Indian Paintings Hit Seoul

Indian Ambassador to Seoul N. Parhasarathi, left, delivers a speech during an opening ceremony of the painting exhibition “Have I ever seen India” while painter Lee Ho-shin looks on, at Hakgojae in Kwanhun-dong, Seoul, Wednesday.


Ever since a Korean painter traveled 50 days in India in 2003, he has not been able to keep the country from his mind. So he decided to have a painting exhibition to fully bring out his obsession with the country.
Lee Ho-shin, 49, opened his 11th painting exhibition "Have I ever seen India" at Hakgojae Gallery in Kwanhun-dong, Seoul, on Wednesday. The exhibition will run until Jan. 24.
Exploring Calcutta, Bombay, Himalayan Annapurna and Ajanta, the painter captured the history, culture, religion and the realities of India on Korean paper called "hanji."
The exhibition shows 41 paintings on hanji. The paintings are of such people and places as India’s former leader, Mahatma Gandhi, the Taj Mahal in Agra, the Ganges River, the Ajanta Caves, Indian children, and Indians’ spiritual daily lives such as prayer and meditation.
Though the painter said he held this event to thank those who contributed to his trip to India, people present at the opening all agreed that they knew he would love India and it would inspire him to paint.
"When I look at paintings of Lee Ho-shin, I can feel they are alive," Indian Ambassador to Seoul N. Parthasarathi said. "Look at this Mahatma Gandhi, I can hear him whisper a message to me."
The ambassador went on to say that the illustration of the Ganges River and people bathing in it makes him feel the wind at the riverside. "Painter Lee’s works represents a harmony between life and nature."
The ambassador’s comments reflected the work of the well-known painter who draws the correspondence between nature and human beings as lively as possible. To show what he felt in India, he sent 140 picture-letters to acquaintances in Korea while he was traveling.
Parthasarathi even called Lee "karma yogi" as the painter really seems to be born to produce great paintings to complete his karma in life.
Lee In-ho, former Korean ambassador to Russia, echoed the view, saying that something like a spiritual aura emanates from the paintings, which connect nature, humans and life. "For example, I am moved more when I look at Lee’s paintings than when I see the real things that are depicted in the paintings."
Actually, the painter also wrote about the country in his travels. He held a publication ceremony of his book "Have I ever seen India?" along with the exhibition.
He felt that the paintings alone couldn’t express the India he experienced.
Asked why the title of the exhibition and the book is "Have I ever seen India?", the painter-cum-writer said it’s probably because he is not sure if he saw and experienced India 100 percent.
Nevertheless, Lee’s works show he has a deep insight of India as critics have indicated.
Kim Hak-ryang, curator of Seoul Museum of Art, said Lee does not belong to a group of painters who rely on theory, and defined him as a painter who works through field research.
"Lee listens to trees, birds and grass and meets people for a while, and absorbs the feelings, and then he begins to take a brush to paint," Kim said.
More information of the exhibition is available by calling the gallery at (02) 739-4937.

By Yoon Won-sup
Staff Reporter

Out & About

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Mr Shriram and Malaysian Amb.

Annapurna Indian Women's Club in Seoul

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Summit paves way for productive partnerships

12 December 2005

India looking forward to comprehensive engagement with participants in new grouping

By N. Parthasarathi Indian ambassador to Korea

The inaugural East Asia Summit being held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Dec. 14, is in more ways than one a historic event.
The East Asia Summit brings together countries with increasing inter-linkages and growing interdependence in a region that has emerged, and is likely to remain an increasingly important area of growth and influence globally.
The summit would be an occasion for the leaders of participating countries to articulate a strategic and responsible vision for the future of the region in the world.
India has been invited to the First East Asia Summit. Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh will be participating in the summit. The idea of an East Asian Summit is in consonance with India's own long term perspective of development of the Asian region. The Prime Minister has already proposed in the 3rd India-ASEAN Summit held in Vientiane that the coming together of the East Asian countries would be an anchor of stability and prosperity for the region and beyond. It would constitute an arc of advantage across which there would be large scale movement of people, capital, ideas and creativity.
India's foreign policy aims at a comprehensive, productive, meaningful and mutually beneficial relationship with all countries in the world. In particular, in the past decade, India has been rapidly developing multifaceted relations and cooperation with ASEAN as well as with Korea, China, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, in what is now being termed as India's 'extended neighborhood.'
There is tremendous scope for this engagement to deepen and strengthen existing areas of cooperation and explore new vistas.
India's growing role in political and economic spheres in the region and the world is gaining increasing recognition. The participation of India in the East Asia Summit is an indication of this growing role of India.
India is now actively engaged in the world economy and is playing a very proactive role in the World Trade Organization. We have concluded free trade agreements in SAARC, with Singapore and Thailand. There is optimism that in the next few years, we would see considerable increase in economic cooperation in Asia covering all major Asian economies and extending to Australia and New Zealand.
India's "Look East Policy" is now over a decade old. The fact that successive governments in India continued with these policies shows the extent of consensus there is within India of the validity and importance of this policy. India has been participating at summit level with ASEAN countries since 2002. The partnership will help in exploiting the synergies and complementarities between India and ASEAN.
India is a microcosm of the globe because of its sub-continental size and the population accounting for nearly one sixth of humanity. India has shown to the world that it is conscious of its responsibilities and there is greater understanding of India's security and strategic interests. India is the world's largest democracy and is one of the fastest growing economies in the world.
Areas of strength in our economy are not confined to IT and biotechnology. India has entered into its second phase of liberalization, a phase of consolidation backed by strong domestic consensus. India believes that it is well placed to both contribute to globalization as well as reap its benefits. India's constructive contribution to the globalization process is well recognized.
By participating in the First East Asia Summit, India looks forward to comprehensive engagement with member countries. Our first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, had the foresight to prophesize, the 'emergence of Asia in world affairs will be a powerful influence for world peace.' The East Asia Summit is a major step forward in realizing this prophecy.
We are optimistic and confident the First East Asia Summit will pave the way for productive and constructive long-term partnerships in the region.

