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India
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This year, India celebrates the 70th anniversary of its independence from the United Kingdom. The Ambassador of the Republic of India to Hungary, Rahul Chhabra tells Diplomacy&Trade of the huge development his country has gone through over these seven decades. He also discusses, among other issues, the excellent bilateral political and economic relations between the two countries, including successful Indian investments in Hungary and the great interest of Hungarians in the life and culture of India. see articles on pages 8-13
A Value Creating Community
The Hungarian Business Council for Sustainable Development (BCSDH) celebrates its ten-year anniversary. Its President, Attila Chikán quotes the CEO one of the member companies by saying that “we are a value-creating community for business leaders” in which active work is taking place with the personal involvement of senior executives. see page 18
on page 14
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SEVEN DECADES IN THE INDIAN WAY
were globally launched here. The designers, who have exhibited in Paris, Milan and New York, helped us show that Indian outfits are appreciated globally and influence world couture. In addition to this fashion show, we are also looking to organizing more events, such as business fairs across the country and we are also showcasing the economic potential of India so that Hungarians – including Hungarian businesspeople – can see that business can be done there.
INTERVIEW WITH RAHUL CHHABRA, INDIA AMBASSADOR TO HUNGARY
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Democracy as a cohesive force
What is more, we are the only country in the world that made a successful launch to Mars at the first attempt and the cost of it was about one tenth of similar missions. Also, India is the only country in the world that managed to put over 100 satellites in orbit with one single launch vehicle.”
India is a huge country with the world’s second largest population and with a large number of ethnic and religious groups. As to what the secret is of keeping this diverse population a unified country for 70 years, the Ambassador has a very simple answer: “Unity in diversity has been our motto for thousands of years. I think the secret is democracy. For the last 70 years, we have been proud to be the world's largest democracy; elections are held regularly. At the last elections, the eligible electorate was over 800 million people and more than 66% of that actually cast their vote. It has been a big job to get so many people registered – over 100 million people were registered in the past year alone – and then tabulate the votes, etc. in a way that nobody could have found any sort of irregularity or mishandling of the votes. One other
Alluring India Regarding the anniversary celebrations in Hungary, the Ambassador highlights that “we have been trying to spread the message of the new India, the changing India. So, we thought we should show Hungarians what modern India is about. One way of conveying that message was through a fashion show we did this September - it was called ‘Alluring India’. Top Indian designers showcased their latest collections in Hungary. In fact, these collections O C T O B E R
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In August this year, people all over India and Indians around the world celebrated seven decades of independence; it was on August 15, 1947 that the Parliament of the United Kingdom’s Indian Independence Act 1947 became effective, transferring legislative sovereignty to the Indian Constituent Assembly. When asked how much India has evolved over these seven decades, the country’s ambassador to Hungary, Rahul Chhabra says “it has been a complete transformation” and he quotes some figures to illustrate the change. Starting with life expectancy, in 1951 (when the census was taken), it was a mere 37 years, while today, it is over 65. “Then, you look at infant mortality, which 70 years ago was 50 per
1,000 babies, a figure now down to below 37. Seven decades ago, only 12% of the population was literate – today, the literacy rate is 74%. As for infrastructure, the 400,000 kilometers of paved road has increased to five million kilometers, and the number is growing, as we are adding 23 kilometers of road per day. India is the third largest producer of electricity in the world. 70 years ago, the electricity capacity was 1,300 megawatts while today, it is 250,000 megawatts. Seven decades ago, the economy was in really bad shape with a growth rate of 2% but we pushed this figure up to 4% and recently to 8% or 9% – sometimes, we see double digit growth. Another aspect of the transformation of India over these seven decades is that the country today is a scientific power. We have launched a mission to Mars.
