The Annual meet of the China-India Friendship Association was held in Beijing on Jan 14. CIFA President, Mr Jiang Zhenghua , President, Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC), Mr. Chen Haosu and Ambassador Dr. S. Jaishankar among 100 other audience were present on the occasion. Culture Wing student Ms. Yu Feifei performed on the occasion as part of the cultural programme.

The FICCI – Business meet was organized in Beijing. Around people attended the event. A brief cultural show was put up by dance students of Shri Ashok Chakravorty on the occasion.

The theme of the lecture was “Year of the Tiger: China’s Endangered Predator.”    The event was organized in cooperation with foreign correspondents organization based in Beijing.  The speakers were Dr. Zhu Chunquan (WWF-China), Mr. Carter Brandon (World Bank – China program) and Yan Xie (Wildlife Conservation Society, China). Around 45 journalists attended the event which was followed by a Q&A event.

      Around 30 photographs by four Chinese photographers (Prof. Mao Xiaoyu, Mr. Cui Heping, Mr. Wu Jinqun & Mr. Yu Hu) will be on display. These photographs were taken during their previous visits to India. 

       Prof Yao Ce, who has learnt the art for many years and a student of the Culture Wing, presented a one-hour performance. An audience of around 35 attended the event.

         Shri Ashok Chakravorty, the Culture Wing dance teacher conducted a short-term Indian dance workshop for dance teachers at a local private dance school, Chinese Academy of Artistic Dance.

          Students of the Culture Wing put up a half-hour cultural performance (Holi songs and Holi dances) during the Holi celebrations event organized at the Chancery premises on Feb 28.

          India Tourism Office, Beijing organized an ‘India Evening’ at Beijing Marriott North-East for its local invitees and guests. Some students of the Culture Wing performed during the cultural programme on the occasion.

Indian films/documentaries shown at the Culture Wing during the period are:

·        Documentary: “Friends for Evermore” [Feb 10 – Wednesday, 1715 hrs] 

          This 30 minutes documentary (in English) describes India’s experience of enabling and empowering people from countries of Asia, Africa, Latin America, Central Asia and the Island Nations under Indian Government programmes

·        Film show : “Black”  [Feb 23 – Tuesday, 1700 hrs]  - courtesy PD Division, MEA

·         Documentary : “Dismantling the Digital Divide”

 [Feb 27 – Sat, 1600 hrs]  

          This 30 minute documentary in English shows the innovative steps that India and its scientists are taking to use technology to transform the rural poor and underprivileged.

Culture Wing initiated the first batch of Hindi classes on Mar 6. The classes will be taken every weekend by the ICCR Visiting Chair at Peking University, Dr. Devendra Shukla. Around 20 local students have enrolled for the classes including local University students and executives with business dealings with India. Initial study materials were provided free of charge by the Wing. Hindi beginners’ textbooks will be provided free to the students.

The India Tourism Office, Beijing organized a India tourism promotional event at a special enclosure of a local shopping complex on Mar 6. Students of the Culture Wing were invited to perform on the occasion. The event received wide audiences as well as some media coverage.

Prof. Wang Shuying, a local expert in Indian history, gave a lecture on “Contribution of Buddhism to Chinese Culture”. This 45 minute talk was in Chinese with English copies of the talk distributed to audience.

Mr. B. Bhajantri, music teacher of the Culture Wing performed on the tabla supporting Mr. Amit Chaudhuri, noted Indian author and musician, who was visiting Beijing for a jazz and fusion music performance at a local event.

A poster-display describing major festivals of India was on display at the Culture Wing. The photo displays had text in Chinese. Around 25 visitors viewed the Exhibition during the period.

Chinmoy Naik, SS(I&C) visited the following campuses and presented India related books and CD/DVDs to the following :

(a) Communications University of China, Beijing: A set of 50 Hindi books were presented to the Mr. Li Zuowen, Dean - Foreign Studies College on Mar 11. The University had established a Hindi teaching department a few years ago.

(b) Tsinghua University, Beijing : A set of 30 Indian music CD/DVDs were presented to Ms. Guan, Head of the Arts & Education Center on Mar 19. The University has around 5,000 students enrolled for music and dancing classes. Indian music is not yet part of the curriculum.

