INDO-ARMENIAN FRIENDSHIP

WE HAVE MOVED TO A NEW WEBSITE.

2021-02-11T11:31:00.005+04:00

WE HAVE MOVED TO A NEW WEBSITE.

Message to IAF members from Ambassador T.Suresh Babu

2016-05-14T15:38:00.000+04:00

Dear friends below you can see the farewell note by Hon. Ambassador of India in Armenia Dr T. Suresh Babu. The cooperation between our NGO and the embassy was quite fruitful and harmonious during his tenure for which we are deeply grateful to His excellency.

"My dear Armenian members of the IAF NGO, today I am leaving my home for over past three years, and beautiful, warm and hospitable Armenians for good. I will be moving on to Mongolia shortly on my next assignment to represent our great country there. I will certainly miss divine fruits Apricots, Grapes, Apples, Pears, Cherries grown at my house here. Not to mention about bez podobny Armyansky Cognac !

And please don't forget that you have a true friend of Armenia !

Shat Shat Shnorokalutyun and God bless Armenia !"

IAF CELEBRATES ARMENIAN CHRISTMAS IN INDIA

2016-01-07T15:03:00.000+04:00

Following the traditions IAF members celebrated Armenian Christmas on January 6th in Delhi, Chennai and other cities in India. Below are some photos of the celebrations which was a visit to a local church and home celebrations with special Armenian dishes meant for the Christmas.

RECOLLECTING YEAR 2015: A THANKS NOTE

2015-12-31T13:48:00.000+04:00

Dear IAF Members and Supporters,

Greetings to you all!

One more year loaded with sweet memories and cheerful times has passed and we are sure it will continue to be more vibrant in forthcoming years too.

Year 2015 is coming to an end today and it's been quite eventful year for IAF. We've tried our best to manifest Indo-Armenian Relationship to newer heights. However, it would not have been possible without your unconditional love & support! Let us recollect a few important events of the year here.

We started 2015 by organizing Armenian Christmas at different locations in india through our members in that particular city or region. We organized it in New Delhi. IAF's South India coordinator Mrs. Ashkhen Khachatryan coordinated and organized the same in Chennai for whole South India. They visited the historical Armenian Church in Chennai and had Christmas Dinner. Armenian Community from Bangalore, Chennai and Puducherry joined altogether in Chennai.

On 26th January, Indo-Armenian Friendship NGO in association with Embassy of India, Yerevan, Armenia launched an 84 Page Publication titled "INDIA: NEW VISION, NEW VIGOUR" to commemorate 65th Anniversary of Republic Day Of India.

From 26 to 28 of March, our Armenian friends had the chance to enjoy one more time the magic world of Bollywood on big screen of Moscow cinema.

We had the pleasure to invite everybody to enjoy Indian films in the framework of “Bollywood back in Armenia” project. The screening was organized in collaboration with the Embassy of India to Armenia and Mr. Davit Bejitashvili from Georgia, and took place at Moscow cinema.

Considering "Chess" as the most loved common sports between Armenia and India, 1st Indo-Armenian Friendship Chess Tournament was organized by Indo-Armenian Friendship NGO on March 29 at Yerevan State Medical University after M.Heratsi, supported by the Embassy of India to Armenia, Medical University and University’s students council of Indian and Armenian students.

As decided by IAF this tournament will become an annual event of IAF Sports Club.

On May 26th, Medal Felicitation Ceremony to the winners of 1st Indo-Armenian Friendship Chess Tournament (29.03.2015) was organized at Yerevan State Medical University after M.Heratsi.

The awarding ceremony was attended by H.E Ambassador of India to Armenia Dr Suresh Babu, the rector of YSMU Mr. Mikayel Narimanyan, Vice-Rector for External Affairs and International Partnerships Mr. Yervand Sahakyan and the president of Chess Academy of Armenia Mr. Smbat Lputyan.

One of the biggest achievements of the year that everyone cherished. From 31st of August till 6^th of September Indo-Armenian Friendship in collaboration with ICIRLD Armenia and Havana Restaurant Complex with the support of the Embassy of India in Armenia organized a 7 days long Cultural Festival “Days of India in Armenia”.

It became a festival of colors and joy, tastes and beauties, a festival of a real friendship and global understanding, a festival of new discoveries and new perceptions of real India which is beyond Bollywood. The grand opening was attended by more than 20 ambassadors of different countries in Armenia, by many representatives of very different Ministries and just by Indian culture lovers.

In November IAF in association with Yerevan Mall, organized a Bollywood Dance FLASH-MOB in Yerevan and people enjoyed it a lot. In November itself IAF joined the YSMU team and Pharaon Entertainment Complex in support with Embassy of India to celebrate the festival of lights Diwali in the name "Indian Cultural Night". It was one of the most glittering events of the year.

In December, IAF in collaboration with Embassy Of India and Media Focus Organization, organized a huge successful event: "India In Yerevan Metro" exhibition and Indian Movie Dance Flash-Mob in Yerevan Metro. It became a viral event and many people passing through Yeritasardakan Metro in Yerevan enjoyed that.

Apart from all this, we organized many more small and medium events and programs throughout the year which is not mentioned here.

On this note, let us take this opportunity to thank our all members for their great support. Special thanks to Embassy of India in Armenia for their continuous support to us to help us realize our all activities. Thanks to our all partner organizations, for making the huge task easier for us with their complete supprt and last but not the least..A heartfelt thanks to our IAF team which is ably and comprehensively coordinated by our Secretary General Ms. Lusine Toroyan in close-coordination with our team members Armine Sargsyan, Anna Hovsepyan, Roza Navoyan and Ani Yeremyan. Without their dedicated hard work, this all would not have been possible.

On behalf of all IAF team members, we wish everyone a very happy and prosperous New Year 2016!

Rananjay Anand & Ruzanna Ashughyan

Co-founders

Indo-Armenian Friendship NGO

Days of India in Armenia: A week-long festival

2015-09-30T21:57:00.000+04:00

From 31th of August till 6^th of September Indo-Armenian Friendship in collaboration with ICIRLD Armenia and Havana Restaurant Complex with the support of the Embassy of India in Armenia organized Cultural Festival “Days of India in Armenia”.

Opening speech by Hon. Ambassador of India to Armenia Dr Suresh Babu

Opening ceremony

The grand opening was attended by more than 20 ambassadors of different countries in Armenia, by many representatives of very different Ministries and just by Indian culture lovers.

The cultural program of the Opening was full Indian music and dances performed by Armenian artists. The special guest of the evening was Rima Shamo, rather famous dancer of Indian dances who lives in Georgia. One of the surprises of the Opening ceremony was the Armenian song “ Ov sirun, sirun” performed by the Second secretary of the Embassy of India in Armenia Mr. Prashant Das.

During the days of the Festival in some regions of India was being celebrated Onam festival which lasts 10 days and symbolizes a colorful celebration of harvest. We also managed to celebrate it by dropping down in the water small baskets of flowers and candles.

The Festival lasted till 6th of September. Starting from 2nd of September we had seminars and workshops on very different topics about India and Indian Culture. We had seminars on Indian Spices and Jewelries, on Indian dances, on cultural diversity and touristic attractions of India, on New Ages and Ayurveda and so on.

The last day was “The day of Indian Cuisine”. It was organized in collaboration with Indian restaurants Veda and Karma. Our guests could enjoy not only the food of Indian cooks from the Indian restaurants but also the hospitality of Mrs. Arevik, the cook of almost all Indian ambassadors in Armenia, an Armenian woman with very deep knowledge and endless love of Indian Cuisine and Culture.

Trip to Lastiver

2015-09-14T00:16:00.000+04:00

In continuation of annual tradition, on 13th of September, 2015 Indo-Armenian Friendship NGO organized a trip to the gorgeous Lastiver with IAF members and Staff of Embassy of India to Armenia.

Lastiver is in Tavush Marz (region) of Armenia, nearby Yenokavan village, 10km from the regional ceter of Ijevan. The village is located at a height of 1,000-1,300 meters, surrounded by hills, and close to a forest-covered gorge about 100 meters deep that ranges for about 5km.

