Saturday, May 28, 2011

Brazil gets the first Indian Cultural Centre

For years, Brazil has enjoyed Indian music, spirituality and films. Now it’s time for the people of Brazil to get some more lessons in India and its culture. A new Indian Cultural Centre (ICC) inaugurated on May 25 in Sao Paulo, will fulfill this need by hosting classical dances, music, yoga and Hindi classes. It will also provide a platform for Brazilian and Indian artistes and intellectuals to come together. The Centre, a first of its kind under the aegis of Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) to be opened in Latin America, is the realization of an objective that was announced by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh during his visit to Brazil last year.
The Centre is appropriately located in the prestigious Jardins area in Sao Paulo, which is the largest commercial and cultural hub of not just Brazil but entire South America. In fact, the opening of the Centre is a landmark in India-Brazil relations which are already on the upswing. The Centre is likely to play a greater role in furthering cultural ties with not just Brazil but the whole of Latin America.
The inauguration was marked by classical Indian dances - Bharatanatyam, Kathak and Odissi - rendered by Brazilians. The ceremony started with a santoor recital by Abhay Sopori, who alongwith Dr Ananda Shankar, Arunima Kumar and Dr L Subramaniam is in Sao Paulo to attend the ongoing Indian Cultural Festival in Brazil. The Centre was inaugurated by Ambassador of India to Brazil, B S Prakash; Director General of the ICCR, Suresh Goel and Consul General J K Tripathi. Other eminent Brazilian personalities such as Paulo Vannuchi, former Minister for  Human Rights and Dr Lia Diskin, a Gandhian and recent recipient of the Jamnalal Bajaj award, marked the occasion with their presence.

1 comment:

  1. Nice ideas. Hope the brazallian also will be get real time inspiration from the indian culture.

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