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BY SÁNDOR LACZKÓ
india focus So, these firms are looking at the long term in that sense and also investing in the community.” This October, a delegation is scheduled to visit Hungary from India with businesspeople from important areas of business. “We hope it is going to be a big delegation covering automotive components, IT services, agricultural and other sectors. Actually, we have had several delegations before, for instance, the one at the Construma construction fair in Budapest where India was the partner country. Business deals do not necessarily take place during a delegation’s visit but contacts are established. These can be followed by Hungarian businesses going to India and the deal is realized after a few mutual visits. A visit like this is truly the first step, so, every time a delegation comes, the Embassy gets into top gear and tries to organize maximum number of meetings, as well as exposure for the delegations so that they get the feel of the Hungarian business environment,” the Ambassador points out.
important feature in this respect was the installation of electronic voting machines that were introduced recently. So, we have a democracy where people have the opportunity to express themselves. When they are unhappy they can change the people who represent them or re-elect them if they are satisfied with them. India is growing with that sort of democratic background. That is a very good sign for the rest of the world also. It is a democratic country and with such a diverse population, we have pulled tens of millions of people out of poverty in the last two or three decades since privatization and the opening-up of our economy.
The Indian way
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PIXABAY.COM
In an earlier Hungarian newspaper interview, the Ambassador said that India wants to be successful in its own way. To Diplomacy&Trade, he stresses that the ‘Indian way’ of success is “largely due to our democratic credentials and background. It is a very non-prescriptive sort of way also. We are not trying to follow anyone and we do not necessarily want anyone to follow us. We are not trying to copy any single model which we believe we would not be able to adapt to and/or may not work for us. We do not want to be very prescriptive and stand on rooftops shouting ‘this is the best way to do it and there is no other way to do it’. Every country is different and is free to find its own way. So, instead, we take everyone along, accommodate everyone's aspirations, take into consideration their viewpoints. Many times, people complain that it takes too long to make a decision but ultimately, when the decision is made, it has all the different elements incorporated. People are satisfied that they have made their points, their voice has been heard to whatever extent possible. In the end, it is a sort of compromise, but it is also a well-founded decision. Some people find the process a little slow and cumbersome but for our large country that is probably the only way to go ahead.”
Excellent relations The Ambassador also has a short answer to how he would characterize Hungarian-Indian political and economic relations: “They are excellent. We had a very successful visit by our Vice President about a year ago. w w w . d t e u r o p e . c o m
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He had outstanding meetings with the President and with the Prime Minister and with the Speaker of the national assembly – so, it was a great visit. It fell on a weekend, as it was difficult to get a slot in the schedule of the Vice-President, so, we are very grateful to the Hungarian government that they were able to accommodate this visit. Hungary and India cooperate well in the international arena, we support each other's candidates in international organizations. So, there is a great collaboration at that level, also. The Hungarian Foreign Minister has visited India several times in the past two years. Also, just recently, he met our Foreign Minister at the Bled Strategic Forum in Slovenia and also in New York as we also use multilateral meetings to discuss issues. So, the political level is characterized by great understanding. Of course, as far as economic relations are concerned, we are extremely satisfied. The trade volume is approximately USD 600 million. Although, it is not really at its full potential. It has grown by 28% in first half of 2017. The other very positive sign is investments. I believe this is the new way to do business.”
Investments There are several Indian companies in Hungary. Large ones like SMR, TCS and Apollo Tyres are present with important investments. Ambassador Chhabra says his impression is that they are satisfied with the economic environment here. “They tell me that any request they turn to the Hungarian government with, they generally get a quick response. So, they are very satisfied. That was also shown by the fact that in the case of SMR, they have three plants here in the country, they have just opened one in Kecskemét. The fourth plant will be inaugurated this November in Túrkeve and the fifth plant is due to open in March next year. So, the company is expanding rapidly. Local governments seem to be keen to have these investments because it brings jobs to the region. The companies are happy because they find a positive environment in which to set up their plants. All of the aforementioned companies are also cooperating with local universities to make sure that the courses offered there are in line with the industry requirements. Then, these students may – if they want – get a job with one of these companies.