• Documentary: “Islam in India” [Mar 4 – PD Division]

This 60 minutes documentary (in English) describes the beginnings and the history of Islam in India and how it has become an integral part of Indian culture. 

•  Special Documentary on International Women’s Day : “Song of the Sanctuary” [Mar 8 – PD Division]

This 30 minute documentary in English portrays three Indian women who have made important contributions towards women’s empowerment in India. 

•  Bollywood Film show : “Pinjar” [ courtesy PD Division, MEA, Mar 22]

Students of the Culture Wing presented a half hour Indian song and dance programme on the occasion of the Reception to mark the 60 th Anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations held at Beijing Raffles on Apr 6 evening. Visiting Hon’ble EAM Shri S.M. Krishna and Chinese State Councillor Mr. Dai Bingguo were the guests of honor.

Prof. Ge Weijun, a scholar of Indian history and culture, gave a lecture on “Religion of Ancient India”. This 2 hour talk was in Chinese and touched upon the various practices of ancient Hinduism/Brahmanism and Buddhism prevalent in ancient India. An audience of 12 attended this lecture.

A poster-display describing major dances of India was on display at the Culture Wing foyer/gallery area. Occasional visitors to the Culture Wing glanced through the exhibition.

Dance teacher, Shri Ashok Chakravorty conducted a 10 day Indian dance workshop at the Children and Youth Palace in Changsha (Hunan province in Central China) from Apr 16 - 27. The event was arranged courtesy Changsha Foreign Affairs Office (FAO) and the local chapter of the All China Youth League. A local art troupe (Xiao Du Juan) provided the hospitality to the teacher. The event also included an ‘open day’ Indian dance workshop on Apr 17 where SS(I&C) Mr. Chinmoy Naik gave an introduction to the appx. 200 audience about Indian culture and the Festival of India in China 2010. The event was organized by Changsha FAO as part of 60 th Anniversary celebrations of India-China diplomatic relations. The event was covered by local print and TV media.

• Documentary: “Through a Lens Clearly” [Apr 13 – PD Division]

This 30 minutes documentary (in English) portrays an Indian journey through the eyes of Indian photographer Mr. Raghu Rai. 

•  Bollywood Film show: “Chalte..Chalte” [ Apr 26 - courtesy PD Division, MEA ] 
•  Documentary: “Cinema with a Purpose” [Apr 29 - PD Division]

This 30 minute documentary in English is about the thriving Indian regional cinema.

A two hour programme to celebrate the occasion was held on May 7 evening. DCM Shri Jaideep Mazumdar and Mrs. Parvati Mazumdar graced the occasion and honored the participants at the end of the programme. The programme included lectures by Prof. Zhang Guanglin (Professor at Oriental Studies Center, Peking University) and Dr. Devendra Shukla (Visiting Chair – PKU); poetry/song recitation by Ms. Chitralekha Basu (China Daily – Book Review section), staff of China Radio International (Bangla), and students of China Communications University. There was also a violin recital by students of China Conservatory of Music. An audience of around 80 attended the event.

• May 9: A Q&A session with Hon’ble Indian MoS for Environment & Forests (IC) Shri Jairam Ramesh. An audience of 50 attended the event 
•  May 14: Lecture on India-China relations by Prof. Madhav Nalapat of Manipal University. An audience of around 35 attended the event

Master Purnendu Ghosh (seven years old) and Ms. Amanda (nine years old), who have been regularly studying Kathak under the tutelage of ICCR teacher Shri Ashok Chakravorty for over a year, gave a 40 minute dance performance on the evening of May 15. An audience of 40 attended the event.

A poster-display describing the major monuments of India was on display at the Culture Wing foyer/gallery area. Occasional visitors to the Culture Wing glanced through the exhibition.

• May 20 : Tsinghua University [Global Village 2010 festival] : Ms. Yu Feifei 
•  May 23 & 24: National Center for Performing Arts [“Enchanting Indian Music and Dance” – an event organized with the NCPA International Dept.] Ms. Zhang (Cindy) from the Culture Wing gave demonstration

In cooperation with the music students of the Culture Wing, three Indian musical instruments were on display at the 19 th China Professional Audio, Light and Musical Equipments Expo held at Beijing. These ICCR supplied instruments, loaned for this exhibition were returned to Culture Wing after display.