Philosopher envoy working hard for closer ties

December 5th 2005
















India's current ambassador has only been in the job for just 2-1/2 months, but he's been extra busy showing visiting delegations around and meeting local companies and government officials so he can push relations to an even higher level.
"Korea is very important in the region and getting more important, and so is India. What is fantastic in our relations is the way they are growing. It is like being in the right place at the right time," N. Parthasarathi said in an interview with The Korea Herald.
Exuding excitement and energy, the 51 year-old envoy openly discussed how he changed careers, his philosophy about Indian society and religion, and his plans and hopes on bringing together two opposite sides of Asia.
Looking to improve relations between India and South Korea, Parthasarathi is looking into every angle.
"We just had a cultural dance performance. Our president will be coming in the next few months... ministers are coming. We are going to develop tourism. We are increasing the capacity to issue more visas. Right now we issue 50,000 visas to Koreans every year," he said.
Both countries share good political relations. In terms of commerce, there are huge investments underway, such as a 12.4 trillion won mining and production plant in the northeastern state of Orissa which will output an estimated 12 million tons of steel annually.
"It's a mind boggling amount. It's an old state with an old steel mill. It's an area with lots of iron and nearby there's a port," he said.
He meets regularly with so many industry leaders and chambers of commerce and others dealing with economy and trade that he's fast becoming an expert in Korean commerce and the political system.
On the cultural side, Parthasarathi is arranging a Buddhist exhibition with special artifacts from India. "We also want to host an India week with lots of events," he said.
"There is one guy who is interested in doing something to improve relations" is the message he repeats over and over, saying he feels the key to promoting relations is by creating friendships among both peoples.
Married for 26 years with two daughters, Parthasarathi started off as an engineer 30 years ago before being advised by friends to join the Foreign Service.
"In engineering the field is narrow but the Foreign Service gives you a broad canvas. It also gives you the freedom to identify the areas which are in your country's interest so you can do a lot. For example, we deal with small projects to a giant steel mill; it's (POSCO deal) a massive project. I'm trying to facilitate that. So it gives a fantastic opportunity to do a lot and I've never regretted it (switching careers)."
So, is it all work and no play? Not by a long shot - Parthasarathi enjoys golf, playing bridge and writing novels.
He wrote a thriller, in the style of Sydney Sheldon and Dan Brown, which is available at www.amazon.com.
"It's a real thriller. I mixed everything in it," he said. "It's set in India and Pakistan. It's a fast-reading book. When reading it, you get to learn as well as read a good story."
Titled "The Reluctant Assassin," it is a story about a boy from a simple background born in India whose mother lives in India while his father is in Pakistan. The boy grows up in India and flees to neighboring Pakistan to avoid the police. Once there he is trained as a terrorist and eventually gets into politics.
"It's got everything, assassinations, terrorism plots, religions, feudalism," Parthasarathi said.
But today's India is anything but fictional. That country is exploding in its development of biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and knowledge-based technologies.
"The requirement for such professionals will mean a shortage in the coming years, even in India," he said. "Not only because people are leaving, it's because the growth is progressing so fast that we are not able to meet the requirements."
Parthasarathi explained that India is showing fantastic growth, moving along swiftly from a developing country toward an industrialized country with a momentum that will make it one of the world's leading economies within the next 15 years.
"The only problem we are facing is that our population is large. We have more than a billion people," he said.
He said India was virtually a continent, with every state different in terms of culture, language and script. He noted there are 16 officially recognized languages in India and every religion is present within its borders.
"Yet it's not a melting pot. It's not like a soup where all the ingredients have merged to form one identity. It's like a salad bowl which is also a beautiful dish but each ingredient usually maintains its own characteristic. Put them together and they work together and that is India," he said.
A Hindi by birth, Parthasarathi explained that in India there are thousands of gods and more being created all the time. For example a few years ago there was no deity named Santoshi Ma but someone made a film and said this is a goddess and now there are millions of followers.
"We try to understand our surroundings and adapt ourselves and gather material wealth and try to do everything but the question is how much time have we spent to understand ourselves.
"If we don't understand what is the point of making so much money, where does it take us. We used to be comfortable in the suburb areas then moved to the cities to work for five days just to run away to our weekend home. But the funny thing is that you had it already!" he said jokingly.
(yoav@heraldm.com)
By Yoav Cerralbono 2005.12.05