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Tourism Tourism figures between the two countries are increasing and the Ambassador has concrete figures to support that. “About two years ago, we introduced e-visas. It is one way for us to improve the tourism figures. Now, Hungarians do not need to come to the Embassy to get a visa; they just have to go online and fill in everything required. In June 2016, the Embassy issued 152 e-visas, while this number in the same month of this year was 199. In July 2016, the number was 170, while in July, 2017, it was 244. The August numbers also increased from 182 in 2016 to 257 in 2017. The total number of visas is going up, as well. We gave out 3,500 visas in 2015, 5,000 in 2016 and 3,500 in the first eight months of this year. Also growing is the number of tourists from India to Hungary: 4,700 in FACTS COMPARED AREA country comparison to the world POPULATION country comparison to the world POPULATION GROWTH RATE country comparison to the world BIRTH RATE country comparison to the world LIFE EXPECTANCY AT BIRTH country comparison to the world NET MIGRATION RATE country comparison to the world GDP - PER CAPITA (PPP) country comparison to the world UNEMPLOYMENT RATE country comparison to the world TELEPHONES - MOBILE/CELLULAR country comparison to the world AIRPORTS country comparison to the world
2013, 5,900 in 2015 and 16,404 in 2016. These are only figures provided by border control, obviously not including those coming to Hungary from within the countries of Schengen zone where there is no internal border control. Indians coming to Hungary now also include a lot of students thanks to the Stipendium Hungaricum program of the Hungarian government, which means 166 additional students this year only. There has traditionally been a large body of full fee paying Indian students who continue to be attracted to the high quality Hungarian education.”
Cultural ties Cultural relations between the two countries go back many-many decades “but the most important link for us is the stay in Hungary (on the shores of Lake Balaton) of the world-renowned India poet Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore. Being of part Hungarian descent, Amrita Sher Gil was one of India’s leading avant-garde artistes of the early 20th century. In another development, I started a new series of cultural events, the Ganga-Danube festival. This year, we had the second series in 15 towns and cities while last year it took place in ten settlements all around the country. This is about music, dance, cuisine and fashion. So, it is all of India in culture, even Bollywood films. It is a good sign that, when I visit other cities, the mayors usually ask me about the festival and they want to know why their town or city is not included. I promise to them and that is how we pick up more venues. We also involve the Indian community in Hungary. They come to help as volunteers. The Ganga-Danube festival is in June and many of the programs are open air events. We have a lot of artists coming in from India for this occasion – over 40-50 of them. They are joined by another 50 artists who are Hungarians trained in India in Indian art and culture for several years. The other good thing is the Amrita Sher-Gil cultural center, located next to the Embassy, where we have daily classes of music and dance and they are all fully subscribed. So, we have a full house and now we also have Saturday classes. We have multiple classes in multiple rooms as we are trying to accommodate everyone who wants to come and join us. This is the way Hungarians learn Indian classical dance and music. I believe Indian culture is very well accepted in Hungary and Hungarians seem to be happy to absorb it,” Ambassador Rahul Chhabra concludes. HUNGARY
INDIA
93,028 sq km 110 9,874,784 (July 2016 est.) 91 -0.24% (2016 est.) 216 9.1 births/1,000 population (2016 est.) 207 75.9 years 92 1.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.) 57 USD 26,200 (2015 est.) 70 6.8% (2015 est.) 79 11.786 million 76 41 (2013) 104
3,287,263 sq km 8 1,281,935,911 (July 2017 est.) 2 1.2% (2017 est.) 92 19 births/1,000 population 87 68.5 years 164 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population 83 $6,600 (2016 est.) 160 5% (2016 est.) 63 1,127.809 million 2 346 (2013) 21
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A POTENTIAL SUPERPOWER WORLD’S LARGEST DEMOCRACY CELEBRATES 70 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE BY TAMÁS MAGYARICS
India was essentially underperforming for decades after it gained independence in 1947. In fact, the cards were stacked against her to some extent. The bloody partition of India and Pakistan claimed the lives of some two million people; another 12 million became displaced as Muslims in Punjab and Bengal fled into Pakistan while Hindus and Sikhs headed for India. The Kashmir question has been an open wound ever since; the region is a hostage of Indian and Pakistani claims and counterclaims, as well as the scene of repeated violence. The border disputes provoked a war with China, too, in the early 1960s, and even now, there are skirmishes along the IndianChinese border. However, it was not only disputes with the external opponents that have ended in armed conflicts; the ethnic and religious tensions between the Hindus and the Sikhs and the Muslims (who constitute some 15% of the total population of some 1.3 billion) have also left behind a huge number of victims on each side. Political violence is not unknown, either; Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her son, Rajiv Gandhi were both assassinated, as well as numerous other casualties of politically motivated attacks.