On the way to Lastiver the group visited Sevanavank Monastery at Lake Sevan. Sevanavank Monastery is located in Gegharkunik region, which is popular in Armenia due to its possession of the blue pearl of Armenians, Lake Sevan. There are two churches on the peninsula of Sevan. These two churches were built in 874 AD and together form the Sevanavank Monastery. According to an inscription found in the territory, the monastery was built by Armenian princess Mariam, daughter of Ashot I, who later became the king of Armenia and the founder of Bagratuni dynasty. Sevanavank is one of the 30 churches that Princess Mariam vowed to build in the memory of her husband. King Ashot I, in his turn, presented six villages and gardens in the territory of today’s Garni and Yerevan to the monastery.

The trip continued by bus till Yenokavan village from where 3 km long trekking started to Lastiver. The weather was foggy and cold, but trip's participants were still in quite joyous mood. They were singing, telling some funny stories till they reached the "heart" of Lastiver. At the caves a marvelous landscape welcomed everyone: the waterfalls of Lastiver, which is considered to be the wonder of nature in Armenia.

Lastiver Cave is hard to access on a cliff face, and the entrance has been partially protected with an ancient wall. There is a pond taking up most of the cave, which water level is supposed never to change - even if you remove water it immediately returns to its previous level.

At the river, which has beautiful cascades and rapids, there is a campground built, with amenities. Walking around the Lastiver one establishes mental contact with nature which cleans the negative emotions from the body. After having lunch, spending some time at the waterfall and discussing the future plans of the NGO, participants started their journey back to Yenokavan village. It was mostly hiking and more adventurous, sometimes even dangerous.

Although the smallest member of our group was enjoying it the most.

The group had a great day full of many memorable moments.

1st Indo-Armenian Friendship Chess Tournament Medal Felicitation Ceremony

2015-06-01T00:01:00.003+04:00

On May 26th, Medal Felicitation Ceremony to the winners of 1st Indo-Armenian Friendship Chess Tournament (29.03.2015) was organized at Yerevan State Medical University after M.Heratsi. The awarding ceremony was attended by H.E Ambassador of India to Armenia Dr Suresh Babu, the rector of YSMU Mr. Mikayel Narimanyan, Vice-Rector for External Affairs and International Partnerships Mr. Yervand Sahakyan and the president of Chess Academy of Armenia Mr. Smbat Lputyan.

Since the 1 st Indo-Armenian Friendship Chess Tournament was organized with the support of Medical University’s students council, the awarding ceremony was held in the framework of the students council annual awarding ceremony of YSMU.

The rector of YSMU Mr. Mikayel Narimanyan welcomed all guests, expressed his gratitude to H.E. Ambassador of India to Armenia Dr. Suresh Babu for his permanent support and also expressed his gratitude to Mr. Lputyan for attending the event as a special guest and thanked him for his important role in introducing chess as school subject in Armenian schools.

In his speech Dr. Suresh Babu welcomed the idea of Indo-Armenian Friendship NGO to organize the first ever Chess Tournament between Indian and Armenian students hoping that this beautiful idea would become annual event. He underlined that if other countries too get included as participants in the event in future, it would become even more interesting. Dr. Babu expressed his gratitude to the Administration of YSMU for the support to the Tournament.

The President of the Student’s council as well welcomed all the guests and gave the stage to the General Secretary of Indo-Armenian Friendship NGO Ms. Lusine Toroyan to begin with the ceremony.

Two teams competed during the tournament playing 4 games (each team consisted of 10 people). And the team which would have more points at the end of tournament had to win. After the 4 games Armenian team was declared the winner. The tournament was judged by the trainee and referee of Chess Academy Mr Roma Akopov.

The award felicitation of the winning team was done by H.E. Dr. Suresh Babu and of silver Medals was done by Mr. Lputyan and IAF members. The students have also been awarded by the gifts which were Chess boards and professional chess clocks.

At the end of the ceremony the certificates were released to Dr. Suresh Babu and Dr. Yervand Sahakyan for participation in the tournament and for playing their first chess match. Also Mr. Martin Martirosyan the head of Armenian team was awarded by certificate.

IAF extends heartiest congratulations once more to the winners of the event and assures that this initiative gets transformed into an annual event.

Viva Indo-Armenian Strong Friendship!

IAF co-founders meet Hon. Ambassador Designate of Armenia to India Mr. Armen Martirosyan

2015-05-21T16:19:00.000+04:00

IAF Press Release

IAF Co-founders Mr. Rananjay Anand and Mrs. Ruzanna Ashughyan Anand

with Hon. Ambassador designate of Republic of Armenia to India Mr. Armen Martirosyan

Indo-Armenian Friendship NGO (IAF) co-founders Mr. Rananjay Anand and Mrs. Ruzanna Ashughyan Anand met Hon. Ambassador designate Mr. Armen Martirosyan at the Embassy of Armenia in New Delhi on 21^st May. Both of them congratulated Amb. Martirosyan for his new responsibility as Hon. Ambassador of Armenia to India and exchanged warm greetings.

It was an introductory "Focus Meeting" about IAF's cooperation with Embassy of Armenia in India. During their meeting, which lasted approx. one hour, IAF co-founders introduced IAF and its activities so far in Armenia and in India to Mr. Ambassador designate and shared their future plans in respective countries. They emphasized the need of being more active in India in close cooperation with Embassy of Armenia through different activities which are considered to be a long due. Amb. Armen Martirosyan welcomed the initiatives taken by IAF and assured team IAF to work together with full cooperation from Embassy of Armenia. Lots of relevant issues were touched upon from People-to-People (P2P) connection to Business-to-Business (B2B) connection in order to prioritize the list of activities in near future.

Both parties agreed to work in close cooperation in future by involving the existing Indo-Armenian community and other relevant stakeholders in India. IAF is sincerely hopeful to see lots of activities about Armenia in India in near future.

IAF would like to extend heartiest congratulations to Mr. Armen Martirosyan on being appointed as Hon. Ambassador of Republic of Armenia to India and also wishes him a very fruitful and defining tenure in India!

1st Indo-Armenian Friendship Chess Tournament

2015-04-02T22:09:00.003+04:00

1 st Indo-Armenian Friendship Chess Tournament was organized by Indo-Armenian Friendship NGO on March 29 at Yerevan State Medical University after M.Heratsi, supported by the Embassy of India to Armenia, Medical University and University’s students council between Indian and Armenian students.

As decided by IAF this tournament will become an annual event of IAF Sports Club.

The tournament was attended by H.E Ambassador of India to Armenia Mr Suresh Babu, the rector of YSMU Mr. Mikayel Narimanyan, Vice-Rector for External Affairs and International Partnerships Mr. Yervand Sahakyan.

In their speech they they outlined the importance of Chess for the stronger relationship between India and Armenia, considering that Chess is very popular in these two great nations. They welcomed the participants and wished them good luck in the tournament.

The inauguration of the students with the silver and gold medals and certificates will be held later at YSMU.

It is to be noted that the game of Chess was invented in ancient India and is quite popular in India and Armenia It has become even more popular in the last few decades primarily due to chess Grandmasters of both countries. In Armenia Chess has been introduced as school subject in order to develop the skills and mental strength of the future generation of Armenia considering Chess as “Mind Game” or “Game of Strateg”.

IAF congratulate the winners of the event. This will prove to be a bridge which creates strong Indo-Armenian Friendship.

Bollywood back in Armenia

2015-04-02T22:06:00.001+04:00

From 26 to 28 of March Armenians had the chance to appear one more time in the magic world of Bollywood. We had the pleasure to invite everybody to enjoy Indian films in the framework of “Bollywood back in Armenia” project.
The screening was organized in collaboration with the Embassy of India to Armenia and Mr. Davit Bejitashvili from Georgia, and took place at Moscow cinema.
The screening included 3 films:

DHOOM 3 Stars: Aamir Khan, Katrina Kaif, Abhishek Bachchan
OMG - Oh My God Stars: Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal, Mithun Chakraborty
EK THA TIGER Stars: Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Ranvir Shorey

The opening ceremony started with the welcome speech of Ms Lusine Toroyan, who on behalf of Indo-Armenian Friendship NGO welcomed all the guests, representatives of the diplomatic core in Armenia, expressed gratitude to the Embassy of India to Armenia for the continuous support and to Mr David Bejitashvili and called upon everyone to enjoy the movies.

Everyone were happy expressing their gratitude for the organization of such kind of event and hoping to see in the future more projects which promote Indian culture to Armenia and vice versa.

