[1]In its 20th year, the International Students Cultural Festival organised by The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) — to commemorate the birth anniversary of its founder, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad — had its own spark this year, as it was the first time that the event coincided with Diwali.
The ICCR’s scholarship programme has 3,500 students representing 90 countries currently studying in India. All the dancers who performed at the festival were students of ICCR, but professionals in their traditional dance forms.
Performing on the Indian stage for the first time Lidia Zhuravlova from Ukraine said, “I followed my father’s footsteps by joining the ICCR to study classical dance forms. Presently, my father is a Bharatnatyam teacher in Ukraine.”
Ekaterina Starichi-khina, a Russian student said, “It was an opportunity for us to present our culture. We also got to dance with people from other countries.”
Dr Suresh K Goel, DG, ICCR said, “Such events help set up valuable links between countries.”
Links:
[1] http://archive.asianage.com/t15jpg-244