Asia

Celebrating Indian Cultural Relations

The 69th Foundation day of ICCR at the Embassy of India

April 17th, 2019
Niina Nukki, News from Berlin
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The Tagore Centre of the Embassy of India in Berlin celebrated the ICCR Foundation Day on 9th April 2019. It was the 69th anniversary of ICCR and it gathered a lot of guests.

The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) was founded in 1950 by Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad, independent India’s first Education Minister. ICCR’s objectives are to actively participate in the formulation and implementation of policies and programmes pertaining to India’s external cultural relations, to foster and strengthen cultural relations and mutual understanding between India and other countries, to promote cultural exchanges with other countries and people and to develop relations with nations.

The director of The Tagore Centre, Malathi Rao Vadapalli, gave a speech welcoming all the guests and highlighting the objectives of ICCR. He also talked about the significant outreach by ICCR in the last seven decades and felicitated the artists performing at the event. The Ambassador of India to Germany, H.E. Amb. Mukta Dutta Tomar, lit a lamp with renowned German Indologist, Maria Schetelich.

A short film called Soft Power – Idea of India, was also screened on this occasion. The film was produced by ICCR. An ICCR alumni and the only German female dancer who has specialized in Kathali dance, Isa Jacobi, gave a performance. Anna Deitrich, a Culture and Dance Educationalist, choreographer and dancer, performed the classical Indian dance Mohiniyattam. Both artists have been associated with ICCR for a long time.

The Foundation Day event at The Tagore Centre was attended by several Indologists, Professors, ICCR alumni, artists, curators from museums, members of Indian diaspora and other friends of India.

References

News from Berlin