A writer’s workshop was organized at the NCW on May 24. The participants were 12 Indian writers led by Prof Ashish Nandy, who were visiting Beijing, and their Chinese hosts led by Mr. Ouyang Jiang and Mr. Li Tuo. Ambassador Dr. S. Jaishankar and DCM Shri J. Mazumdar also attended the workshop. The two-hour workshop discussed facets of modern writing especially in the context of new trends witnessed in India and China.

Hon’ble Indian President Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil visited China from May 26 – 31, 2010. On May 28, a Reception was organized in her honor by the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC) at Beijing Raffles Hotel. During the Reception, a cultural performance was held in which Culture Wing teacher Shri Ashok Chakravorty performed on table in a fusion duet with local Yangqin (similar to Santoor) artist Dr. Liu Yuening.

• Bollywood Film show: “Yaadein” [ May 10 - courtesy PD Division, MEA ] 
•  Documentary: “Watering the Grassroots” [May 12 - PD Division]

       This 30 minute documentary in English is about the evolution of micro-finance in India. 

•  Documentary: “In search of the Rajah” [May 18 – PD Division]

       This 30 minutes documentary (in English) portrays the life of Raja Rammohun Roy.

Around 30 oil paintings by local Indian artist, Mrs. Anjula Sharma were on display. These paintings depicted various daily life scenes of folk women from India’s Rajasthan state. Ambassador Dr. S. Jaishankar inaugurated the event on Dec 11. Around 120 guests including members of Indian community and local guests attended the event.

• Documentary : “India & The United Nations (UN)”

     [Nov 16 – Monday, 1715 hrs]

          This 30 minute documentary (in English) depicts India’s past and current role in the UN.

·        Film show : “Taal” (the rhythm of passion)

           [Nov 19 – Thursday, 1615 hrs]

• Film Show: “Ghare-Baire” (The Home & The World)

      [Nov 27 – Fri, 1700 hrs]

• Documentary : “Spices of India”

 [Dec 8 – Tuesday, 1700 hrs]

          This 30 minutes documentary (in English) describes the history of the world famous spices of India. 

• Film show: “Koi Mil Gaya” (…have found someone…)

 [Dec 16 – Wednesday, 1630 hrs]

• Film Show: “Women Entrepreneurs of India”

[Dec 21 – Mon, 1700 hrs]

          This 30 minute documentary in English gives an overview of a few successful women entrepreneurs of India.

Ms. Ishita Bhaduri, a poetess from Kolkata, gave a recitation of her poems (in Bengali). Local audience including some journalists attended the event.

The new Culture Wing and the India Tourism Office (which is located in the same premises) jointly organized the event. Mr Benoy Behl, a renowned Indian photographer and Buddhism archivist, presented a brief lecture followed by the screening of his film "The Story of Buddhism" which highlighted the origins and essence of Buddhism. Indian Ambassador was the chief guest at the event. An audience of around 50 Chinese students, artists, scholars and travel-related professionals attended the event.

A speech contest was organized at the new Wing for Chinese students from a few colleges and Universities of Beijing. The theme provided was "India - My Impressions". The event was supported by Ms. Rita Zhao, an eminent TV personality in China and a friend of the Embassy. Counsellor (I&C) , Shri Manish Chauhan coordinated the event. Contestants were judged on, inter alia, the content and of the speech. Prizes were distributed to the top three speech makers.

This opera in Chinese about the life of the ancient Indian Emperor Ashoka, has been produced by the Ningbo Arts & Theatre Company, Ningbo (near Shanghai). The 2 hour DVD film, featuring 45 Chinese artists in Indian costumes and setting, was screened at the Main hall of the new Wing. Audience comprised representatives from Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC), People's Daily, MFA, Peking University, Chinese Academy of Arts, etc

A lecture in Chinese on the theory and benefits of Yoga was given by Ms. Lu Yi, a local expert in Yoga who has studied Yoga in India. This was followed by a practical session where many in the audience participated. This was then followed by a brief question and answer session. This attended by an audience of around 40 Chinese from various walks of life.

