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MINISTRY OF CULTURE, GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
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9-11 FEBRUARY 2014-LAO PDR
MINISTRY OF CULTURE, GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
M E SSAGE
Festivals of India abroad give wonderful opportunities for the Indian Diaspora to rejuvenate their hereditary
cultural inclinations. I am glad that Festival of India is happening in Lao PDR where large number of artists
and artisans are participating.
I take this opportunity to compliment the officials of Ministry of Culture and its various participating
organisations that have made lot of efforts in putting together this colourful extravaganza. I extend a very
warm invitation to the people of Lao PDR to come in large numbers and enjoy the cultural feast being
organised for them.
I wish the Festival of India in Lao PDR a grand success.
13 January, 2014
(CHANDRESH KUMARI KATOCH)
Dhamma Talks, Meditation,
and Chanting
The celebrated land of saints and seers, India has played the role of the “Jagad Guru”, especially in the field
of spirituality, for centuries. Among the many , Buddhism, founded in 500 BC by Buddha Sakya Muni, is one
among the prominent schools and sects. Buddha’s teachings, based on non-violence, universal peace and
truth, flourished in India. And later, by the 3rd Century BC, it began to spread throughout South Asia.
By the 7th Century AD, having spread throughout East Asia and South East Asia, Buddhism probably had
the largest religious following in the world.
The history stands testimony to the fact that wherever Buddhism had marked its presence, it brought the
message of harmony, non-violence and peace, in a succinct manner. It is therefore, the responsibility of India
and its people to make a contribution to the present world by spreading the message of peace, non-violence
and truth, as propagated by the Buddha.
Hence, it becomes the golden opportunity to bring the message of the Buddha to the world at large, through
Buddh Mahotsava, conducted as part of the Festival of India organised under the aegis of the Ministry of
Culture, Govt. of India. The Festival of India is organised by the Ministry in countries across the world, with a
view to facilitate and encourage cooperation in the realms of art and culture, education, including academic
activity in the field of science and technology, public health, mass media of information and education.
Buddh Mahotsava,
organised as part of
this, will witness the
construction of Sand
Mandala, Butter Sculpture,
Sacred Dance and Lama
Chant by the monks from
the Himalayan region.
This is conducted
especially in those parts
of the world where the
Buddha’s messages have
not been thoroughly
disseminated in earlier
centuries.
Sand Mandala
A Mandala is a cosmic diagram that represents the dwelling place or celestial mansion of
a deity. Both the deity, who reside in the mandala and the mandala itself, are recognized as
pure expressions of Buddha’s fully enlightened mind. Mandala can be visualized, painted or
constructed with wood, precious jewels, rice, flower and the like. Sand is considered to be
a superb medium because of its number and the great skill required to create the Mandala’s
exquisite details. The artist will chant before starting the Mandala creation. Then the blue
print of the Mandala’s design is outlined and the artist begins constructing the Mandala
from the center to outward. The coloured sand is applied through a metal funnel, called
Chakpu. In general, all Mandala have outer, inner, and secret meanings. On the outer level,
they represent the world in its divine form; on the inner level, they represent a map by which
the ordinary human mind is transformed into the enlightened mind; and on the secret level,
they predict the primordially perfect balance of the subtle energy of the body and the clear light dimension of mind.
The creation of a sand painting is said to affect purification and healing on these three levels. Mandalas are created
for rituals of initiation and for meditations; it is also created to purify the environment and its inhabitants to bring
healing energy and promote harmony in the world. Since sand Mandalas are created in the spirit of impermanence
and non-attachment, after they are completed, the Mandalas are dismantled with a ceremony and the blessed sand
is offered to the body of water for the benefit of marine life, the environment and all sentient beings.
Butter Sculpture
Butter sculptures are an ancient Tibetan/Himalayan Buddhist art, dating back to the 15th century. These sculptures
are traditionally made out of coloured butter, which is shaped into beautiful coloured sculpture. Butter sculptures
are made for offering to enlightened beings with an eatable substance in decorative form to accumulate merit in mass
form to bring peace, prosperity and good luck to individuals and society. The tradition was passed on from generation
to generation, and even today, dozens of monks work for months on a single giant butter sculpture to be displayed
and offered on the 15th day or full moon of the 1st lunar month as Losar the New Year celebration, to mark the
miracle performed by Lord Buddha. Buddh Mahotsava will feature a live demonstration of a butter sculpture being
made, and will end with a traditional ceremony of presenting
the finished sculptures.
