Over 35 overseas youth of Indian origin are on a three-week visit here
to know about their parents' and grandparents' homeland, and
spirituality of India has been the greatest attraction for them.
It
is this "balance in materialistic pursuits and search for inner
happiness" that they will take back to their present country and share
it with their other diaspora friends and relatives.
The 36 youth,
in the age group of 18-26, are from Fiji, South Africa, Suriname,
Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Israel, Slovak Republic, Trinidad and Tobago,
Mauritius, Iran and New Zealand and have been in India since Aug 25.
They
are here under the 21st Know India Programme (KIP) of the ministry of
overseas Indian affairs (MOIA). The last KIP was held in April-May.
"India's
spirituality is what caught our attention the most. We got to visit a
lot of temples and religious shrines from all religions and I could
understand the unity in diversity that is talked about in India," Sameer
Chand, an analyst at the Reserve Bank of Fiji, told IANS at the
valedictory event of KIP held at MOIA at Akbar Bhavan here.
"I will take this spirituality home and share it with all my family and friends in Fiji," Chand, 24, said.
His view was seconded by Adi Nissim from Israel, who participated in KIP along with her twin sister Shay Lee Nissim.
"I
really loved the spirituality that is part of the Indian society and
culture. Every individual here seemed spiritually inclined," Adi, 23,
told IANS.
Shay Lee quickly added: "Israel is completely
westernised and people there are after material prosperity. Here in
India, even if people want to earn money, they maintain a balance
between materialist pursuits and search for inner happiness. The smile
on their faces says it all."
Chand and Nissim sisters are part of
the 15 male and 21 female visitors from 11 countries participating in
KIP held three times annually.
His views were echoed by other
youngsters, who said this visit to India was a dream come true for them,
having heard several stories about their ancestors' homeland from their
parents and grand parents.
On Monday, the KIP participants got
an opportunity to meet Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi,
who asked all of them to come visit India again after they have made
their respective careers and also to pass on their knowledge of India
gained from the visit to their friends and relatives, as also their next
generation.
"But, as you are all now citizens of the countries
you live in, your first loyalty is to that country and hence do your
nations proud. Your origin will still remain Indian and your success
will be India's success," said Ravi.
He also apprised the
participants about the Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) scheme and
encouraged them to take advantage of it.
"The KIP programme is
for youth of Indian origin from around the world to see India, know
India and mingle with families in India and reinvent the idea of India
and Indian culture," Ravi told the group at a reception hosted for them.
The
programme for the overseas youth took them to Tamil Nadu where they
experienced the culture of south India, and visited key temples in
Chennai, Kanchipuram, Mahabalipuram, Pondicherry, Kumbakonam, Tanjore,
Chettinad, and Madurai.
During the stay in Delhi, the group was
also exposed to India's progress in economic, industrial, education,
science and technology, administration, communication and information
technology fields, apart from culture, through interactions with
personalities in these sectors including the capital's Lieutenant
Governor Tejendra Khanna and Chief Election Commissioner V.S. Sampath.
They
also visited Doordarshan, Indian Council of Cultural Relations, Indian
Institute of Public Administration and Jawaharlal Nehru University.