Publication launch - "INDIA: NEW VISION, NEW VIGOUR"

2015-02-05T22:19:00.003+04:00

To commemorate 65th Anniversary of Republic Day Of India, Indo-Armenian Friendship NGO in association with Embassy of India, Yerevan, Armenia launched an 84 Page Publication titled "INDIA: NEW VISION, NEW VIGOUR".

The official launch of the publication was done by Hon. Ambassador of India Dr. Suresh Babu on 26th January at Hotel Marriott, Yerevan, during the state reception organized by Embassy of India to celebrate 66th Republic Day of India.

Among the eminent invited guests were ministers and their representatives from Govt. of Armenia, Foreign Diplomats in Armenia from different embassies and friends of India and Armenia.
You can go through the online version of the publication which tries to showcase new INDIA.
It also includes message from Hon. President of Armenia H.E Mr Serzh Sargsyan to Hon. President of India H.E Mr. Pranab Mukherjee.

The publication encompasses majority of works, initiatives and other activities executed by IAF and Indian Embassy in Armenia.

The publication can be shared with your friends through Facebook, Twitter, Email and other online media.

So please enjoy reading and share with us your feedback.

* * *

Հնդկաստանի Հանրապետության Օրվա 65-ամյակի կապակցությամբ Հայ-Հնդկական Բարեկամություն հասարակական կազմակերպությունը Հնդկաստանի Հանրապետության դեսպանատան հետ համատեղ հրատարակել են 84-էջանոց «Հնդկաստան՝ նոր տեսլական, նոր եռանդ» վերնագրով ժողովածու:

Ժողովածուի պաշտոնական շնորհանդեսը կատարել է Հայաստանում Հնդկաստանի Հանրապետության դեսպան Դոկտոր Սուրեշ Բաբուն հունվարի 26-ին, Երեւանի Մարիոտ հյուրանոցում Հնդկաստանի Դեսպանատան կողմից կազմակերպված պետական ընդունելությանը ժամանակ, որը նվիրված էր Հնդկաստանի Հանրապետության 66-րդ Օրվան:

Ընդունելությանը ներկա էին ՀՀ նախարարներ և ՀՀ կառավարության ներկայացուցիչներ, դիվանագետներ՝ Հայաստանում տարբեր երկրների դեսպանատներից եւ Հնդկաստանի եւ Հայաստանի բարեկամներ:

Այստեղ ձեզ հնարավորություն է ընձեռնված ընթերցելու ժողովածուի օնլայն տարբերակը, որը մի փորձ է ներկայացնելու Նոր Հնդկաստանը:

Այն նաև ներառում է Հայաստանի Հանրապետության նախագահ Ն.Գ. պրն Սերժ Սարգսյանի ուղերձը Հնդկաստան Հանրապետության նախագահ Ն.Գ. պրն Պրանաբ Մուքերջին:

Ժողովածուն ներկայացնում է նաև Հայ-Հնդկական Բարեկամություն հ/կ-ի և Հնդկաստանի դեսպանատան կողմից իրականացված աշխատանքները, միջոցառումներն ու այլ ծրագրեր:

Ժողովածուն կարող են ներկայացնել նաև ձեր ընկերներին Facebook-ի, Twitter-ի, էլ. փոստի եւ այլ սոցիալական ցանցերի միջոցով:

Սիրով հրավիրում ենք ձեզ ընթերցելու ժողովածուն և կիսվելու ձեր կարծիքներով:

ARMENIAN COMMUNITY CELEBRATES CHRISTMAS IN CHENNAI

2015-01-09T19:01:00.000+04:00

By Ashkhen Khachatryan - Chennai, India

The Armenian Apostolic Church celebrates Christmas on 6th of January. On this day, it also celebrates the 'Epiphany' (which means the revelation that Jesus is God's son). Epiphany is now mainly the time Churches remember the Visit of the Wise Men to Jesus; but some Churches, like the Armenian Apostolic Church, also celebrate the Baptism of Jesus when he started his ministry on Epiphany day. All Armenian Churches on 6th January conduct Christmas Mass.

Lord's Prayer in Armenian

The Armenian Church in Chennai (former Madras) constructed in 1712 and reconstructed in 1772, is one of the oldest churches of the Indian subcontinent. The Church which is also called the Armenian Church of Virgin Mary, is located on the Armenian Street, Chennai, South India. Armenian Church in Madras doesn't conduct Mass, because there are very few Armenians living in Chennai.
This year we - Armenians from Chennai and Bangalore decided to keep our national and religious traditions and celebrate Christmas together at The Armenian church, Chennai.

Two of us were from Bangalore: Michael Stephen, 46, a former caretaker of the Saint Mary’s Church, Chennai, who is a fourth-generation Armenian with a history that reaches back to Julfa, Persia and Narek Gevorgyan, 25, who moved from Yerevan a year ago for business and now runs a software firm in Bangalore.
Among us were Hratsjuhi Aramyan, 32, who married Manoj Kumar and moved to Auroville years ago and now she teaches vocal music at the KM Music Conservatory, Chennai; Medrik Minassian and Armen Markarian, two students pursuing a Master’s in Political Science at the Madras Christian College, are originally from Tehran. The young men completed their schooling at the Armenian Collage and Philanthropic Academy and La Martiniere, Kolkata; and I am Ashkhen Khachatryan - the Coordinator of the Indo-Armenian Friendship NGO in Ijevan, Armenia. I moved to Chennai 3 months ago after getting married to Kapilan Jesudian, who is an architect in Chennai. From now onwards I will be representing IAF in Chennai.

The "Mass" of this small community began with bells ringing and incense burning. Then, the Mother See of Holy Communion Echmiadzin’s Christmas Mass’s video was played out and the Lord's Prayer said, and religious songs were sung.

At the Church, among us was an Indian lady as well, who was praying with us. She had worked for Armenian families in Lebanon for many years. She took part in the service as she could understand the Armenian language and was very excited to be there with our community. She told us how she had enjoyed working with those families. She remembered that Armenians celebrate Christmas on January 6th and so came to church to pray.
There were two students from W.C.C. Chennai who came to the Armenian church to collect information about Armenia and the Armenian church as part ot their curriculum. We talked to them, answered all their questions.
Later my husband, Kapilan Jesudian and I invited the gathering over to our house for Christmas lunch. The Christmas meal consists of Pilaf with rice and dried fruits, fish, greens, salads, red wine, dried fruits and nuts.

No matter we are few in number but hopefully we will keep this tradition go on. As Paryur Sevak, famous Armenian poet said: “We are less but they called us Armenians”.

Looking forward to see more Armenians here in Chennai for other celebrations.

Media: The Hindu

Indian Classical Music Concert In Yerevan

2014-10-20T22:11:00.002+04:00

CONCERT POSTER

To celebrate the mystic magic of Indian Classical Music, Indo-Armenian Friendship NGO (IAF) in cooperation with Embassy of India to Armenia organized an Indian Classical Mandolin Recital Concert on 9th October in Yerevan. The recital, which took place in the city’s famous Arno Babajanyan Concert hall, was performed by the World Renowned Mandolin Maestro Pandit Sugato Bhaduri (www.sugatobhaduri.com). Pandit Bhaduri was also accompanied by Mr. Indranil Guha, who performed on the Tabla.

Audience

The performance, which lasted a little less than two hours saw enthusiastic attendees from all walks of life, some from whom even remained standing for the entire program as the venue, which has a capacity of 300 people, was jam packed with many standing audience too.

Audience

Tabla Accompanist Sri Indranil Guha

Mandolin Maestro Pandit Sugato Bhaduri

The program was well orchestrated by IAF Secretary General Ms. Lusine Toroyan who on behalf of IAF President welcomed all participants, audience, and other stakeholders of the event. The concert was opened by H.E. Dr.Suresh Babu, Ambassador of India to Armenia, who was the chief guest of the evening.

Those in attendance were more than glad to be introduced to such enchanting Indian classical music. Many in Armenia know Indian music mainly through Bollywood, which unfortunately doesn’t depict the true richness of Indian Music to its viewers.

In just 1 hour and 45 minutes the two musicians rectified the misconceptions an average Armenian has for Indian music, thus introducing them to a new world of true Indian classical music.

“This is the other side of Bollywood you have not yet listened to”, said Pundit Sugato Bhaduri while addressing his audience.