Cham (Sacred Dance)
The Cham (sacred dance) is a lively masked and costumed
dance associated with Mahayana sect of Buddhism, and
is part of Buddhist Festival. The dance is accompanied by
music played by monks using traditional instruments. The
dance often offer moral instructions relating to the act of
compassion for all sentient beings and is held to bring merit
to all who perceive them. Cham dances are considered a form
of meditation, and an offering to the deities. The leader of
the Cham is typically a musician, keeping time using some
percussion instrument like cymbals. Cham is often
depicts incidents from the life of Padmasambhava,
the 9th century teacher and other saints. In India
Cham is performed in Himalayan region like Ladakh,
Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and
Arunachal Pradesh, during cultural and religious
festivals.
Lama Chant
Buddhist chants are a form of musical verse or
incantation. They exist in just about every part of
the Buddhist world, from the Wats in Thailand to the
Tibetan Buddhist temples in India and Tibet. Almost
every Buddhist school has some tradition of chanting
associated with it, regardless of being Theravada or
Mahayana. In Buddhism, chanting is the traditional
means of preparing the mind for meditation
especially as part of formal practice (in either
a lay or monastic context). Some forms of
Buddhism also use chanting for ritualistic
purposes. In the Vajrayana tradition, chanting
is also used as an invocative ritual in order to
set one’s mind on a deity’s Tantric ceremony,
Mandala or particular concept one wishes to
further in themselves. Himalayan Buddhist
monks are noted for their skill at throatsinging, a specialized form of chanting in which,
by amplifying the voice’s upper partials, the
chanter can produce multiple distinct pitches
simultaneously.
ramayana
Classical dance on
Jatayu moksham
The India Festival will feature classical dance performances, based on celebrated Indian Epic-the
Ramayana. This rendition is performed by the Kalakshetra Foundation, Tiruvanmiyur, Chennai.
Kalakshetra Foundation is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Culture, Government of
India since 1993. Started in 1936 by Smt. Rukmini Devi with an intention of imparting effective
education through arts, it now consists of 2 schools, College of Fine-Arts and the Craft Research
& Education centre.
The Kalakshetra repertory company comprises of select staff, students and alumni of Kalakshetra.
Since the early years of the institution, the company has performed to wide acclaim around
the world and continues to uphold the highest standards of performance. Each member of the
Kalakshetra repertory company is an accomplished and creative solo performer, a result of the
rigorous theoretical and practical arts training they receive at Kalakshetra. These artists combine
as the Kalakshetra Repertory Company to present riveting programs of Indian classical dance
and music. Their repertoire includes mythology based dance-dramas, classical and contemporary
Bharatanatyam compositions, as well as programmes of the varied folk dances of India.
Kalakshetra productions have come to be recognized worldwide for their impeccable technique
and aesthetics. Senior dancers and musicians of the institute continue to add to the already
vast repertoire.
Sabari Moksham is the fourth of Rukmini Devi’s six part Ramayanam series of dance-dramas. Kalakshetra
will present an edited version of it until the meeting of Rama and Jatayu for the presentation.
Surpanakha, the sister of Ravana, sees Rama while he is staying in Panchavati, and is attracted to him. Rama
spurns her when she offers her love, and Lakshmana chastises and disfigures her when she tries to harm Sita
in her jealousy. Ravana is furious, and vows revenge. He arranges for the demon Maricha to assume the form
of a golden deer and entice Rama away while in the form of an ascetic he approaches Sita and abducts her.
The king of eagles, Jatayu comes to the aid of Sita, but is killed in the attempt to save her.
Choodamani pradanam
Rama wanders in the forests with Lakshmana,
searching for Sita who has been abducted
by Ravana. He helps Sugriva, the king of the
monkeys, to regain his kingdom by killing
the usurper Vali. In return, Sugriva sends his
trusted envoy Hanuman, to search for Sita.
Hanuman crosses the ocean and finds Sita
imprisoned by Ravana in Ashokavana in Lanka.
Sita is overjoyed to see Rama’s messenger
and gives her crest-jewel to be handed over
to Sri Rama. Ravana’s guards find Hanuman
in Lanka, capture him, and punish him by
setting fire to his tail. Hanuman sets fire to
the city with his burning tail and escapes.
He returns triumphantly to Sri Rama with the
choodamani.
