19.02.2020
The event took place on February 17. A creative exhibition of posters «Mahatma Gandhi and Satyagraha» opened there as part of the student cultural program. It is dedicated to the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the birth of Gandhi, a fighter for the independence of India.
Students of the Art-Design Center, led by Tatyana Borisova, curator of the Master’s program Graphic Design, often present their work at events dedicated to Indian themes: in 2017, they organized the exhibition «Miracles of a Distant Country ...» , in 2018 they showed their work at the festival of Russian-Indian friendship in Tarusa, have been part of science festivals at RSUH and student conferences dedicated to the BRICS and SCO summits.
The idea of holding the current exhibition belonged to Mr. D. Bala Venkatesh Varma, Ambassador of India. In his welcoming speech he drew attention to the fact that it was not the first time that the RSUH Day was held in the Embassy, and this was a good sign. «This indicates that the work of the Indian Club, organized by the Embassy in 2019, is active and attracts new members from among the students who are fond of Indian culture».
Mr. Ambassador praised the professionalism with which the exhibition posters were made. He emphasized that the students of RSUH annually make their creative contribution to the promotion of Indian culture in Russia, and thanked the University for its close cooperation with the Jawaharlal Nehru Cultural Center.
Also announced was the creation of Mahatma Gandhi Youth Club, which will promote the idea of non-violence and peace. In addition, the Embassy plans to publish a Gandhi brochure with photographs of the student posters.
In turn, Ms. Borisova and the students of the Center presented Mr. Ambassador with a Russia-India calendar. The posters were donated to the embassy.
Dr. Olga Pavlenko, First Vice-Rector of RSUH, on behalf of the Rector Alexander Bezborodov, thanked Mr. Ambassador for the opportunity to organize an exhibition dedicated to the memory of Gandhi.
«An important component of today’s meeting is two Sanskrit words — satyagraha and ahimsa, meaning «non-resistance to evil by violence, «said Dr. Zabotkina, Vice-Rector for International Cooperation. — They belong to Mahatma Gandhi, the great humanist of the era. We know the history of the correspondence between two great thinkers — Mahatma Gandhi and Leo Tolstoy. Now we are celebrating the 150th anniversary of the birth of Mahatma Gandhi and the 190th anniversary of the birth of Leo Tolstoy. These are people whose friendship has become a symbol of the relationship between the two great nations of India and Russia. The exhibition, dedicated to the two giants of the philosophy of non-violence, and the unity of their views, demonstrates to us that knowledge, spirituality, humanism are the most important criteria of peace and friendship».
The program was opened by students of the Ballroom Dance Studio of the Institute of History and Archives. The spectators enjoyed the beauty of waltz, Mazurka waltz, Russian lyrical waltz, Russian ballroom waltz and Russian folk dances. Three pairs: Anna Kuznetsova — Andrey Ryabchenko, Irina Epova — Sergey Peshekhonov, Alexandra Kuznetsova — Alexander Glebezdin held a fascinating master class. They invited guests to the stage and taught them how to dance the Moscow quadrille.
Ms. Anna Gasparyan, a sophomore of the Department of Foreign Regional Studies and Foreign Policy, played the violin. The students performed a fiery Indian dance called «Wedding», and the freshmen sang «Moscow Nights» in four languages - Russian, English, Tatar and Hindi.