Armine Sargsyan, who attended the program couldn't agree more. “Whatever we heard and experienced that evening was indeed the opposite of Bollywood music as, it was like trance”, she expressed in admiration.

The event was well supported by Karma Indian Restaurant in Yerevan and 'Maharishi Vedic Center' Educational Foundation.

IAF thanks the Indian Embassy, Karma Indian Restaurant, Maharishi Vedic Center and all those who attended the event for making it a grand success. IAF look forward to different stakeholders for their cooperation in our future programs too.

Team IAF and performing artists along with
Hon. Ambassador of India in Armenia Dr. Suresh Babu

A HIKE TRIP TO MOUNT ARAGATS: COMMEMORATING 68TH INDEPENDENCE DAY OF INDIA

2014-08-23T19:48:00.001+04:00

To commemorate 68^th Independence Day of India, Indo-Armenian Friendship NGO (IAF) in collaboration with Embassy of India to Armenia organized a Hiking Trip to scale Mt. Aragats, which is the highest Mountain peak of Armenia.

Aragats, the highest mountain in contemporary Armenia, is a single extinct volcano with a crater, that has become an Ice Basin (About 400 m deep). This extinct volcano has formed 4 peaks; the northern peak is 4090m above sea level; the western, eastern and southern peaks are 4080m, 3916m, 3879m high respectively.

Mt. Aragats is also famous for its beautiful mountain lake KARI. It’s located 3250m above sea level having perimeter of 1150m.

While reaching the base-camp of Lake Kari, one can see the Tent-Homes of Armenian Yezidis at different places in mountain range. According to one opinion, Yezidis are believed to be descendents of Indian Hindus.

It took almost 8 hours to complete the hiking trip from base camp to mount summit and back.

The whole team felt proud when they captured the victory moment of the group with respective national flags of both countries.

Indeed it was a different celebration of India’s Independence Day!

PICNIC IN TSAGHKADZOR

2014-08-17T16:48:00.002+04:00

The Travellers Club of IAF organized a whole day picnic with IAF members and Embassy of India staffs on 9th August 2014 in the resort town Tsakhkadzor!

Tsaghkadzor literally means valley of flowers in Armenian. The name of Tsaghkadzor is associated with the name of the nearby Tsaghkunyats Mountains, located to the west of the town. Tsaghkadzor is located 50 kilometers north of the capital Yerevan and 3 kilometers east of the provincial centre Hrazdan. Surrounded with alpine meadows, the town is situated on the southeastern slope of the Teghenis Mountains, at a height of 1841 meters above sea level.

The participants first took a local sight-seeing and the first was to visit Kecharis Monastery. It is one of the most important religious complexes of Eastern Armenia and one of the well-preserved medieval architectural samples of the Armenian Highland. It was founded at the beginning of the 11th century, consisted of 4 separate adjacent churches. The main church of the complex is the Saint Gregory Church built in 1033. The church of Surp Nshan built in 1051, is located to the south of Saint Gregory Church. The Katoghike Church built at the beginning of the 13th century, stands to the south of Surp Nshan Church. The fourth church of the complex is the Church of Surp Harutyun of 1220.

The most sought-after tourist attention in Tsakhkadzor is Ropeway. The Tsaghkadzor ski resort is located just above the town, on a height of 1750 meters above sea level. During the recent years the ski resort was fully modernized. Those participants, who wanted to take a ride of famous rope-way, enjoyed it fully.

Few participants stayed at the picnic camp for preparing Khorovats (Barbeque).

The purpose of the picnic was to encourage the communication between India and local Armenian populace. The group had a great food and fun together in the cool and fresh environment of this resort town. People interacted with each other for a better mutual understanding of respective nations, their people and cultures.

IAF meets Critically Acclaimed Filmmaker Mr. Sourabh Sarangi

2013-09-25T21:42:00.001+04:00

IAF Press Release

IAF meets critically acclaimed Filmmaker Mr. Sourabh Sarangi in New Delhi. The meeting was attended by IAF's President Mr. Rananjay Anand, Vice President Mrs. Ruzanna Ashughyan Anand and IAF's National Coordinator, India Mr. Karen Mkrtchyan. The team discussed many topics related to India & Armenia and emphasis was given on how film making can be part of this noble cause in possible future considering Films as strong medium of people-to-people connection in respective countries.

Mr. Sarangi's films have participated in many International Film Festivals across globe and have garnered great applause and winning awards in documentary category. His Film ""CHAR...No Man's Land"" has won "Dubai International Film Festival 2012 " and Film "BILAL" has won "Yamagata International Documentary Festival Japan 2009". Recently Mr. Sarangi participated in "GOLDEN APRICOT Yerevan International Film Festival 2013" in Yerevan.

Both sides underlined the importance of films in mutual development of people-to-people relationship in understanding respective cultures and discussed the possible partnership towards collaborative works.

About Mr. Sourabh Sarangi

INDIAN CULTURAL DAYS in Tavush

2013-08-13T01:01:00.003+04:00

Continuing the tradition of taking the group photo exhibition “India through the Armenian Lens” to the different cities of Armenia «Indo-Armenian Friendship» NGO in association with the Embassy of India organized the exhibition in Ijevan, Tavush marz (region).

The exhibition is a part of “Indian cultural days in Tavush” program dedicated to the 66^th anniversary of Indian Independence. The opening ceremony started on 9^th of August at “Vernatun” galleri, Ijevan. This time the exhibition was not only including the photo collection of previous exhibitions but also paintings of two Armenian artists Vardan Avetyan and Vladimir Soghomonyan under a different group exhibition titled "Mystic reflections of India".

The distinguished guests of the opening ceremony were Ambassador of India in Armenia, Dr. Suresh Babu, Vice-Governor of Tavush region Mr. Levon Sargsyan, Mayor of Ijevan Mr. Vardan Ghalumyan and chief of department of Culture at the municipality of Ijevan Mrs Lilit Ghalumyan.

The opening speech was given by Lusine Toroyan genral secretary of «Indo-Armenian Friendship» NGO. She presented the purpose of organizing the exhibition and welcomed all guests on behalf of the president and vice-president of the NGO Mr Rananjay Anand and Mrs Ruzanna Ashughyan.

Thanking the organizers for initiating the project “Indian cultural days in Tavush” the distinguished guests mentioned especially the necessity of organizing more and frequent events dedicated to the friendship of the two respective countries.

Afterwards the audiences were invited to the Cultural House of Ijevan where in the framework of the project Indian films of various genres will be screened with Russian dubbing.

The events will continue till the 15th of August – India’s 67^th Independence Day.

The program is supported by the Embassy of India in Armenia, Municipality of Ijevan and Ijevan wine-brandy factory.

"India Through the Armenian Lens" in Gyumri

2013-06-23T23:32:00.001+04:00

Our readers might remember in January 2012 IAF organized a Group Photo Exhibition titled “India through the Armenian lens” which took place at Naregatsi Art Institute and lasted 10 days instead of planned 3 days due to many requests.

Taking into consideration the great success and response that had the exhibition as well as realizing the importance to keep the population of other parts of Armenia too informed about the activities our NGO is trying to realize, we decided to take the same Photo-Exhibition to other parts of Armenia and in that series IAF decided to take it to Gyumri, the second largest city in Armenia.

The exhibition was organized in collaboration with Gyumri branch of Kasa Foundation. The opening ceremony of the exhibition took place at the Kasa Community and Training Centre Gyumri on June 15^th, 2013.

Honourable Ambassador of India to the Republic of Armenia Dr Suresh Babu and Mayor of Gyumri Mr Samvel Balasanyan were invited to grace the event as eminent guests.

The ceremony started with national anthems of both the countries which were followed by Indian tradition of lamp lighting.

The president of Indo-Armenian Friendship NGO welcomed the guests and the visitors and introduced them the aim and significance of organizing the exhibition. The distinguished guests greeted the organizers and expressed their gratitude for organizing such events especially out of Yerevan, the capital city of Armenia. The representative of Kasa Foundation Ms Susanna Grigoryan in her welcome speech to the visitors and the guests ensured everyone that in future also there will be collaborations with IAF.

Welcome speeches were followed by wonderful performance of traditional Armenian dances by “Sasun” folk dance group and a surprise performance of a Hindi song by an IAF member Felix Gharibyan.

