Loosely based on Jane Austen's "Sense and Sensibility", the Ekta Kapoor produced "Kumkum Bhagya" -- or Vermillion in My Destiny -- has somehow struck a chord with Ghanaian audiences, said Abena Yiadom, Adom TV Channel Manager, adding that it is watched by "20 per cent of national audience". "Most Ghanaians relate well to the storyline which is about arranged marriages," Yiadom told IANS of the serial that has been on air with Twi language voice-overs since November 2015. 

The Indian High Commission will hold a “Festival of India-Matri” from January 25 to March 15, 2017  to commemorate 60 years of a strong bond of friendship between India and Ghana. The festival  will be held in collaboration with Ghana’s Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, as well as the governments of both countries.

The Indian High Commission will hold a “Festival of India-Matri” from January 25 to March 15, 2017  to commemorate 60 years of a strong bond of friendship between India and Ghana. [...] He said the festival to  be held  in Accra, Takoradi, Cape Coast, Kumasi and Koforidua would showcase multifaceted aspects of Indian culture in its various colours and forms.

The first edition of Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) International Television Dance Festival is scheduled to be held in Hyderabad; the city with royal patronage for arts, literature and architecture, on January 15. Prasar Bharati is hosting the event. The Dance Festival is conceptualised so as to bring the cultural diversities from across the world into limelight, by breaking cultural barriers.

It was the opening ceremony of ‘2017 as the year of Japan-India friendly exchanges’ when renowned Indian film director-writer, Imtiaz Ali announced the production of his new film, ‘Love in Tokyo’ in collaboration with a major Japanese film studio, Shochiku. This Indo-Japanese collaboration is a part of the friendly exchanges the two countries are looking at by means of cultural exchanges.

Digital Diplomacy is the new radio. Ever since politicians figured out that they could speak directly to ‘the masses’, we have had the phenomenon of public diplomacy. It became possible, via radio, to speak directly to people without having to go through official government channels. In the early 20th century, the Nazis and the Bolsheviks effectively used the radio to stoke revolutions in neighbouring countries.

India’s soft-power reach out is undergoing a makeover to meet the challenges of the resource-crunch in spreading its art, culture, culinary traditions, as well as entertainment and spiritualism overseas. Compared to countries like China or the UK, what India has been spending on leveraging its soft-power to win friends overseas remains negligible. Soft-power plays an important part in winning friends and goodwill abroad.

There are strong and natural compatibilities between India and Pacific Island Countries. India would not displace existing international relationships, but rather complement them, strengthening the region, and in return helping India’s global position. But for that to happen, there needs to be more points of contact. India needs to ensure more diplomatic representation in Oceania. A good country to start would be the Kingdom of Tonga, which was never colonised and holds a unique soft power position in the South Pacific, and internationally.