Snow at the House

First Snowfall in Seoul

Seoul Robot School

A school dedicated entirely to the study and building of robots.

Mrs. Parthasarathi talks to students about India as part of the Cross Culture Program(UNESCO).

Navratri in Seoul

By Cho Jae-eun/Kim Kyoung-mo Contributing Writers
Compared to most expatriate gatherings, this one was rather small: about 80 people at a minimally decorated hotel ballroom. Other expat parties, however, don't involve a ceremonial. battle between a goddess and a demon king.
Don't worry if you missed the Dandiya party, held at the Millennium Seoul Hilton hotel in central Seoul last weekend. The event is an annual tradition for Indians around the world, who gather at parties from Oct. 1 to 9 to hold a Navrati Festival, celebrate the indian goddess Durga, and perform the Dandiya dance. This stick dance, said to be ''as old as Lord Krishna," is from the Gujarat region of India and involves the dancers, both men and women of all ages, using sticks to depict the battle between Durga and Mahishasura, king of demons.
The Dandiya party, one of the most
prominent Indian gatherings in Korea, is organized by the Indian Merchant Association, which is now in its 20th year. The association comprises 50 representatives of Indian companies in Korea; most of the firms specialize in textiles or general trade. Besides for the Dandiya, the group also holds events for other Indian celebrations, such as Diwali (the Festival of Lights) and Holi (the spring festival), as well as charity events.
"The association is still in the process of expansion," said Syed Agha, the president of the India Merchant Association. "[It] starting out from 20 companies that joined to over 50 companies at present. It has spread its influence as a gathering of community people [Indians in Korea]."
Mr. Agha is the director for Grand Prism Ltd., a trading fIrm that exports textiles, garments, electronics and hotel supplies. He has been coordinating the events throughout his three
years as president.
The event at the Hilton hotel consisted of many things Indian - including starting on "Indian Time," as it was jovially dubbed. Although the setting of the ballroom was ready for the scheduled 7:30 p.m. start, the members and their families turned up about an hour later.
Past 8:30, women and children arrive dressed in colorful saris, from the voluminous authentic type featuring intricate beadings and miles of drop-dyed chiffon to the more casual sari tops in trendy colors -turquoise and magenta -paired with jeans.
The men's outfits, on the other hand, was more diverse, with outfits from plaid shirts and khakis to an earthy-colored traditional garb: a long tunic, called kurta, worn with chodidar (pants) and duptta (men's scarves) that match the overall costume.
The latest entry to Korea's Indian community was the new ambassador
of India to Korea, N. Parthasarathi and his wife. The couple arrived last week from India.
Currently there are about 4,000 to 5,000 Indians living in Korea, according to Mr. Agha, but the number has been growing, with a noticeable number flying here to work in Korea's powerful IT industry.
Most Indians speak Hindi and English, but many are fluent in Korean as well. Among them is R.K.Bhesaniya, a trader of textiles who recently acquired Korean citizenship. (He wouldn't be the first to do so: according to legend, King Suro of the lst century Korean kingdom of Gaya married an Indian princess, who would have been the first Indian to
, become a Korean "citizen.")
" Although our home towns are scattered all over India, [Indians in Korea] never had any trouble getting along. We were always like family,"
said Mr. Bhesaniya, who speaks flluent Korean and has been here for 11 years.
After a buffet dinner featuring assorted curry dishes, smatiria and Indian desserts such as sago (coconut juice and tapioca), came the highlight of the festival: the Dandiyo dance competition. !
At the small DJ box stood J Bhagutandani, the volunteer for this event, who mixed a variety of Dandiya songs with contemporary pop and techno. When "Pardes " by the popular singer Kumar Kishore came on, dancers on the floor lip- synched all together. By midnight they had a winner: The grand prize, a one-night stay at the Hilton, went to Pankaj Agarwal and his wife Pooja. Mr. Agarwal, a native of Kishang, is enrolled in electronic engineering department of Seoul National University's master's program.
estyle@joongang.co.kr