLOVU
MBABANE: Eswatini team has landed India!
The Culture Troupe along with artist M Nation has landed safely in India. The team travelled to that country to perform at the Surajkund International Craft Mela, 37th edition.
M Nation is set to perform at the Surajkund International Craft Mela in 2024. The festival kicks off tomorrow until February 18, 2024, at Surajkund, Faridabad
The team left Eswatini on Tuesday by road to Johannesburg. When reached for comment, M Nation shared with this publication that they boarded a flight at OR Tambo at 8.20 am to Ethiopia on a five-hour flight. They then connected from Ethiopia to Addis Ababa for a 6-hour, 45-minute flight. They safely landed at New Delhi International Airport. “The trip was very nice but tiring. We thank God that we landed safely. It’s partly cloudy here,” said M. Nation.
The team was selected through Arts and Culture’s respective cultural programmes, where they scouted each individual at cultural events in every region across the country. The team will be in India for 21 days. The team includes M Nation and three Sibhaca dancers, namely Sdumo Vilakati, Sabelo Mabuza, and Sanele Dlamini. The three ladies of the ingadla are Sakhile Dlamini,Tesive Dlamini,and Nakiwe Dlamini.
M Nation was born Wandile Ndlovu in Pigg’s Peak. 30 years ago, he debuted his music career in 2015. He was among the top ten winners of last year’s MTN Bushfire Firefly. This helped his brand a lot, as he has been recognised and recommended at a lot of big events.
In a previous interview, M. Nation shared with this publication that he got the gig with the help of the Office of Arts and Culture via the embassy. He also revealed that this was his first time in India. Last October, he performed in Zanzibar.
He has also performed on numerous occasions in South Africa, with the most recent being a crossover show that was held in KwaZulu Natal (KZN) in Mgazini. When asked how the crossover event was, he said, “The KZN crossover was amazing. I was headlining the show with local comedians Gogo and Slwane. They showed us so much love and really looked forward to going back there again.”
