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 women are a part of a one-of-a-kind orchestra from Egypt, visiting New Delhi for the first time to perform at the invitation of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations at the Kamani auditorium here early this week.

Regardless of how the high-level diplomatic talks go, it is likely that relations between the two countries will continue to ebb and flow. While we wait for both governments to implement forward-thinking policies that allow long-term change, the more important question will be how individual Indians and Pakistanis can help bring about enduring peace now.

External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna on Tuesday said China should be guided by India’s official stand on issues concerning bilateral ties and not by the reports in the Indian media, an “independent entity” which takes a critical stance on various issues.

India has long been regarded as an American ally but a series of missteps by the United States may be driving a strategic American partner directly into China's embrace.

In the past few weeks, Indian foreign policy has convinced itself it is a victim of the POPO principle. Indian diplomats have found America and its allies strangely unresponsive to their core security concerns. The Barack Obama administration seems to take this country for granted. To top it all, Pakistan is exultant, believing it has trumped India yet again.

Better late than never. For the first time, Delhi will host a festival of Bangladeshi feature films from April 16 to 18, showcasing the works of five leading directors of the parallel cinema movement of Bangladesh.

Some of India’s best-known artistes will travel to China and France this month for the “Festival of India in China” and “Namaste France” events respectively, organised by the Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR).