The News Minute | October 20, 2014 | 01:49 pm IST

West Bengal's folk music will set the tune for the Diwali festival at the Reunion Island, a French island located in the Indian Ocean.

Baul singer Laxman Das from Bengal's Bolpur, members of Kolkata-based folk band Sahajiya and other artists from the state will perform at the island, located approximately 5,300 km from India in the Indian Ocean, off Madagascar.

"Laxman Das will bring the tradition of baul singing (wandering minstrels of Bengal) to the island at the Diwali festival, Oct 23 onwards," the artist's programme co-ordinator told IANS Monday.

The island is home to the Reunionnais of Indian origin - people of Indian origin, who form two ethnic groups Malbars and Zarabes. Originally brought in as indentured labourers from the Mauritius, they were mostly southern Indians and over the decades had a significant impact on the cultural history of the island.

IANS