The India Spring Fair yesterday at Taipei City Hall Square brought people together to celebrate the Tamil New Year and experience Indian culture through music, dance and cuisine.
India Taipei Association Director-General Gourangalal Das invited people from across Taiwan to “march and dance together once again” after the lifting of COVID-19 outdoor restrictions.
Friday was Puthandu, the Tamil New Year’s festival, and was celebrated in India throughout the past week.
Photo: Chen Yi-kuan, Taipei Times
Puthandu is a time to renew friendships and close bonds, and for new hope for a humane, peaceful and united world, Das said.
He thanked Taiwanese and foreign residents for “adding spice to our festival” and “variety to our lives.”
Those who came together to organize the event “make me confident that the India-Taiwan partnership is in rock-solid hands,” he added.
Photo: CNA
Tamil New Year is traditionally associated with spreading seeds, and yesterday’s event sowed the seeds of cultures, Das said.
Indian culture thrives through contact with the world, he added.
Das presented a gamusa, a traditional fabric from his home state of Assam, to Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), a gift often bestowed by people from Assam to guests who visit during festivities.
Photo: Chen Yi-kuan, Taipei Times
Taiwan and India have been working closely on trade, education and supply chains, collaborations that have been fruitful, Wu said.
“I have every confidence that our bonds of friendship will further strengthen in the years ahead,” Wu said.
The two countries are working to help continue prosperity throughout the region, he added.
The Spring Fair featured traditional Indian dance, yoga workshops, Indian cuisine and walls displaying scenery of India for photographs and social media posts.
Visitors tried on traditional Indian clothing such as the sari and received henna tattoos, a traditional form of temporary body art applied to the hands, while enjoying Indian music that played throughout the festival.
There are many “new years” in India, depending on regions, religion and which calendar is being followed. Puthandu is traditionally celebrated on the first day of the Tamil calendar, about April 14 or 15, while Hindus celebrate Diwali in October or November. The Sikh, Malayali, Telugu and Bengali communities observe other calendars.
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) yesterday briefed her party’s Central Standing Committee regarding her scheduled visit to the US between Monday next week and June 16, saying that her purpose would be to persuade the US that the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution was a “one China” constitution that would foster stable and peaceful cross-strait relations. The ROC Constitution is the most important defense for all Taiwanese citizens, as it upholds our democracy and has contributed to our robust economy, which aligns with international and US interests, she said. “We would not be troublemakers and drag the US under,”
RSS