Prof Liu Jian, a researcher on Indian Dance from the Beijing Dance Academy, gave a power-point presentation (in Chinese) on the history and types of Indian dances. The presentation included many pictures/videos of performances. Some of the Academy's students also gave brief performances on the major Indian classical dances, which were interspersed in the presentation. An audience of around 50 attended the event.

A book talk was organized on "Smoke & Mirrors" by Ms. Pallavi Aiyar , a resident journalist at the Culture Wing. Ambassador Mrs. Nirupama Rao, was the chief guest at the function. The audience comprised mostly local Chinese from all walks of life. Famous TV anchor Ms. Rita Zhao provided the translation.

An exhibition of Indian Handicrafts was organized at the Cultural Wing from Aug 18 -22. This was courtesy the Indian Cottage Industries & Handicrafts Corporation who had sent select Indian handicraft items for display. The one week exhibition was attended, inter alia, by businessmen interested to obtain a franchise for these products in China.

The Reading Room of the New Culture Wing was opened to the public in Aug 2008. It has around 2000 books of which there are 400 books in Chinese (total categories are 50 all concerning different facets of India). The Reading Room also has the latest Indian magazines which are replaced regularly. It also has a small children's section as well as a Hindi Section.

This one-hour DVD, produced by the Dept. of AYUSH , Govt of India, explaining the basics of Indian systems of medicine incl. Yoga/Ayurveda, etc was shown at the main hall of the Wing. The audience also included medical students from Chinese Academy of Chinese Medicine Sciences (CACMS).

A reception was organized for the Indian contingent of the Paralympic Games. Ambassador made brief opening remarks and gave words of encouragement to the athletes. The athletes also shared their experiences. The local volunteers for the Indian team were also felicitated during the occasion. The occasion also provided an opportunity for invited Chinese journalists to interview some of the athletes.

This brief DVD, produced by the PD Division, brought out the emerging trends in the Indian S&T sector.

In Sept 2008, Shri Ashok Chakravorty (Kathak teacher) and Shri Bhajantri (Vocal Music & Tabla teacher) joined the Mission from ICCR. The first batch of music and dance students began their training in earnest the same week. The schedule of classes are appended separately. The classes are being conducted regularly.

To mark the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, Shri BY Bhajantri, Vocalist accompanied by Shri Ashok Chakravorty on Tabla and other Chinese students, sang Gandhiji's favorite songs and bhajans. A documentary film "The Millenium Mahatma" was also screened. India-based members of the Mission along with their families and members of the local Indian community participated in the event and joined in the singing of bhajans.

An Indian Carnatic music performance by Mrs. Vidyalakshmi Vaidyanathan was organized at the Culture Wing on Nov 14. The hour long programme, which was keenly attended by many local enthusiasts, provided a brief introduction about this Indian music form to the Chinese audience. A brief write-up on Carnatic music was also distributed during the occasion.

A talk by Ms. Shakuntala Devi, the famous mathematician was organized at the Culture Wing on Nov 22. This was organized with support of the Indian Community in Beijing. Ambassador was chief guest at the occasion. Ms. Shakuntala Devi, inter alia, gave a brief talk on role of ancient India's contribution to the science mathematics.

Embassy organized a reception for delegates to the Prof. Tan Yunshan/ PC Bagchi 110 th birth Anniversary celebrations, who were in Beijing to attend a series of events organized by Peking University/Beijing Foreign Studies University among others. This delegation was led by Prof. Tan Chung and Mrs. Ratna Bagchi, eldest descendents of the two leading figures.

A small cultural performance was organized for the delegation. Culture Wing teacher, Shri Bhajantri led a chorus song recital while Ms. Jin Shanshan, a local Chinese Bharatnatyam dancer, performed a dance piece. The delegates were later felicitated by the Ambassador and DCM Shri Jaideep Mazumdar

A 30 member delegation of the India-China Institute , a bilateral group comprising people from both countries visited the Cultural Wing. The delegates witnessed a live Indian music class in session. Ambassador gave a power point presentation regarding India-China relations followed by an interactive session. This was followed by an informal song session where some members gave an impromptu performance including the Ambassador.