The goal of this Photo Exhibition was to represent the cultural and historical marvels of India shot by common travellers from Armenia to India. Every year many travellers visit India in different capacity, be it as tourists, as students or as businessmen. They visit India and bring memories back to Armenia. It’s their view of India which they see through their camera lens and share with their loved ones. And through these images India enters into the heart of Armenian people. This way we are emphasizing the very quintessence of people-to-people connection between two great ancient civilizations of the world.

This time the collection of the photographs was supplemented by collages made by Ms Marine Papyan which she made in India while organizing a visit of four Armenian artists to India in November 2012 by the invitation of Indian Council for Cultural Relations, Ministry of External Affairs.

The show continued till yesterday 22nd June, 2013 and is planned to take place in other cities and towns of Armenia to spread the message they are carrying to the entire population of the country.

"Indo-Armenian Relations: Challenges & Prospects" – A Round-Table Conference

2013-06-20T12:09:00.000+04:00

IAF PRESS RELEASE

On 17^th June 2013, Indo-Armenian Friendship NGO (IAF) organized a Round-Table Conference dedicated to the theme “Indo-Armenian Relations: Challenges & Prospects” at Best Western Congress Hotel in Yerevan, Armenia. The Keynote address of the conference was delivered by H.E. Dr. Suresh Babu, Hon. Ambassador of India to Republic of Armenia.

The goal of the conference was to discuss different prospects and their corresponding challenges between India and Armenia in culture, trade, education, S&T, Sports and other relevant fields in order to canvass a conductive environment for future relation developments accordingly. The list of invitation included Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Education, Science & Technology, Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Diaspora, Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs, Industry Associations, Businessmen, YSMU and YSLU University Representatives, UNESCO Chair in Armenia, NGOs and other relevant serious stakeholders.

The conference was sponsored by Esculap LLC from Armenia and Druck & Bindung Machinery Corp. from India.

During the round-table discussion, which was meant to be quite interactive, Indo-Armenian bilateral relations was discussed in different perspectives by different participants and stakeholders who are interested in the development of these relations.

Before starting the discussion, Mr. Rananjay Anand, Co-Founder & President of Indo-Armenian Friendship NGO gave a presentation about IAF with its brief history and activities so far. He emphasized that there is a strong need to tap the hidden potential of Indo-Armenian bilateral relations, and IAF could be one of the strong multiplying forces to facilitate the same, provided they have strong support from respective Governments and industry associations from both respective countries. According to him, the business exchange between India and Armenia is not encouraging, which could be translated as strong opportunities for interested businessmen.

Time to Look Towards East

While delivering the Keynote Address of the conference, the Indian Ambassador Dr. Suresh Babu reiterated that after the collapse of Soviet Union, Armenia entered into a new phase and India was among the first nations that recognized Armenia’s Independence and established diplomatic relations with Republic of Armenia. He said, “Indo-Armenian diplomatic understanding on world platform is excellent at different levels and we’re now working to take this special relationship to advance level. Recently we’ve concluded 20^th anniversary of establishment of Indo-Armenian diplomatic relationship.”

Dr. Babu highlighted the need of sending cultural troupe from Armenia to India, as the main obstacle is lack of awareness among Indians about Armenia.

He said, for Armenia, it’s time to look towards east, especially towards natural friend like India, which is currently playing a leading role in world economy. India has many things to offer to Armenia as her partner, be it knowledge sharing, IT contribution, Business exchange, Education collaboration or even sports. India offers ITEC scholarship for its developing friendly countries, out of which 40 seats are offered to Armenia in a year, which is a great initiative for knowledge sharing with friend countries. The scholarship is completely borne by Govt. of India. Apart from that India has signed MoUs with Govt. of Armenia for Scientific research exchange. He said they are planning to bring in all these activities and information on website, so that Armenian participants could benefit from the same. He emphasized that Armenians have one of the best brains in the world for IT and S&T, with which even India could be benefited.

Mr. Artyom Khachatryan, MFA

He underlined the fact that the weakest link between Indo-Armenian relationships is Trade-Deficit. The need of the hour is to encourage mutual development of business. He said both of the countries are looking for the ways to develop the same on higher scale. But the biggest challenge is spreading awareness and showing the real prospects of investments in respective countries. He said if Govt. of Armenia could work out soon on a direct flight from Delhi to Yerevan, it would sort out few business-related issues.

He said Armenia is already contributing to India in medical field with many of Indian students studying in YSMU. However, it’s time to look beyond allopath and take forward the benefits of Ayurveda and Yunani (Greek) methodology offered by India. He said Govt. of India is already offering scholarship programs in both courses, which is fully paid by Indian side. Armenian students should be encouraged to pursue the same, so that they come back to Armenia, open their clinic and practice with recognition from Govt. of Armenia.

Mr. Mikael Narimanyan, Rector, YSMU

The rector of YSMU, Mr. Michael Narimanyan complemented this proposal from hon. Ambassador by saying that YSMU is ready to collaborate in any research offered by India and they would like to know more about traditional and conventional medical system of India.

Ms. Lusine Fldjyan

Ms. Lusine Fldjyan, the Vice Rector for International Affairs, YSLU after Brusov came up with few suggestions in field of education collaborations between Indian and Armenia universities, which was well taken by the participants.

“We will continue to show our support to Armenia in a very humble way”, said Dr. Babu.

Mr. Eduard Kirakosyan, Executive Director of the Union of Manufacturers and Businessmen (Employers) of Armenia said that union members have already partnership with few Indian businessmen but it’s time to develop more.

Mr. H. Sarafian from Esculap LLC said that since 1996 Esculap is in business with Indian Pharma Manufacturers. This conference may bring the confidence in Armenian consumers, as they have a certain apprehension about Indian medicines, but company’s experience shows that it’s in par with European standard.

Bollywood Shooting in Armenia

Mr. Rananjay Anand, the President of IAF and moderator of the conference highlighted in his presentation with special mention of Tourism Development, which is considered to be one of the the main strengths of Armenian Economy. He cited the UNWTO report, which predicts, India will supply about 50 Million Outbound Tourists by 2020, which will be the largest outbound tourism market.

He suggested if Govt. of Armenia could attract the “Bollywood Industry”, the Hindi Movie Industry, it would change the complete scenario of Armenian Tourism Market. The idea was strongly endorsed by Dr. Suresh Babu, Hon. Ambassador of India, who said it’s not only about Bollywood, but India’s Southern parts too are very rich in movie making and they vouch for beautiful foreign locations across globe, provided they get excellent support and subsidies from host country. So even if that part could be tapped, it will solve the purpose. It’s not only about destination promotion, but directly it will increase employment opportunities for local Armenians too. But for all this Govt. of Armenia should come out with a strong and concrete plan to woo Bollywood Industry of India.

Mr. Mekhak Apresyan,
Head of Tourism & Territorial Economic
Development Department
Ministry of Economy

Responding with enthusiasm, Mr. Mekhak Apresyan, the Head of Tourism & Territorial Economic Development Department from Ministry of Economy stated that they would like to look into this matter seriously and would like to discuss it further with all stakeholders to explore how Govt. of Armenia could approach this in right direction.

Mr. Pankaj Saxena, HOC, Embassy of India informed that Armenia’s neighboring countries Turkey and Georgia are doing this excellently and they are already reaping out the results. He said if a country like Afghanistan, could attract Indian Movie-Makers, then Armenia is far ahead of them.

Ice-breaking conference

Mr. Rananjay Anand urged all participants of the conference to speak and participate frankly in order to address the real issues. The participants responded well and asked questions related to business problems in Armenia, education opportunities in India and many relevant issues to the representatives from both sides, i.e Indian Embassy and Ministries of Govt. of Armenia. In an answer to the question from a science enthusiast, Ms. Lilit Vardanyan, from UNESCO Chair in Armenia and also in-charge of IAF’s Science & Technology Club, said that she got scholarship from Govt. of India in her scientific researches and she could do her researches in such a manner, which she couldn’t find in even European Institutes and that helped her to contribute back to Armenia in her research with Lake Sevan’s water project.

While concluding the conference Mr. Rananjay Anand thanked all participants and stakeholders and announced that this is just beginning. If they have support from all stakeholders, IAF could come up with more events like this.

The event was concluded on a very positive note!

