On behalf of IAF members, it is our immense pleasure in informing you all that, finally the government of Armenia has removed India from the list of countries which are granted visas in a strict regime /18 countries/. China is the other country with same news. This is released in the Press Release of the press service of the government of Armenia.
Finally our struggle and solidarity paid off and we can now proudly embrace the great accessibility for each other in order to create a great People-2-People connection.
It would not have been possible without our ambassador to Armenia, H.E. Mr. Achal Kumar Malhotra's great effort. He led from the front along with Armenia's Abassador to India, H.E. Mr. Ara Hakobyan, who also became the pillar of strong relationship between these two countries.
Our heartiest thanks to both of them for bringing the much required things in order.
Congratulations to people of both of these countries for their love and support. India-Armenia Friendship will be much anticipating to bring in the utmost level of friendship & relationship between common people and respective governments.
While searching famous people all over the world I was trying to find Armenian celebrities in India. In this listonly one name was there: Tulip Joshi . Her mother is diaspora Armenian who moved from Lebanon to India and got married to a Gujarati Indian.
Tulip Joshi
Although Tulip is not so famous in India as other Bollywood movie stars and has quite a short filmography but it helped me find another Indian. Joshi plays a suicide bomber in the 2007 film “Dhokha,” directed by Pooja Bhutt, who also shares Joshi’s Armenian lineage on her mother’s side.
Pooja Bhutt
It is quite difficult to find any information on this. Only thanks to the unique cooperation of these two beautiful ladies spread light on this fact. Tulip has promised to teach Pooja how to speak in Armenian and she is eager to learn.
Pooja Bhatt started her career as an Indian film actress, but currently devoting time to film production and direction. She is the daughter of Indian film director Mahesh Bhatt.
Apart from these charming celebrities no other information appears in the sources to witness the perfection of Indo-Armenian families.
Each year, 26th January is a day on which every Indian heart fills up with patriotic fervor and immense love for motherland. There are many significant memories as it was this day when the Indian Tricolor was first unfurled in January 1930 at Lahore, by Pt Jawaharlal Nehru and the declaration of an independent Indian National Congress was made.
26th January, 1950 was the day when the Indian republic and its constitution came into force. It was this day in history in 1965 when Hindi was declared as the official language of India.
PIC 1: Republic Day Parade on 26th January
Republic Day is celebrated every year with much enthusiasm all over the country and to mark the importance of this occasion, a grand parade is held in the capital, New Delhi, from Raisina Hill near the Rashtrapati Bhavan (President's House), along the Rajpath, past India Gate and on to the historic Red Fort.
Not only in India do Indians celebrate the Republic Day but also all over the world wherever they have embassies and communities. Here in Armenia the celebrations began early in the morning at the residence of ambassador of India to Armenia. The ceremony of flag hoisting took place in the cozy backyard garden. While H.E. Mr Achal K. Malhotra was hoisting the Indian Tri-Color showering with rose petals from inside the flag, the Armenian Students of Yerevan Humanitarian Institute studying Hindi were singing "Jana-Gana-Mana" the national anthem of India. After this Mr Ambassador read the annual speech of the president of India Mrs Pratibha Devisingh Patil to the invited guests: Indians working and studying in Armenia as well as Armenians having good relationship and attachment to India. This was followed by impressivelines from famouspatrioticpoem by Ram Avatar Tyag read in Hindi by the students of YHI. What impressed me most was that all Indians being present were singing the anthem so wholeheartedly and were exclaiming proudly and solemnly "Jay Hind".
PIC 2: Flag Hoisting by Ambassador to Armenia H.E. Mr. Achal Kumar Malhotra
But the celebrations didn't end at this. There was a big reception in the evening at Ani Plaza Hotel. Many politicians and artists, businessman and friends of India were invited.
At one corner of the hall the guests could get introduced to photo presentation desk "India-Armenia throughout the eyes of the lense". A special edition of NAMASTE (Indian monthly magazine being published in Armenia) was prepared on the occasion of 62nd anniversary of the Republic of India. In this edition, Armenians can find Indian tales and stories translated into Armenian.
The chief guest of the evening was the prime minister of Armenia, Mr Tigran Sargsyan. The ceremony began with national anthems of India and Armenia. Then H.E. Mr Achal K. Malhotra had a speech marking the importance of the day. “Currently, India is a democratic state, which takes care of equal development and prosperity of its society,” the Ambassador said. Speaking about the relationship between the India and Armenia also noted for his part that the two countries’ leaders intend to expand the trade and economic ties. He added that India’s economy managed to record 9% growth under conditions of the global crisis.