Mahapattabhishekam
Vibhishana, brother of
Ravana surrenders to Sri
Rama, having failed in his
attempt to make Ravana
see the folly of keeping Sita
captive. Rama, with the aid of
the army of monkeys builds a
bridge across the ocean and
fights a battle with Ravana.
In the first day of battle,
Lakshmana is mortally
wounded but is saved by a
miraculous herb. Further,
after a fierce battle, Ravana is
finally killed. Sita proves her
purity by entering the fire
and is united with Sri Rama.
They return to Ayodhya and
Rama accepts his kingdom
back from Bharata.
Dharam Darshan:
Experiencing the Dharma
The Pali word Dhamma or Dharma in
Sanskrit, refers to the doctrine taught
by the Buddha during the 6th century
B.C. Dhamma took the form of one of
the world’s greatest religions, accepted
throughout the world. Basically it is
a way of life for Peace, Happiness and
Harmonious living. The over 2,550
years old legend on the life, times and
preaching of the Buddha are everrelevant, and forms the core theme
of the event.
Footsteps of Buddha, Amravati
Worshiping of the Dharmachakra, Sanchi
This is rendered through the masterpieces
of Indian art, artifacts and rituals existing
in the numerous sites in India - a cultural
journey reviving the enduring images of the
Buddhist movement from the ancient times to
the present, through the ages.
Sanchi Stupa
Dhamekha Stupa Saranath
The fostering of Buddhism throughout Indian
sub-continent is evident in the remains of
Buddhist art and architecture spread out
in the sacred places of Lumbini, Bodhgaya,
Sarnath, Sanchi, Piprahwa, Ajanta, Nalanda,
Amravati, Nagarjunkoda, etc.
The Preaching Buddha, Saranath
The objective of Dharam Darshan, the
Exhibition, is to explore and illustrate the
life and teachings of the Buddha as well
as the sacred sites of events depicting the
legend along with the dissemination of
Buddhism, which is based on Dhamma.
Tank of Lumbini
The Bhudha in Bhumiparsha mudra
The artistic arrangement at the
exhibition is complimented with
audio chantings of Pali Suttas,
or verses from Tripitaka.
Unrivalled views of these sites
and important artifacts which
remain undiminished even
today, forms one of the main
arms of the exhibition. Art is the
best expression of spirituality
and forms the medium of the
next section of the Dharma
Darshan which is collection of
Pataki tales recounted through
illustrated paintings and writeups in story form.
The rich visuals in the form
of statues, reliefs, mural,
paintings, photo blow-ups
arranged in an artistic manner
interspersed with sayings from
Tripitaka, their explanatory
write-ups, captions and
other signage will also be the
highlights the exhibition.
Lion Capital, Saranath
“ A unique Being, an
extraordinary Man arises in
this world for the benefit of the
many, for the happiness of the
many, out of the compassion of
the world, for the good, benefit,
and happiness of Gods and men.
Who is this Unique Being? It is
the Tathagata, the Exalted, Fully
Enlightened One.”
- Anguttara Nikaya,part 1, XIII, page 22
Empty Throne, Bharhut
Taming of Nalagiri
Jataka Story of Angulimal
Arial view of Nalanda Site
Gift of Jetavana Vihara, Bharhut
Taste of India
Indian cuisine or Indian food encompasses a wide variety of regional cuisines,
native to India. Given the range of diversity in soil type, climate and
occupations, these cuisines vary significantly from each other and use locally
available spices, herbs, vegetables and fruits. Indian food is also heavily
influenced by religious and cultural choices and traditions.
Historical incidents such as foreign invasions, trade relations and colonialism
have also played a role in introducing certain foods to the country.
For instance, potato, a staple of Indian diet was brought to India by the Portuguese, who also
introduced chillies and breadfruit. Indian cuisine has also shaped the history of international
relations; the spice trade between India and Europe is often cited by historians as the primary
catalyst for Europe’s Age of Discovery.
Spices were bought from India and traded around Europe and Asia. It has also influenced other
cuisines across the world, especially those from Southeast Asia, the British Isles and the Caribbean.
The Mehndi Plant, also known as ‘Henna’ belongs
to the genus Lythracea of the flowering plants.
Its botanical name is Lawsonia inermis.
The leaves of the plant contain a deep red dye
which tends to be more towards maroon than
towards red. It grows all over India and is
commonly grown as a hedge plant.
