As a South Asian, the influence of the ancient Silk Road is part of my living reality. Helping create a Festival that would constitute a major pan-Asian presence on the National Mall has been a rare opportunity. Interface between the Asian diaspora in the United States, the American public, and hundreds of Silk Road artists can help us better understand who we are as Asians and what we mean to the world.

In search of a comprehensible and meaningful Asian identity, I was most inspired by commonalities, still visible across many countries, where the past and the present are never far apart. The design for the Festival evolved through my search. As I traveled through Uzbekistan, China, Japan, Italy, Turkey, and South Asia, contemplating the Festival's possible scenography, I was greeted with much proactive good will for the Silk Road concept. It has been seen as well in related projects &emdash; Pakistan, China, and various Central Asian nations have joined in developing their own Silk Road festivals