ICCR to hold 3-day Indian crafts fair in Delhi

Sahasrabuddhe added that since all these products are made using natural, organic material, and produced with non-polluting methods, the global community will get a chance to understand how India’s traditional culture can meet the challenges of climate change. “The effort is also to showcase not just India’s music and dance as part of its culture, but also other traditions like cuisine, crafts, and even Indian literature,” he pointed out.

The programme, which is being celebrated as part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, will also include a cultural evening at Purana Qila on February 23, highlighting the diversity of India’s dance culture, ICCR said in a statement.

Besides, ICCR – which functions under the Ministry of External Affairs – is planning a slew of activities pertaining to languages, cinema and academics over the next year, said its director-general Tuhin Kumar. There will be a seminar on ‘Indian Cinema and Soft Power’ in collaboration with FTII-Pune. Also, in collaboration with Hyderabad’s Foreign Language Institute, courses will be designed to teach languages from countries like Indonesia and Kazakhstan in India, in addition to existing courses in French, German and Spanish.

Interestingly, there is also a plan to launch a portal ‘India Alumni’ for around 4,000 foreign students who come to India every year on scholarship through ICCR. Sahasrabuddhe said, “They will be issued alumni IDs and the effort is to ensure they remain in touch with India beyond their course duration through this portal.”