MEDIA REPORTS: AZG by Inga Perosyan

Holi and Easter celebrations with children in Armenia

2013-04-05T15:07:00.000+04:00

On 1^st April Indo-Armenian Friendship NGO in collaboration with “Tsil Busats” children’s harmonious development centre organized the event “Holi and Easter celebrations with children in Armenia” dedicated to Indian Holi and Armenian Easter. The newly appointed Ambassador of India to the Republic of Armenia H. E. Dr. Suresh Babu was the chief guest of the event. Other embassy staff were also present with their family members.

Paintings by children

The main goal of the event was to make children aware of the traditions of India and Armenia. These children are specially trained to paint their expressions through their feelings while listening to the music. They had a special lesson dedicated to Indian Holi festival during which they were told an Indian legend about Holi.

At the event the children presented to the guests their own paintings which were painted under the Indian traditional music and were showing their expressions about India. Then with the help of Ms. Moli Gayan the children were learning how to wear the Indian traditional dress - SARI.

The Armenian folk dance group “Sasun” was invited to perform traditional Armenian dances. Children also had prepared Armenian dances and songs dedicated to Easter and some small performances. Expressing his impressions Mr. Ambassador said that it was really nice to see children’s performance and especially their spectacular paintings.

The event was followed by playing Holi with different colors and tasting traditional Armenian Easter food. After that Indian Embassy presented gifts for children: books - "Panchatantra stories" translated into Armenian and Easter cakes.

On behalf of Indo-Armenian Friendship NGO and “Tsil Busats” art studio a small gift was presented to the Embassy of India: a painting of a child of the art studio to keep best memories about this very colorful and joyful day.

MEDIA REPORTS:

AZG - by Inga Petrosyan

Armenian Theologist, Indian Businessman, Cross Paths on Social Networking Site: Cooperation, Culture Jolt & Marriage Follow | Hetq

2013-01-25T01:19:00.001+04:00

By Sona Avagyan

Indians say that whenever foreigners come to India, they experience two shocks.

First is the cultural shock, because India is completely chaotic, and you need to realize yourself by your own definition in that ocean. But once foreigners start living in India and explore it, they are completely subsumed in the country. The second shock is when they have to return to their countries, but don’t want to, even if they don’t know the reason why they have become so attached to India.

But Armenian theologist Ruzanna Ashughyan had different feelings when leaving India in 2011 after having studied in Delhi for 2 months, because she knew she would return for permanent residence.

In 2012, Yerevan-based Ruzanna Ashughyan married Delhi-based Indian businessmen Rananjay Anand. After studying German at Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi, he went on to complete his MBA. They had had a chance meeting back in 2009 on a social networking website.

Rananjay, like many other Indians, had never heard about Armenia. He even thought Armenia might be a city in another country. Ruzanna, like many other Armenians, was not knowledgeable about modern-day India. Rananjay was amazed when Ruzanna asked him if people were very poor in India.

“So we started discussing each other’s country, people, philosophy, culture, religion, everything, because it was all new to us. During that time we came to know that there was a very special relationship between India and Armenia which lost its former brilliance in the course of time,” Rananjay says.

When Rananjay Anand came to Armenia for the first time in 2011, he and Ruzanna Ashughyan had already decided to get married.

Rananjay will never forget hospitality of old man at Geghard

Rananjay says that whatever he was trying to do in Armenia, people responded positively. He pleasantly recalls an incident that happened when they were having a picnic at Geghard Monastery. An old man was crossing the river carrying 10-12 bottles of water. Rananjay held some bottles to help him. When Rananjay gave all the bottles back, the old man gave one to Rananjay and said: “Please leave it, this is a sunny day and you may feel thirsty later. You are our guest and we would love to see you well.”

“I cannot forget this my lifetime and I am deeply in love with Armenia. That gave me a great impression of a counrty and I always tell this story to my friends in India, about the great hospitality and people we have in Armenia,” Rananjay says.

As for Ruzanna, when she first went to India she was surprised seeing so much diversity, so much population. On the other hand, she was surprised at seeing so much development in the country she thought to be under-developed.

India is one of the world’s largest and fastest growing economies. At the same time, India is a country of coexistence and paradox. In Rananjay’s words, you have very posh buildings and five star hotels in India, but poverty is a stone’s throw away. You have very well organized infrastructure in India, where the rich and poor walk side by side.

“In India you can find everything. We went to Kashmir in June. Kashmir is in Himalayan Mountains. When I was in the forested mountains, I felt as if I was in Dilijan or Ijevan. Later on, I visited the south. And that was totally different experience. I was amazed that this is the same India,” Ruzanna Ashughyan Anand says.

Rananjay also cannot say that he knows the whole of India. “It’s a huge country. India is an ocean and living in India is like living in an ocean. An entire life is not enough to explore India,” he says. Whenever Rananjay Anand is in Armenia he tries to explore Armenia as well. He has been to Khor Virap, Garni, Etchmiadzin and Tsakhkadzor. Now, he and Ruzanna plan to visit Dilijan, Ijevan and Artsakh.

Rananjay plans to learn Armenian completely and Ruzanna plans to learn Hindi completely

The couple has been living in Delhi for eight months now. They celebrated New Years in Armenia. At their wedding in Yerevan last year, the entire tiny Indian community of Armenia was present. Achal Kumar Malhotra, then the Ambassador of India to Armenia, and his wife gladly agreed to step in to take the place of Rananjay’s parents. Given the short notice, no one from Rananjay’s family managed to come to Yerevan for the wedding.

When asked about what they do to benefit from their different national identities, cultures and lifestyles, rather than letting them hinder their life, Rananjay responds that it’s all about giving space and respect to each other.

“Marriage is something that is dependent not only upon culture. Any marriage can be successful or unsuccessful anywhere in the world, whether it is an Indian or an Armenian marriage. Once you understand each other, it’s not a problem. We always share our difficulties and challenges,” Rananjay says. Ruzanna adds that without the support of one’s partner, it’s near impossible to survive when faced with a new set of circumstances outside one’s native country.

Rananjay's parents live in Bihar state, quite a distance from Delhi. Whenever “Diwali” and “Chhath” are celebrated, Rananjay and Ruzanna visit his parents. “Diwali”, the festival of lights, is celebrated six days before “Chhath”, the worship of the sun, the main and most sacred festival in Bihar. There is a tradition in India to celebrate these festivals with families.


“Chhath" festival	“Diwali” festival, photos from wikipedia.org

Rananjay and Ruzanna generally speak English to each other and sometimes Hindi, the official language of India. After settling in India, she started learning Hindi, because Rananjay’s family always ask Ruzanna to communicate with them in their mother language. In turn, Rananjay is learning Armenian because Ruzanna’s family wants to communicate with Rananjay without a translator.

“Our plan is that I will learn Armenian completely and she will learn Hindi completely because this is the main communication hardship between our families,” Rananjay Anand says.

Indo-Armenian Friendship NGO, founded by Rananjay and Ruzanna, operates both in Armenia and India

In 2009, after getting acquainted with Ruzanna, Rananjay started the India-Armenia Friendship Group on Facebook to promote mutual awareness of each. The Facebook group now has approximately 2,000 members from Armenia and India, as well as some from other countries who just want to know more about Armenia and India.

In 2011, Rananjay and Ruzanna founded the Indo-Armenian Friendship NGO (IAF) and registered it in Armenia. The NGO’s core team is up of twenty people who carry out the group’s projects. From the very start, then Ambassador of India Achal Kumar Malhotra helped IAF with his advice and encouragement.

Ruzanna Ashughyan Anand says that the number of Armenians now living in Calcutta has dwindled to a handful from centuries past. In Calcutta Armenian life revolves around the Armenian Church. But in Delhi one can meet students and tourists from Armenia, as well as newly established Indo-Armenian families in which the wives are mainly Armenian. The IAF tries to facilitate connections amongst the Armenians of India. In 2011, the NGO celebrated Armenia’s Independence Day in India on a small scale.

The Indian community in Armenia is also very small, consisting of mainly students at Yerevan State Medical University, Indian Embassy employees, and a tiny business comminity. IAF is in close communication with the Indian students of medical university and alumni who have returned to Delhi. The Indian students in Armenia celebrate “Diwali” every year. In November 2010 they celebrated “Diwali” with the support of the India-Armenia Friendship Facebook Group. Rananjay hopes that if everything goes well, “Diwali” in Yerevan will be celebrated not only mainly among Indian students, but that more Armenians could come and enjoy the festival.

