"I will be able to work with greater authenticity'"

Mukesh Patel talks about his new office as Honorary Consul of Japan in India, and Nippon Odori, the dance fest that fuses Japanese dance with garba moves

- Anurita Rathore Jadeja

For the first time ever, there's going to be an Indo-Japanese fusion dance performance at Nippon Odori, coinciding with the opening and launch of the office of Honorary Consul of Japan in India Mukesh Patel, "a first such appointment made by the government of Japan in 72 years of its diplomatic relations with India". Patel first went to Japan in 1972 as an exchange student and has since been to the country 50 times in these 52 years, facilitating and enhancing Indo-Japan ties through various initiatives and projects. As we walk through Japanese art, craft, dolls and photographs, we pause to speak on matters that the Honorary Consul intends to focus on.

The Indo-Japan Friendship Association Gujarat, founded in 1975, completes 50 years next year. You went to Japan as an 18-year-old student, and have since come a long way. What is it that you haven't already done in all these years that you plan to do as Honorary Consul of Japan?