Namaste India Widening Its Horizons
NAMASTE INDIA is an autonomous project created in 2012 in Havana, the main objective of which is to study Hindi and Indian culture. Its members are students graduated from the First and Second Courses of Hindi in Cuba between the years 2008 and 2010 under the sponsorship of House-Museum of Asia, belonging to the Office of the City Historian, and the Embassy of the Republic of India in Havana. It also counts on new students and other members.
Among the tools elaborated to achieve its success, you can find the website NAMASTE CUBA and, since 2013, KAMALA magazine, a space for the publishing of general issues about India and about the presence of India in Cuba.
Opening of Discover India by H.E. C. Rajasekhar, Ambassador of India to Cuba
In 2014, Discover India emerged. This is an event devoted to promoting that country’s culture in our society and that is coordinated with the House-Museum of Asia, with the collaboration of the Embassy of India and the support of various experts and specialists on this topic. It normally takes place on the last Friday of each month at 4.00pm at the House-Museum of Asia (Mercaderes, No. 111, b./ Obispo and Obrapía, La Habana Vieja, Havana). Recent topics would include:
| 1st Meeting (28th, March 2014) Opening by H.E. C. Rakasekhar Projection of the documentary film “Faith revisited” | 2nd Meeting (25th, April 2014) Projection of the documentary film “India and Europe” Concert of fusion music |
| 3rd Meeting (30th, May 2014) Projection of the documentary film “The story of Gitanjali” Mr. Gabriel Calaforra | 8th Meeting (18th, October 2014) Celebration of Diwali Festival and an exhibition of contemporary Indian dances |
| 4th Meeting (27th, June 2014) Exhibition “India in Cuban visual arts” | 9th Meeting (28th, November 2014) Lecture “Jawahral Nehru” Mr. Adolfo Ham |
| 5th Meeting (24th, July 2014) Projection of the documentary film “Six yards of grace – Hand-made Sari” Exhibition of the way to wear Saris by Madam Anju Narang | 10th Meeting (16th, December 2014)
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| 6th Meeting (29th, August 2014) Projection of the documentary film “Buddha’s life” | 11th Meeting (30th, January 2015) Talk on Mahatma Gandhi Madam Olga Chamero |
| 7th Meeting (26th, September 2014) Projection of the documentary film “Alive stories”. Traditions of tale telling in India. | 12th Meeting (27th, February 2015) Talk on the culture of Indian Orchids in Cuba Exhibition of some typical samples |
Presentation of the documentary film India and Europe
Exhibition “India in Cuban visual arts”
Exhibiton on how to wear a Sari
Exhibition of contemporary Indian dances
Talk on Indian Orchids culture in Cuba
More recently, the framework of the 24th edition of the International Book Fair of Havana, the Guest of Honor of which was the Republic of India, provided an ideal platform for the presentation of the project’s web portal. Its director, Mileny Roche, presented the Kamala’s (name given to this initiative www.kamala.comlu.cu) basic structure. The name chosen is associated to the evocation this word makes to images of an Indian female deity of great beauty that is related to fertility and prosperity.
Being this another of the group’s initiatives to contribute with the promotion and spreading of the culture, traditions, and other values of the Indian society in our country, it contains articles and relevant materials about that nation, image galleries, programs of past and future activities, transmitting, the latter, a clear invitation to everyone who feels interested, as well as links with institutions and websites that have a similar nature as NAMASTE.
Presentation of Kamala website during the 24th International Book Fair of Havana
Each of the inner pages is marked by a lotus flower, which bears a great symbolic content in Indian culture, and by the quotations of Mahatma Gandhi’s thoughts as an evidence of this hero’s significance and the admiration felt for him in all the globe. Equally, news related to India’s development can be found there. They are taken from diverse press media and national magazines, filed, and put at the disposal of the visitor. At the same time, it has the adequate tool to include opinions and critiques, as well as information about the diverse means to contribute to the improvement of the project.
The calls for participation in the aforementioned event Descubriendo India find also a space in this recent initiative. The two last sessions have dealt with the topics of Mahatma Gandhi and the culture of Indian orchids in Cuba, respectively. For this month, the proposal is equally interesting. We hope we can count on your attendance and collaboration.