At India’s top institution, Jawaharlal Nehru University International Food Festival is organized every year on Republic Day of India. It is the responsibility of the students from a particular country to come together, prepare food representing their country and sell it at their stall. Three students from Armenia study at Jawaharlal Nehru University. In 2011, they organized Armenian Food Taste, displaying lavash, tolma and matsnabrdosh. Rananjay says they supported the effort to make people more aware that there is an Armenian stall. In his words, all the Armenia food was sold.

In January 2012 the group photo exhibition “India through the Armenian Lens” dedicated to the 63th anniversary of the Republic Day of India was organized in Yerevan. Rananjay organized the exhibition from India and Ruzanna organized it in Armenia with the support of the Embassy of India. At the opening ceremony, the Indian students performed the Indian national dance “Bharatanatyam.”

More than 50 photos were exhibited. They were taken by Armenians who had visited the new India and just clicked away with their cameras; they were far from professional photographers. Two photos taken by Liz Chater, a UK-based family history researcher specializing in Armenians in India and an India-Armenia Friendship Facebook group member, were also exhibited. Initially the exhibition was to last three days, but people responded so warmly that IAF extended it to ten days.


Holy Virgin Mary Armenian Church, Saidabad	Edward the VII Arch, Calcutta, “India through the Armenian Lens” exhibition, photos by Liz Chater

The IAF’s last program was in Delhi in December 2012, when the NGO organized an interactive session between Dr. T. Suresh Babu, the newly appointed Ambassador of India to Armenia, and members of the IAF. Former Ambassador Malhotra was also invited. The newly appointed ambassador has yet to arrive in Armenia.

The IAF wants to take cultural troupes from Armenia to India in order to organize Armenian cultural events there. The most challenging thing for the NGO is to fund these programs. So far IAF has been funding these programs itself, with the support of the Embassy of India in Armenia.

“We just want the two countries to come closer together, to the extent possible. Once we succeed, it will change many things. We’re not so big an organization that we can do it all on our own. Without the support of others and our governments, we cannot realize our vision. But we should always try instead of sitting back and doing nothing,” Rananjay and Ruzanna say.

In Rananjay’s words, person to person contact has been the biggest achievement of IAF since its establishment. He is sure that connecting people and educating them about each other’s countries, even at a very basic level, is very important work.

SOURCE: HETQ http://hetq.am/eng/articles/22198/armenian-theologist-indian-businessman-cross-paths-on-social-networking-site-cooperation-culture-jolt-&-marriage-follow.html

Indo-Armenian Friendship NGO hosts Ambassador designate of India to Armenia and Georgia in New Delhi, India

2012-12-17T01:30:00.000+04:00

IAF Press Release
December 16,2012
New Delhi

The Speakers of the event

On 15^thDecember 2012, Indo-Armenian Friendship NGO (IAF) organised an interactive session between the newly appointed Ambassador of India to Armenia and Georgia Dr. T. Suresh Babu and members of IAF in India’s premier Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Dignitaries present in the occasion included Ambassador Achal Kumar Malhotra, outgoing Ambassador of India to Armenia and Georgia, Mrs. Lusik Tovmasyan, Consul of Armenian Embassy in India, and Prof. Purushottam Agrawal, Member of Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).

People who attended the event included Armenian students studying in India, Indian students who had graduated from YSMU, businessmen and people from different walks of life interested to know about Indo-Armenian ties. Most of them were members of Indo-Armenian Friendship NGO.

IAF Co-founder & President
Mr. Rananjay Anand

Mr. Rananjay Anand, Co-Founder and President of Indo-Armenian Friendship NGO welcomed everyone and thanked them for taking some time out of their busy schedules to attend the event. At the onset, he underlined the importance of such initiatives and need of such organizations like IAF to execute them. He updated the audience with IAF's past activities and future plannings!

Ambassador Achal K Malhotra

Ambassador Achal K Malhotra, who ended his tenure as the Ambassador of India to Armenia and Georgia in April this year congratulated IAF on organising the interactive session. He said, “IAF has done a great job so far, and I am sure that it will continue to do many more activities that will once again revive the old tradition of Indo-Armenian cultural and friendly interaction”. Ambassador Malhotra also wished his successor, Dr. T.S. Babu a very fruitful and productive tenure in Yerevan.

Prof. Purushottam Agrawal

Prof. Purushottam Agrawal, who recently launched his new Book titled “Hindi Sarai: Astrakhan via Yerevan” spoke about his experiences in Yerevan which was his penultimate destination before his journey to Astrakhan in Russia. His journey inspired him to author this book, which he mentions not only as “Travelogue” but a well researched “Thoughtlogue”. He especially mentioned the great contribution of Armenian patriotic poet Yeghishe Charents in the cultural historicity of Armenia. “Armenian people are quite efficient, quite energetic and very helpful”, said the professor, recalling his days in Armenia. “I was aware of the importance of Armenia in world history, and also of the long standing cultural relations between Armenia and India”, continued the author, and went ahead to speak about the immense contribution the Armenians had on Indian culture and society.

Ambassador Designate of India to Armenia & Georgia
Dr. T. Suresh Babu

Ambassador Designate Dr. T. Suresh Babu works in the Eurasian division of Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India and is in charge of CIS countries, among which Armenia is one as well. While speaking of his next assignment as Ambassador of Armenia & Georgia, he recalled how he got to know about Armenia for the first time when his father took him to Armenian Bazar in Chennai. He underlined the great mutual goodwill existing between both countries and was happy to state that there is already a great existing foundation to take his work further very easily. He thanked IAF for organizing the event, which is his first official interaction with relevant group of people after being appointed as the Ambassador of India to Armenia & Georgia. “I will try my best to carry ahead the good work which Ambassador Malhotra had put up during his tenure in Armenia”, assured the newly appointed Ambassador, adding, “I will not let you down Amb Malhotra”, referring to his new responsibility in Armenia.

Consul of Embassy of Armenia to India
Ms. Lusik Tovmasyan

Mrs. Lusik Tovmasyan, Consul of Armenian Embassy in India addressed the audience and spoke about the centuries old Indo-Armenian ties. She especially underlined the striking similarities between people of both countries. “As most Armenians in India will agree, it is very difficult for one to part away from India after staying in this country for some time”, she said, speaking about the love Armenians have for India. She also spoke about the long-standing Indo-Armenians ties, making a special mention about Mariam Zamani Begum, the Christian Armenian wife of Mughal Emperor Akbar. The Armenian Consul further wished the new Ambassador to Armenia immense success in his new task in Yerevan.

Warli Folk Art Painter
Ms. Babita Biswas

Renowned Warli Folk artist Mrs. Babita Biswas who was also present at the event was sharing her own memories about Armenia which she experienced during her visit to this beautiful country for her Painting Exhibition jointly organized by the Ministry of Culture of Armenia and ICCR.

Audience were invited to ask questions regarding Indo-Armenian relationship or any relevant topics. Questions were asked to both the Ambassadors, which they were more than happy to answer, making it a completely interactive event.

Mane Mkrtchyan, who is studying Hindi in India
had some questions for the speakers

The session ended with High Tea, where the event participants got a chance to meet each other and make new friends, further tightening the Indo-Armenian Connection.

Indo-Armenian Friendship NGO wished Dr. T.Suresh Babu immense success during his tenure as Ambassador of India in Armenia.

Picture Perfect

MEDIA REPORTS:

Hetq Report

AZG Newspaper Report

Azad-Hye Report
C.A.R. News and Views Report

Heritage Exhibition on Armenian Graves of Surat!

2012-11-23T18:19:00.000+04:00

Exhibition in full operation at Surat Science Centre, Surat, India

Photo Courtesy: Sanjay Choksy

There's a heritage exhibition taking place in Surat, India now 19-25 November, the attached short biography and story of how the Armenian graves of Surat are being translated into English is currently being run in the local Surat newspapers. The exhibition, run by the Surat Science Museum has a photo gallery of the Armenian graves with the translations beside them.