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7% lately, though, there is a falling tendency in the past few months (the quarter ending in June 2017 produced 5.7% growth). The Janusface of the Indian economy is reflected by the fact that while clean water and proper sanitary conditions are a problem for hundreds of millions, India is a nuclear and space power as well.
Huge potential The economic figures indicate that the middle class, which is supposed to be the backbone of any technologically advanced and high growth economy, is not as strong as it should be. Less than a quarter of the people (some 300 million) are regarded as members of the middle class; but only 2% of the people own cars (among others, the Tata Group would like to make drastic changes in this respect), and only as few as 4% of the people pay income tax. India’s society was notoriously divided into castes which prolonged rigid social structures and prevented social mobility necessary for a modern (or even post-modern) society. Prime Minister Modi has taken steps to do away the inequalities and differences based on castes and religion; moreover, he also endeavors to fight against the division of the federal country
member of the G20 group of the strongest economies in the world; while it carefully nurtures its credentials regionally as a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank AIIB). Its membership in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is not without contradictions as Pakistan is also a member in the grouping. Membership in numerous multilateral organizations may well serve as a hedge against a relatively exposed geopolitical and geostrategic position. The actual and hidden conflicts with China and Pakistan, and the cooperation of these two countries are seen as the primary security challenges in India, but the era of ethnic and religious conflicts within the country are not over yet, either. India seems to have made a strategic shift after the conclusion of the Cold War insofar as moving closer to the U.S.; the future of the Asia-Pacific region and, by extension, that of the whole world is likely to depend, to a large extent, on the dynamics of the U.S.-India-China strategic triangle. India is gradually occupying its proper place in the world, and as a ’responsible stakeholder’ will be instrumental in shaping the 21st century.
composed of 29 states. Further problems include the absence of national insurance and pensions, and a school system that is not adequate either: some 70% of the students drop out of school by the 8th grade. In sum: the potentials are huge; the country has been modernized relatively rapidly of late, but there is ample space to take advantage of all the assets at the disposal of the subcontinent.
Member of a strategic triangle India, as the largest democracy in the world, the sixth largest economy with a military equipped with nuclear weapons, and the second most populous country in the world (but, according to estimates, soon to be the most populous surpassing China in a few years), has raised its profile in the international arena in the past few years. Although, its efforts to become a member of the UN Security Council have been thwarted so far, India has become a vocal member of the BRICS, the group of emerging economies that would like to further facilitate the power shift from the ’West’ to the ’East’. At the same time, New Delhi has joined the IBSA (India, Brazil, and South Africa) Dialogue Forum in the spirit of a South-South cooperation. Of course, India is a O C T O B E R
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The socio-economic picture was rather bleak for a long time, too. The country was mired in a post-colonial economy with a dominant agricultural sector with backward technologies, while the bulk of the manufactured products were only made by India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s major program is ‘Made in India’; that is, to double industrial manufacturing so that it will represent 25% of the GDP within ten years. The most important elements of this economic agenda include the so-called smart cities program; the construction of power stations; the creation of fiber optic networks; and the promotion of clean energy. Besides the industrial sector, the tertiary one of services is also to be developed fast, especially the finance technology industry. The amount of cash used has already been reduced by a third, and about one billion people have been included into the biometric database. Despite these ambitious plans, the present does not look too promising, at least in comparison with other major countries. For example, it is only about half of the population that use cellphone, and only approximately a third of the people have access to Internet. Almost every second person is still employed in agriculture, while the service sector employs only about the third of the labor force (in major industrial economies this ratio is closer to twothirds). At the same time, it must also be noticed that the IT industry is the largest employer in India, and India attracted more foreign investment (USD 44 billion) in 2015 than the ’poster child’ of economic growth, China. (It may be added that there are almost as many Indian engineers in the Silicon Valley as Americans.) Overall, India’s growth rate has been quite high, around
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Ambitious plans
india focus
INDIAN FOOD: CASUAL AND FINE DINING
A PASSIONATE ENTREPRENUER’S MISSION TO POPULARIZE INDIAN FOOD IN HUNGARY INDIAN BEER
Saer is also brewing an “amazing Indian beer” in Hungary, which he plans to export to India, the rest of EU and the UK. “The beer, Dasvir is an adventure that actually began in the Dimasa Hills of the Dima Hasao district in Assam. The original recipe was used during the Dimasa Kingdom between 17th to 19th centuries. On a very small scale, this recipe is still in use back in Assam. Saer and his team are reviving the long forgotten recipe with Dasvir. The beer is crafted to specifically suit Indian food, which can be enjoyed with Curry or Tandoori foods, on a sunny afternoon or any time that calls for a beer," he explains.