PIC 3: Prime minister of Armenia Mr Tigran Sargsyan & H.E. Mr Achal K. Malhotra with his wife
Mr. Tigran Sargsyan congratulated the people of India on behalf of the Armenian government and himself, wishing peace, prosperity and new achievements in all fields. Being a cradle of ancient civilizations India has made spiritual and intellectual contribution to world’s cultural heritage and is contributing to modern processes, he stressed. Mr. Sargsyan said that modern India continues making an important contribution to the cultural development of the world. He added that preservation and development of good traditions between the two peoples is among duties of the Armenian and Indian governments.
The Prime Minister expressed gratitude to the Indian government for the programs implemented in Armenia.
“Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan’s expected visit to Delhi will serve as a new impetus for boosting the bilateral relations,” said Sargsyan.
After official part Mrs Anita Verma, a lecturer of Hindi in Armenia was invited to stage to introduce the cultural part of the reception. As every ceremony or event in India the cultural part also started with Vandana performed by 3 pretty Indian Student of Yerevan State Medical University. Vandana was followed by another magnificent performance: Dance Play for Hanuman Chalisa by Andranik Asatryan, an artist and student of State Institute of Theater and Cinematography. The performances were completed by a Sari show and wedding ceremony. Here we witnessed the perfect combination of Armenian beauty in Indian national dresses. These were students of Yerevan State Linguistic University after V. Bryusov studying Hindi.
PIC 4: Dance Play for HANUMAN-CHALISA performed by Andranik
PIC 5: Sari Show by Students of Yerevan State Linguistic University
PIC 6: Indian Wedding Ceremony Show
The event was completed by reception of Indian cuisine: diverse and incredible as India it is.
Interview given by the Ambassador of India to Armenia H.E. Achal Kumar Malhotra to A1+
On January 26, 1950, the Indian constitution was put into force proclaiming India as a republic country.
Every year, on January 26, Indians in Armenia mark theRepublic Day of India. Today they gathered outside the residence of Indian Ambassador to Armenia Achal Kumar Malhotra. Ambassador Malhotra read out the message of the Indian President.
Festive events will continue throughout the day.
Talking to A1+, Ambassador Malhotra said that democracy has overcome all challenges and hardships in India.
Mr. Ambassador, how will you assess Armenian-Indian relations?
I would say they are perfect. Armenia and India hold unanimous opinion on issues of bilateral interest. We uphold the tradition of reciprocal visits. Armenian Foreign Minister visited India in November 2010 and discussed a wide range of issues with his Indian counterpart, starting form regional to international issues.
In 2010, we commenced Yerevan-Delhi flights, which further contributed to tourism. With the Armenian Ministry of Economy, we organized a seminar on tourism that enabled tour operators of the two countries to reach agreement on numerous issues. As result, the number of Armenian tourists has increased in India over the last two months. The countries also continue implementing educational programs. In 2010, 35 Armenians studied in India in the framework of Technical and Economic Cooperation program.
Which are the priorities of the two countries in the spheres of economy and culture?
India has always expressed readiness to support Armenia in its endeavours. India is a reliable partner. India supports developing countries without preconditions. Priorities are determined by the receiving party. Armenia and India implemented two programs in 2010. We aim to implement another two programs in 2011. India will technically assist Armenia in the preparation for the 2011 census. To this effect, a group of specialists of Armenian National Statistical Service will leave for India in February. Restrictions on entry visa are likely to be lifted in the nearest future. The issue is under consideration. I hope that it will soon find a positive solution and contribute to the flow of Indian tourists to Armenia.
The countries have established a good tradition of organizing exhibition-sale of Indian goods in Armenia. However, for some unknown reasons, the exhibition set for autumn, 2010, was canceled. Does it mean that the countries encounter problems in economic cooperation?
Besides intergovernmental cooperation, the countries also cooperate with the private sector. The exhibition-sale is initiated by private entrepreneurs. Last time the exhibition was held in May 2010. It is not easy to organize a similar exhibition every six months. I think that another exhibition will be organized in Armenia this year. I am also hopeful that Armenian-Indian collaboration will continue intensively in different spheres.
Achal Kumar Malhotra wished the Armenian people peace, prosperity and happiness in the new decade.
As the new year blossoms, may the journey of your life be fragrant with new opportunities, your days be bright with new hopes and your heart be happy with love! May this New Year 2011 bring newly found prosperity, love, happiness and delight in your life.
Wish you all a very happy new year! May this year prove to be the solidarity year of India & Armenia!
