India, China celebrate 60th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations

2010-04-10 11:31 BJT

The curtain has risen for the Festival of India in Beijing, a six-month long event packed with cultural events and inaugurated by Indian Foreign Minister Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna.

The festival, which opened on Wednesday, is being organized in China this year to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the establishment of India's diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China.

The curtain has risen for the Festival of India in Beijing, a six-month long event packed with cultural events and inaugurated by Indian Foreign Minister Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna.
The curtain has risen for the Festival of India in Beijing, a six-month long event packed with cultural events and inaugurated by Indian Foreign 
Minister Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna.

The various events in the Festival of India will serve as a platform to build stronger ties between the two countries and create more awareness among the people.

Virendra Gupta, Director General Indian Council for Cultural Relations, said, "Today we are staging a very big Indian festival in China. Every year we do this festival in one or two countries. This year we are staging this huge festival in China and France and today we have thrown it open here."

The opening ceremony of the festival included the staging of "Uttra Priyadarshini", a play based on the life of Indian Emperor Ashoka, who underwent a dramatic change of mind after a major war and became a Buddhist.