STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: Balwant Thakur, the Cultural Diplomat of India to Mauritius, accorded a rousing reception on his arrival in Jammu.
A formal function was held at Natrang which followed his interaction with the artists in which he shared his experiences of handling cultural affairs at the global level.
Balwant Thakur is currently heading the world’s biggest Cultural Centre of India abroad which is based in Phoenix, Mauritius.
Considered to be the highest position of Culture, Balwant Thakur has added new feathers to this assignment by giving a new flip to the showcasing of India abroad.
The Cultural center which Balwant Thakur is heading is one of the most sought after destinations of Mauritius which always buzzes with outstanding cultural conclaves and spectacles.
This is the first visit of Balwant Thakur in Jammu after he took over as Director of Indira Gandhi Centre for Indian Culture in the month of June, 2021.
He is the first cultural figure of this region who has made it to this highest International position.
During his visit to the City of Temples, he has planned to hold a series of meetings with Government departments, cultural organizations and artists to explore new possibilities of holding International Indian Cultural festivals in Mauritius and other countries to be organised in connection with the celebrations of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.
It is pertinent to mention here that prior to this, Balwant Thakur was appointed as Cultural Diplomat of India to South Africa and he headed the prestigious Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre Johannesburg for over two years.
In South Africa amongst many out of world events, he organised special programmes commemorating Gandhi@ 150.
Mauritius which is known as the paradise island has huge thrust for Indian culture amongst the masses.
Currently over 2,000 Mauritians are learning different disciplines of Indian music and dance and Indian Cultural Centre has dedicated ensembles of music, dance and theatre which keep performing regular programmes.
In today’s interaction, Balwant Thakur gave an overview of the new approaches the world is initiating to preserve and propagate culture. Other than India the thrust and respect for culture in very high and surprisingly few economics are surviving on cultural showcasing thus attracting the whole world towards their cultural attractions.
He laid stress on the quality work which only can create more demand for Indian culture. Despite the fact that India is the oldest and unique culture of the world but we have not been able to generate the required thrust which other nations have created.
On the occasion he shared his new innovative ideas which are destined to change the fate of India showcasing abroad.
He further stressed that all-out efforts should be made to create performances of International class so as to compete with the world standards. Mediocrity will neither create any demand outside India nor will it serve any cause in elevating the cultural face of India.
Known as magic man of theatre, Balwant Thakur has already been conferred the top Indian honours including Padamshree, Tagore Samman, Sapatrishi Samman, Abhinayak Samman, Sanskriti Award and Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for direction in theatre. Here in Jammu and Kashmir he served as Secretary Academy of Art and Culture for over 8 years and Regional Director of Indian Council for Cultural Relations in Ministry of External Affairs for over 6 years and created a lot of history for both the organisations by showcasing out of the world events.