This December, Zulkarnain Saer Khan, a 34-year-old dynamic entrepreneur from Bangladesh, will open his second Indian restaurant in the Hungarian capital, the ‘Rajkot Palace’ (named after the fourth largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat). He opened the first one, the Curry House, four years ago because – as he explains to Diplomacy&Trade – “I felt it was high time to start a good Indian restaurant in Budapest.” Now, the reasons are different. “We can see an increase in the number of tourists coming to Budapest. The number of Indian tourists visiting the Hungarian capital has risen significantly. The country is developing, the city is developing, along with the tourism infrastructure.”
Budapest, where home is “I first came to Hungary in 2012, as a visitor, just to see the business opportunities. I had been doing business (contracting and consulting) in the United Arab Emirates since 2007 where things were OK, and I still have some businesses there. but I decided that it would be much more fun to live and work in Hungary. Why Hungary? It is culturally a very rich country, you can go back a thousand years and still find rich Hungarian culture and I wanted to raise my children in such a place, where people are rich in culture and
photos by COURTESY
PICTURE, DÁVID HARANGOZÓ
education. In addition, Hungary is an affordable destination for foreign tourists, good value for money. What is more, the city is beautiful – for me, it is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. I say that having traveled extensively. No other city attracts me the way Budapest does; I truly feel Budapest is where home is! My kids are here, my wife is here and we have very good friends here. We look forward to growing old in Budapest.
Genuine Indian food from the true sources The restaurant owner believes that “eating at Curry House is about much more than just the food. The dining experience that we offer is w w w . d t e u r o p e . c o m
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unique in that the food at Curry House is not pre-cooked. Everything is freshly cooked once we have received the order from the guests. We want to give people the opportunity to spend a good amount of time in the company of their loved ones and enjoy the Indian hospitality in the way we care for them. Also, when the food is cooked freshly, the detail of the flavours in it.” Most of the ingredients used at Curry House come from the United Kingdom where it is imported directly from India. Other ingredients are from Indian shops in Austria and some are sourced locally from the ‘Exotic India’ shop in Budapest. The owner of the latter one also directly imports items from India. The meats served at Curry
House are ‘halal’ to cater to the needs of people with religious requirements. “As I said, more and more tourists are coming to Hungary and fancier restaurants are opening. People’s mindset is also changing – not only that of tourists but also of Hungarians. I also serve Hungarians, who are my ‘home guests’ - they make up 70% of the clientele of Curry House. The fine dining concept is gaining ground in Hungary, the capital already has five Michelin-star restaurants. However, there is not really an Indian fine dining place in town. You can say that Curry House is an upgraded version of casual dining. The new place, Rajkot Palace, will be a real fine dining place. However, we want to bring some interesting change to the traditional fine dining concept. At most fine dining restaurants, guests expect food of 5-6 courses to be served in really small portions and to be expensive. Rajkot Palace will have 5-6-course meals but our portions will be enough to fill your appetite and will be very affordable.” As for the future, Zulkarnain Saer says that “when we opened Curry House, we wanted to make it a well-known brand and we still have that plan. To position the brand strongly, we have conducted extensive brand awareness campaigns in last few years; the new restaurant is just another step for strengthening our position as well as popularizing Indian food in Budapest.”
