In local parlance. World famous Dhrupad singers, the Gundecha Brothers, and a 10-member Rajasthani folk dance and music group came together to take part in Indian Arrival Day celebrations, a glorious moment when for the first time in this country's history Dhrupad, the most ancient classical Indian music form, was invited on the stage of Divali Nagar along with an accomplished folk tradition. Eminent violinist Kala Ramnath visited a few months later on the occasion of India's Independence Day and showcased her métier in classical Indian violin of the Hindustani genre at Queen's Hall and other places.
For the first time in a long while, an eminent Qawwali group led by Sahadat Hussain Khan visited T&T at the invitation of ASJA and performed to raptures all over the island on the occasion of Eid. Soon followed a 12-member dance troupe from Gujarat, mesmerising audiences with their unique acrobatics and folk movements. The year ended with the first ever Festival of Indian Cinema organised to commemorate the 75th anniversary of arrival of Indian cinema in T&T, and appropriately an exhibition to depict the evolution of Indian cinema over a hundred years. The event drew an overwhelming response from the cinema-loving audience wishing to make the festival an annual event.
Academics did not hold back. An international conference-cum-exhibition on the traditional Indian medicinal system "Ayurveda" was held for the first time at UWI, back-to-back followed by an international Vedic conference organised by Waves at the same venue. On the occasion of Mahatma Gandhi's 141st birth anniversary, Gandhian scholar RP Jain delivered a series of lectures on the life and message of the Mahatma and a unique inter-faith prayer session for peace and non-violence was held at Gandhi Park in the heart of Port-of-Spain in commemoration of the International Day of Non-Violence.
The diplomatic dialogue series initiated by UWI provided the perfect setting for us to speak on India's foreign policy to a distinguished gathering as the beginning of a debate on global politics. All this and more were crucibles along the way. And thus the year has passed into history, denoting India's sincerity of purpose and respect for small states of the developing world based on her confidence and ability to share experience and expertise through scores of projects, programmes, scholarships, grants and the like.
India looks up to the world in her vision to augment the needs of developing societies and work for the cause of a safe, peaceful and prosperous world. In this, the universe is a nest echoing the age-old philosophy of our sages and we stand together as brethren to share the bounties of development.