17.11.2015

The Cultural Centre of India was inaugurated on November 14, 2015

"Little India" in Russia

 

The Cultural Centre of India was inaugurated on November 14, 2015 at a ceremony held in the cultural and educational park "Ethnomir" near the town of Kaluga, 160 km fr om Moscow. The event was organized by the International Public Charity Foundation "Dialogue of Cultures - United World".

Known as Bal Divas (Children's Day), 14 November is a landmark in India. This is the birthday of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of independent India, who rightly believed that children are the future of the nation.

This year, the five-day holiday of Diwali, the festival of lights symbolizing the victory of light over darkness, good over evil, ended on November 14. On that day, simultaneously with the opening of the Centre of Indian culture, a monument was inaugurated to Swami Vivekananda, the Indian thinker, religious reformer and public figure of the late XIX century.

 

The festival in "Ethnomir" was attended by students and teachers of Moscow universities — RSUH, Moscow State University, MGIMO, representatives of public organizations, the Indian students studying in Russian universities, and members of the Indian club fr om the nearby Tarusa. On the World street, the main street of the ethnopark, the guests were greeted by the ensemble of Indian dance "Lila Prem". The guests marched with multi-colored balloons in their hands from the square of Friendship of Peoples to the cultural centre of India located on the territory of the ethnocourt  "South Asian countries", wh ere Nepal and Sri Lanka have previously presented their unique culture.

The Ambassador of India to the Russian Federation Mr. P.S. Raghavan, Deputy Governor of the Kaluga region Ruslan Smolenskii, the ambassadors of Bangladesh and Nepal in Russia, and Ruslan Bayramov, founder of the cultural and educational complex "Ethnomir," were among those who spoke on this occasion.

As part of the celebrations, the monument to Swami Vivekananda created by Russian sculptor Alexei Leonov, was opened to the public. It is well known that the great Russian writer Leo Tolstoy read with interest the works of Vivekananda dedicated to Ramakrishna, as well as his other writings.

In keeping with the Indian tradition, honored guests lit the ceremonial lamp (diya) and cut the orange ribbon at the main gate through which the guests entered the house of the Indian culture. This beautiful five-story building in the Mughal style is a fusion of Islamic and Indian architecture, has similarities with the architecture of Fatehpur Sikri. Samples of sculptures, art and crafts from all 29 states of India can be seen on different floors of the house of Indian culture. The guests enjoyed the sound of Indian music and singing in one of the rooms: students of the Jawaharlal Nehru Cultural Centre of the Embassy of India presented their program under the leadership of Gulfam Sabri.

The celebration ended with a display of the lights Rangoli on the central part of the square with a fountain and picture of one of the most famous and enigmatic yantras — "Sri Yantra," which is a mystic device showing the structure of space.

All the participants of the festival noted that a corner on Russian soil depicting Indian culture and the way of life in India has now appeared at Ethnomir, wh ere the Russians will be able to get acquainted with the architecture, arts, traditional crafts of India. A small hotel "India" and a cafe "Indian soul" serving Indian cuisine were also opened near the Cultural Centre.

Read more: http://in.sputniknews.com/russia/20151117/1016423519/india-cultural-centre-inauguration-ethnomir.html#ixzz3rkyhcElN

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