Tropical tattoos
Mehndi art
The leaves of the plant are crushed into a smooth
paste and the paste is applied on the hands
and the feet in intricate designs and left to dry.
During the drying process, lemon juice mixed
with sugar is applied to the hands and feet in
order to enrich the colour that the henna paste
will leave on the wearer. Once dry, the paste is
scraped off and the hands and feet are protected
from water for some time. Eventually the design
drawn on the hands and feet becomes deep
maroon in colour and appears as an attractive
temporary tattoo. The use of Henna on auspicious
and festive occasions is widespread in India.
Both women and men wear henna tattoos at the
time of marriage while the women also wear the
tattoos on other festivals like ‘Teej’. It is said that
the intensity of the Henna colour on the palms
of the bride signifies that intensity with which
her husband will love her in future. Henna paste
is also a wonderful natural dye for the hair,
and is said to have medicinal and conditioning
properties to improve the hair growth and lustre.
All in all, Mehndi or Henna is an integral part of
the Indian culture.
Yoga
for a more beautiful world
Yoga is the physical, mental, and spiritual practices or
disciplines, which originated in ancient India with a view
to attain a state of permanent peace. According to Yoga
Yajnavalkya, Yoga is the union of the individual psyche
with the transcendental self. Yoga developed in the same
ascetic circles as the early Sramana movements (Buddhists,
Jainas and Ajivikas), probably in around the sixth and fifth
centuries BCE. In Hinduism, yoga was adopted as one of the
six āstika schools of Hindu philosophy.
By the turn of the first millennium, hatha yoga emerged
from tantra. It, along with its many modern variations, is
the style that many people associate with the word yoga
today. Gurus from India later introduced yoga to the west,
following the success of Swami Vivekananda in the late
19th and early 20th century. In the 1980s, yoga became
popular as a system of physical exercise across the Western
world. This form of yoga is often called Hatha yoga. Many
studies have tried to determine the effectiveness of yoga as
a complementary intervention for cancer, schizophrenia,
asthma, and heart disease. Long-term yoga practitioners
reported musculo-skeletal and mental health improvements.
Jodhaa-Akbar is an Indian
epic romantic historical
drama. The film centres
around the romance between
the Muslim Mughal Emperor
Akbar the Great, played by
Hrithik Roshan, and the
Hindu Princess Jodhabai who
becomes his wife, played by
Aishwarya Rai.
THE
FILM
FESTIVAL
The film has won the
Audience Award for Best
Foreign Language Film at the
São Paulo International Film
Festival, two awards at the
Golden Minbar International
Film Festival, seven Star
Screen Awards and five
Filmfare Awards, in addition
to two nominations at the
3rd Asian Film Awards.
Directed by Produced by Screenplay by Story by Starring Music by Cinematography
Editing by Ashutosh Gowariker
Ronnie Screwvala
Haidar Ali
Ashutosh Gowariker
Haidar Ali
Ashutosh Gowariker
Hrithik Roshan
Aishwarya Rai
A. R. Rahman
Kiran Deohans
Ballu Saluja
Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (I Have
Dil Chahta Hai (The Heart Desires, but billed
as Do Your Thing) ) is a 2001 Indian coming-ofage comedy-drama film, starring Aamir Khan, Saif
Ali Khan, Akshaye Khanna, Preity Zinta, Sonali
Kulkarni, and Dimple Kapadia. The first film written
and directed by Farhan Akhtar, it is set in modernday urban Mumbai and focuses on a major period of
transition in the lives of three young friends.
Dil Chahta Hai was critically acclaimed, winning
that year’s National Film Award for Best Feature
Film in Hindi. Rediff named it as one of the top 10
Bollywood movies of the decade.
Given My Heart, Darling) is a 1999 Bollywood
romantic drama film directed by Sanjay Leela
Bhansali. It was released in the Englishspeaking world as ‘Straight from the Heart’.
The film stars Salman Khan, Ajay Devgan and
Aishwarya Rai. The story is adopted from
Maitreyi Devi’s Bengali novel ‘Na Hanyate’,
and is based on a love triangle. It also
reflects the influence of the German novella
‘Immensee’ and the 1943 Nazi era film based
on it, ‘Immensee’.
It was filmed throughout the GujaratRajasthan border region, in addition to
Budapest, Hungary, which was used to
represent Italy.
Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (You Don’t
Directed by Produced by Screenplay by Starring Music by Cinematography
Editing by Farhan Akhtar
Ritesh Sidhwani
Farhan Akhtar
Kassim Jagmagia
Aamir Khan
Saif Ali Khan
Akshaye Khanna
Preity Zinta
Sonali Kulkarni
Dimple Kapadia
Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy
Ravi K. Chandran
A. Sreekar Prasad
Live Twice) is a 2011 Indian coming-of-age
comedy-drama road film. Made on a budget
of INR55 crore (US$8.8 million), the film was
shot in Spain, India, Egypt and the UK.
The film had a worldwide release in 1800
screens and was a critical and commercial
success. It grossed INR153 crore (US$24
million) worldwide and was adjudged a
Super-Hit. After its theatrical run, the film
was nominated for several awards in various
categories and won many of them.
Directed by
Produced by
Screenplay by
Story by Starring
Music by
Cinematography
Editing by
Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Kenneth Phillipps
Pratap Karvat
Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Salman Khan
Ajay Devgan
Aishwarya Rai
Ismail Darbar
Anil Mehta
Bela Segal
Directed by Produced by Screenplay by Story by Starring Music by Cinematography
Editing by Zoya Akhtar
Farhan Akhtar
Ritesh Sidhwani
Zoya Akhtar
Reema Kagti
Zoya Akhtar
Reema Kagti
Hrithik Roshan
Abhay Deol
Farhan Akhtar
Katrina Kaif
Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy
Carlos Catalan
Ritesh Soni
Anand Subaya
Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa (Sometimes
yes, sometimes no) This is one of the rare
mainstream Hindi movies in which the
hero plays the role of a loser. It has been
considered one of Shahrukh Khan’s best
performances, and he has said that it is
his favourite film.
He received the Filmfare Critics Award for
Best Performance for his role.
1942: A Love Story is a 1994 Bollywood film. The film was highly acclaimed for its
music, songs, picturization, cinematography, lyrics and the portrayal of its leading lady
Manisha Koirala, a turning point for her career. The film was released some time after
the death of the music director, Rahul Dev Burman. The film received five Filmfare
Awards. This is the first Indian film to use Dolby Stereo.
Directed by Produced by Written by Starring Music by Cinematography
Editing by Kundan Shah
Vikram Mehrohtra
Story & Screenplay:
Pankaj Advani, Kundan Shah
Shahrukh Khan
Suchitra Krishnamoorthi
Deepak Tijori
Jatin-Lalit
Virendra Saini
Renu Saluja
Directed by Produced by Written by Starring Music by Cinematography
Editing by Vidhu Vinod Chopra
Vidhu Vinod Chopra
Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Kamna Chandra
Vidhu Vinod Chopra
Anil Kapoor
Jackie Shroff
Manisha Koirala
Anupam Kher
R. D. Burman
Binod Pradhan
Renu Saluja
Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar (He who wins is
the conqueror) is a 1992 Bollywood sports
drama film directed by Mansoor Khan (who
earlier directed Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak).
It was remade in 2003 Bengali film Champion,
starring Bengali Superstar Jeet and inspired
1999 Telugu film Thammudu and 2001 Tamil
film Badri. The film won the Filmfare award
for best movie that year.
Chashme Buddoor is a 1981 romantic
comedy-buddy film. The film is about three
students; Siddharth (Farooq Shaikh), Omi
(Rakesh Bedi) and Jai (Ravi Baswani) at
Delhi University, who don’t go home during
summer vacation and how a girl Neha
(Deepti Naval) comes in their life.
The film was a silver jubilee hit. The remake
version directed by David Dhawan and the
original digitally restored film were both
released on 5 April 2013. The lyrics written
by Indu Jain were composed by Raj Kamal
and sung by Yesudas, Hemanti Shukla.
Directed by Produced by Starring Music by Cinematography
Mansoor Khan
Nasir Hussain
Aamir Khan
Ayesha Jhulka
Mamik Singh
Deepak Tijori
Kulbhushan Kharbanda
Pooja Bedi
Sundarraman Poosa
Jatin-Lalit
Najeeb Khan
Directed by Sai Paranjpye
Produced by Gul Anand and Jayshree Anand-Makhija
Written by Sai Paranjpye
Starring Farooq Shaikh
Deepti Naval
Saeed Jaffrey
Rakesh Bedi
Ravi Baswani
Music by Raj Kamal
Cinematography Virendra Sahni
Kalakshetra
Classical Dance on Ramayana -JATAYU MOKSHA -Ravana Sanyasi