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INDIA: DESTINATION FOR DREAM JOBS SURVEY REVEALS THE SECTORS JOB-SEEKERS IN INDIA WISH TO WORK IN India has emerged as the dream destination for most job-seekers with nearly 60% job seekers looking for their aspirations in the country, says a survey reviewed by the Times of India. According to a TimesJobs survey, conducted among 1,100 job-seekers in the country, nearly 60% of job-seekers wanted their dream job in India making the country the dream destination for most job-seekers. Over 40% seek their dream jobs overseas. It found that while engineering is the dream profile for men job-seekers, women yearned to become a doctor or be in the medical profession. Among men, nearly 25% job-seekers wanted to be a doctor or medical professional, 20% want to be in the Information Technology (IT) industry, 15% would like to become chartered accountants and 10% are keen to become a lawyer. The newspaper highlights that among women job-seekers, besides the eagerness for becoming doctor or medical professional, 25% want to be Chartered Accountants, 20% would like to be in IT, 15% wanted to become engineers and 10% would like to be part of the human resource (HR) profession.
Overall, IT is the dream sector with nearly 35% job-seekers wanting to work in the industry, followed by healthcare and manufacturing sector for about 30% each. Nearly 25% jobseekers wanted to be in telecom industry, and another 25% are interested to be part of the automobiles sector, the survey said. Banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) was the choice of 20% job-seekers, while 16% seek opportunities in the logistics sector. Nearly 15% job-seekers picked retail industry and another 15% choose business process outsourcing (BPO) or Information Technology Enabled Service (ITeS) sector. For 10% their dream sector was consumer durables or fast moving consumer goods (FMCG). The survey revealed that about 55% job-seekers felt they are not currently working in their dream profile. Of these, it said, 65% men job-seekers felt their current role is not their dream role while 75% women job-seekers said the same, while about 70% job seekers considered the industry they are working in as their 'dream sector'. About 70% job-seekers haven't still been able to get a job in a company they aspired to work, while 25% job-seekers said they have given up on the idea of their dream jobs, the TimesJobs survey added.
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india focus
INDIAN FILM WEEK BOLLYWOOD PRODUCTIONS JOIN THE CELEBRATIONS OF INDIA’S INDEPENDENCE
The Embassy of India and the Amrita Sher-Gil Cultural Center celebrate the 70th anniversary of the independence of the Republic of India by holding a variety of special events during 2017 and 2018. Joining the colorful repertoire of events is an Indian Film Week between October 5 and 11, 2017 at the Puskin Cinema in downtown Budapest. During the Festival’s seven days, the organizers present seven Hindi language productions with Hungarian subtitles for the local audience.
Bajirao Mastani (2015) A love story of two historical figures woven through with legends. It is set in the early 1700s and its hero is Bajirao, the Peshwa (Governor) of the Maratha Empire, who is considered the most prominent general in India’s history. He loved his wife but also married a Muslim princess…
photos by AMRITA
SHER-GIL CULTURAL CENTER, DÁVID HARANGOZÓ
Fan (2016) A young man from Delhi has been living under the spell of Bollywood actor, Aryan Khanna, since childhood. After winning an Aryan look-alike contest, he travels to Mumbai to meet his idol.
That is where the plot thickens with an unexpected turn…
Mohabbatein (2000) A young music teacher applies for a job in an eminent boarding school for boys in Gurukul which is run with iron fists by the dreaded principal, Narayan Shankar. The young teacher, full of life, tries to loosen the strict rules and regulations of the school...
Jodhaa Akbar (2008) By way of divine inspiration, a great Muslim conqueror decides to marry the daughter of a Hindu King to expand his
empire and consolidate his power. Although, every nerve in the girl’s body protests against the political marriage, she agrees to marry him on one condition…
Drishyam (2015) The manager of a cable TV service provider often chooses to spend his nights far away from the bliss of family life watching movies in his office. One day, his elder daughter receives blackmailing messages with compromising photos of her from a teenager…
Sultan (2016) Sultan’s life takes a new turn when he first catches glimpses
of Aarfa, a state-level wrestling champion. Although, the girl very much likes the man from low social class, she wishes to marry only an accomplished wrestler like herself. So Sultan decides to win the girl’s heart…
Airlift (2016) A successful Indian businessman living in Kuwait only looks after his own interests and he even sells out his own friends in favor of a good business. He and his circle are shocked at the news of Iraqi troops overrunning Kuwait in August 1990, when the Indians suddenly find themselves in the middle of a war zone.
INDIAN MOVIES
The Indian movie industry, which has the highest annual film production figures in the world, is one of the most dynamically developing movie production machines; around one fifth of the 900-1,000 films made every year in the country is made up by the so called ’Bollywood’ movies shot in Hindi language in and around Mumbai. These movies represent a unique color in the world’s cinema market, as the traditional pieces called ’masala movies’ which feature an eclectic mixture of different genres is a typical Indian product not found anywhere else in the world. Its roots spring from Indian cultural traditions going back several thousands of years. Bollywood movies are dazzlingly spectacular, colorful and present many a different genres (like romance, comedy, action scenes, melodrama) making them speak to and touch all social and age groups. No Bollywood movie is complete without music and a lavishly staged dance scene shot in amazing sets and venues in which the stars dazzle the audience with a huge band of background dancers all performing in a myriad of exotic costumes. In the past decade, Indian movies have incorporated all manners of influence coming from the West which only made the already versatile Bollywood industry even more diverse: in addition to the classic masala movies the repertoire now also offers youthful, modern romantic comedies, professionally choreographed action movies packed with special effects or satirical and realistic pieces similar to indie movies which enjoy huge popularity in western festivals. w w w . d t e u r o p e . c o m
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ALLURING INDIA 2017 FASHION SHOW GUESTS TREATED TO INDIAN CULTURE AND CUISINE
In celebration of the 70th Anniversary of India’s Independence, the Embassy of India – in collaboration with the Managing Director of GaitN-Grace, Vinay Gupta – organized the fashion show ‘Alluring India 2017’, a unique maiden display of Indian Traditional & Fusion Fashion in Hungary. And, for the very first time, an event organized by the Embassy had live coverage Instagram and Facebook. The event was a glittering ceremony on the evening of September 21, opened by the Ambassador of the Republic of India to Hungary, Rahul Chhabra at the Bálna cultural event center, Budapest. Prominent guests included former Hungarian Prime Minster Péter Medgyessy, Deputy State Secretary for External Economic Affairs, Petra Pana, the Director General of Asia Pacific Department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Sándor Sipos as well as the mayors of several towns and cities, senior government officials, ambassadors accredited to Hungary, business people, representatives of the Hungarian print and audio visual media, editors of leading fashion publications and over 250 guests. The fashion show featured the latest finely tailored Indian garments such as silk saris, embroidered lehengas and mermaid gowns with ruffles. The collection was about Indian traditional wear with a touch of contemporary ensemble. The concept of the event was to create an environment of Indian ethos globally through a unique insight into collections of two eminent names in the bridal trousseau industry, Ms. Charu Parashar and Ms. PayalKeyal. It showcased a first-off collection ‘Regal Saree’ and ‘Various Moods’ by Ms. Charu Parashar, ‘The Weaves from the Ghats of Banaras’ by Ms. Salma Sultan and the ‘Contemporary Sari’ & ‘Contemporary Wedding Cocktail’ collection by Ms. Payal Keyal. As a statement on the event puts it, Hungarian and diplomatic glitterati couldn’t stop raving about the lavish spread as they immersed themselves in the fashion show sipping delectable glasses of Hungarian wine and Indian beer. The event also offered a plethora of Indian delicacies. There was a display of rustic and authentic Indian curry buffet from several states, marinated chicken wings, aromatic biryani, accompaniment with wide variety of Indian breads, palate refreshments and a traditional dessert: Seviyan (vermicelli Kheer). A glimpse of Indian culture was also showcased with a live demonstration of how a nine-yard Sari pleadby-plead was draped to perfection in different styles. The audience was mesmerized by the beautifully crafted Indian outfit that could be portrayed as an acknowledgement of the skills and talent of Indian hand-weavers. A poem by Subhadra Kumari Chauhan was enacted to highlight the story of Rani Laxmi Bai, who battled her fight to freedom despite being dressed in nine-yard long Langdar sari. The guests also enjoyed a fascinating act by a Hungarian mind illusionist. The venue, Bálna, a historical brick building embraced in a metal-glass shell overlooking the city of Budapest & Danube River, had a vibrant feel to it and complementing the ambience was soulful Indian music. The night was indeed filled with a rich Indian heritage, to say the least.
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