In its series of establishing people-to-people connection, India-Armenia Friendship, participated in a goodwill program to encourage Sports connection between these two countries. Mr. Karen Hovhannisyan, an avid Golf Player from Yerevan, representing Golf Federation of Armenia was invited by his Indian counterparts to participate in Sixth Chandigarh Golfing tour for NRIs (Non-Resident Indians) to be held between 16th-20th December 2010 in Chandigarh, India. Although Karen is not NRI, but he was invited to connect Armenian Golf with India in order to explore and emulate the design of the golf courses and the golf range in India. He was one of the two specially invited foreign Golf players. Another was from Spain. Indian Ambassador to Armenia Mr. Achal Kumar Malhotra was mainly instrumental to orchestrate this initiative.
However apart from this Golf-game, what Karen cherished more was two unforgettable days spent with IAF members. Mr. Rananjay Anand, Founder of IAF and Manu Singh, advisory group member, received Mr. Karen in New Delhi for two-days rendezvous. They were later joined by other IAF members Mrityunjay Anand, Asheesh Kumar, Vir Sanatan and Karen Mkrtschyan, who especially came from Kolkata to New Delhi to extend the homely feeling to Karen Hovhannisyan.
There was a Full day Delhi sight-seeing for Karen arranged by India-Armenia Foundation. Rananjay led the tour from front and showed Karen lovely historical sites in Delhi, including Qutab Minar and Lotus Temple. They had a great shopping cum fun time at famous Dilli Haat. Karen also did shopping at Janpath market in order to buy Indian souvenirs for his loved ones back in Yerevan. In the evening they had a small party at the house of Rananjay Anand where they recollected their time spent together.
During this period Rananjay and Karen also discussed different possibilities for bringing more people closer by initiating different sports planning. Cricket was among others, which they discussed to introduce to Armenia in later stages.
At the end, Karen was given a present from the team of IAF, as a token of goodwill. When Karen was asked how he felt about these two days, his reply was full of nostalgia. In his words: “I enjoyed the time spent in India everywhere. I made new friends during my Golf tournament and they extended me a very good hospitality. However these two days spent with IAF members are beyond words. I never felt, that I came away from my home country. It was like I’m with my family members. The way you all extended me your warmth, the way you hard-bargained for me for my all purchases, I felt you were never away from me. I can’t forget this all and it will be always in my memory forever. I can see now how India-Armenia relationship is being cared by most appropriate hands. Long live our friendship.”
After this party, Karen was escorted by Rananjay and Manu to Indira Gandhi International Airport, T3 to finally see him off. It was indeed though small step, but with a larger meaning for people-to-people connection between India and Armenia.
IAF was started in October 2009 as aFB group, just 2 months before Jan 2010. So we may consider 2010 as our action-oriented year. For IAF, indeed this year was full of activities and achievements. Though small, but a big step into our celebrating future. In this one year itself we have almost touched the 1000 mark of solidarity, which is the proof of our cherished togetherness and love for this cause. This togetherness was all seen during the event "Indian Cultural Night" held on 13th November in Yerevan in the celebration of Diwali. The festival of lights and togetherness brought the same spirit among people from both of these countries. My heartiest thanks to all those students of YSMU, who made it unforgettable with their excellent organizational skills. We would love to see it again and again and IAF will leave no stone unturned to make it even on bigger scale for the coming years.
In its series of establishing people-to-people connection, India-Armenia Friendship, participated in a goodwill program to encourage Sports connection between these two countries. Mr. Karen Hovhannisyan, an avid Golf Player from Yerevan, representing Golf Federation of Armenia was invited by his Indian counterparts to participate in Sixth Chandigarh Golfing tour for NRIs (Non-Resident Indians) to be held between 17th19th December 2010 in Chandigarh, India. However apart from this Golf-game, what Karen cherished more was two unforgettable days spent with IAF members.
IAF as concept is now taking a bigger leap further in the next year to give it an organizational format, so that we transform ourselves from a virtual to Foundational platform.
We have also worked upon certain issues which will ease out the people-2-people connection between these two countries without any obstacles. In near future, you will witness all this which will narrow the technical/bureaucratic distance between us.
This is just a beginning, which envisions the greatest ever India-Armenia relationship.
Last but not the least. IAF would have never been in action without the devoted dedication of its members and volunteers from both countries. We thanks all of them and invite to this new blog to share new ideas and to build a new stage of our great Indo-Armenian relationship.
On behalf of IAF members, it is our immense pleasure in informing you all that, finally the government of Armenia has removed India from the list of countries which are granted visas in a strict regime /18 countries/. China is the other country with same news. This is released in the Press Release of the press service of the government of Armenia.