Liz Chater on this project:

"In a way without IAF it wouldn't have happened. Sanjay Choksi and Piyush Dalal took the photos, Arpine posted them to IAF Facebook page, and I happened to see them. Further down the line without help from the fantastically knowledgeable historians such as Sebouh Aslanian and Father Krikor Maksoudian who assisted with the translations this truly international story of working together and co-operation would not have brought such lime-light onto the Armenian graves of Surat. We've all played a part and now the grave photographs and the transcriptions form part of the Surat Science Centre Heritage Programme this week in Surat. Amazing. A truly remarkable example of team work. Well Done Everyone Involved."

Such initiatives are great example of International coordination with greatest level of shared passion for a noble cause. IAF would like to have support from all around to realize our dream of regaining the lost glory of Indo-Armenian relationship with perfect display of team-work having such initiatives.

Long live Indo-Armenian Friendship!

Relevant Links:

Relevant Post: Armenian Graves at Surat India, New History Revealed
English Transcription on SURAT GRAVES PAGE of Chater Genealogy
Published Report on YEREVAN Magazine
Published Report on HETQ Online Newspaper

For any inquiry, please contact us: india.armenia@gmail.com

Bharatnatyam Dance Concert in Yerevan, Armenia

2012-09-30T15:24:00.000+04:00

Bharatnatyam Exponent Ms. Revathi Ramachandran

On 29 September 2012 Indo-Armenian Friendship NGO’s members attended and participated in “A Bharatnatyam Dance Performance ” event performed by Bharatnatyam Dance Exponent Ms. Revathi Ramachandran. The performance took place at Arno Babajanyan hall in Yerevan and was dedicated to the Celebration of the 20^thAnniversary of the establishment of the Diplomatic Relations between the Republic of India and the Republic of Armenia. The organizers of the event are The Embassy of India in Yerevan, The Indian Council for Cultural Relations, Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, and the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Armenia.

IAF representatives with the
Bharatnatyam Dance Group of Ms. Revathi Ramachandran

The event began with the inaugural address by Mr. Pankaj Saxena, Charge d’ Affaires of the Embassy of India in Armenia, who welcomed all participants from different diplomatic missions, organizations, universities etc. and expressed his gratitude to all organizers for such a beautiful initiative. Then Mr. Artur Poghosyan - Deputy Minister of Culture in Armenia addressed the large audience present in hall and talked about the importance of Indo-Armenian cultural relations which have long celebrated history. He also reminded this event as a part of celebration of “Indian Cultural Days” in Armenia form 28 September till 2 October. During these days Bharatnatyam Dance Group will also perform in Yerevan State Medical University and in Gyumri - the cultural capital of Armenia.

Charge De Affairs, Embassy of India, Mr. Pankaj Saxena
with the dance group

Bharatnatyam Dance Group from India was comprised of 5 members; Ms. Revathi Ramachandran - dancer who was accompanied by Ms. Korukkai Ramachandran Manasvini (Cymbals), Ms. Preethy – Maheshwar (Vocalist), Mr. Krishnamoorthy Venkatasubramanian (Mridangam) and Mr. Vasudevan Muruganandam (Violin), presented 7 dances (Invocation, Varnam, Suddhanrittam, Javali, Padam, Devaram and Tillana).

Ms. Korukkai Ramachandran Manasvini daughter and student of Ms. Ramachandran accompanied with her Guru and mother to thrill the audience with their classical dance performances. It was a great performance to showcase the Indian spiritual and philosophical thought system where the expressions, the melody and the sound are in harmony with each other and emphasized the Union of Outer World with Inner World.

Bharatnatyam is one of the ancient classical dances of India which are all based on “Natya Shastra” created by Bharat Muni. Bharatnatyam is also known as the fifth Veda or Natya Veda, a quintessence of four Vedas which were written thousands of years ago during Vedic Period. The word “Bharatnatyam” is composed of the terms, “Bha- Bhavam (means expression), Ra- Ragam (means music), Ta- Talam (means beat or rhythm) and Natyam (means dance). Bharatanatyam is a traditional dance-form known for its grace, purity, tenderness, and sculpturesque poses. Today, it is one of the most popular and widely performed dance styles and is practiced by male and female dancers all over the world.

The philosophy behind this dance is to search the human soul and unite with the Supreme Being. Ms. Revathi Ramachandran is one of the best dancers who really feels and presents to public the meaning of these dances. Her artistic talent was discovered by the great Guru Mangudi Dorairaja Iyer, a Maestro of the Melattur style of Bharathanatyam, and the visionary who revived the Shuddha Nrittam style of Bharathanatyam to make it his principal legacy to his student, Revathi. Revathi gave a lot performances in various parts of India and around the world (USA, Canada, UK, France, Singapore, Rome,Malaysia and the latest is Armenia) receiving great appreciations for her performances. In 1987 she established Kala Sadhanalaya Dance school which grown up by size and talents who are the representatives of Bharatnatyam dances.

IAF Secretary General Ms. Lusine Toroyan addressing the audience

At the end of the event, IAF Secretary General Ms. Lusine Toroyan on behalf of President Mr. Rananjay Anand and all IAF members congratulated all organizers and Bharatnatyam Dance Group for this great event. Ms. Lusine and IAF Vice President Mr. Karen Hovhannisyan presented Ms. Revathi with a Bouquet of flowers and Armenian Souvenirs to her dance group members as a symbol of gratitude on behalf of all IAF members.

IAF Secretary General Ms. Lusine Toroyan in a deep conversation
with Bharatnatyam exponent Ms. Revathi Ramachandran

All audience present in the event were spell-bound with the special dance performances. This evening was one more proof of strong Indo-Armenian relations.

Armenian Graves at Surat India, New History Revealed

2012-06-13T15:54:00.000+04:00

A chance viewing of a posting on the social network site of Facebook led to a wonderful joint international effort to uncover some hitherto previously unknown and unseen historically important Armenian graves at Surat in India.

Liz Chater, who has an ongoing project to photograph and record as many Armenian graves in India as possible, was fortunate to stumble upon a wonderful set of photographs posted on the Indo-Armenian Friendship NGO Group page on the popular social networking site Facebook. Striking up a conversation thread with the Arpine Gyulinyan who had made the posting, it quickly became clear to Liz that there were a number of others as well.

Arpine who is happily married and lives in Surat permanently with her husband Piyush Dalal had recently visited the Surat Science Centre. At the entrance was a large photograph entitled “ARMENIAN CEMETERY”. Enquiring about the photograph with staff members she was advised that the Science Centre’s photographer, Sanjay Choksi, was extremely knowledgeable about all the cemeteries in Surat including the Armenian one. Sanjay kindly agreed to take Arpine and her husband Piyush to the Armenian cemetery the next day.

Through Arpine, permission was sought of and granted by Sanjay for copies of the photographs to be sent to Liz with a view to trying to get them transcribed and translated into English. Knowing of their historical importance and the fact that these graves had never before been translated into English, Liz turned to experts in this field for help.

Liz approached Professor Sebouh Aslanian, Assistant Professor, Richard Hovannisian Endowed Chair in Modern Armenian History at UCLA and Very Reverend Father Krikor Maksoudian of Arlington, Massachusetts a professor of Armenian Church history and a past director of the Krikor and Clara Zohrab Information Centre New York, both of whom very generously agreed to assist with these difficult transcriptions. Very Reverend Fr. Krikor had previously assisted Liz with the grave transcriptions for her book: “Armenian Graves, Inscriptions and Memorials in India DACCA 1722-1977” published last year. There are very few people who are able to successfully transcribe from the now extinct Julfan dialect. The graves at Surat are of that very rare dialect and Liz was indeed very fortunate to have two such exceptional experts willing to assist and help break down historic barriers. The Armenians of Surat are of particular interest to Professor Aslanian and he was keen to help with the translations.

For family historians and scholars alike, the newly translated Armenian graves of Surat will open up avenues of research that had been closed for many years. This project is a fine example of social networking operating in a positive and useful fashion, bringing individuals together who normally would never meet, and on this occasion Liz was simply a conduit by which the whole process passed. She is delighted to host and share this joint effort on her website and also wishes to thank all those involved for their time, effort and patience to ensure the rare and important details of these monuments are available for the future researcher. The English transcriptions can be found at:

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~chaterfamilytree/graves_at_surat.htm.

There are a number of other graves that require to be photographed, it is hoped that these will be completed shortly. Additional transcriptions are being added weekly to her website.

Courtesy: Ms. Liz Chater