Events 2007

The Diplomatic Spouses Bazar

On 10 November 2007 the Diplomatic Spouses Association of Colombia organised the Indian stall at a Diplomatic Bazaar at the Escuela Gimnasio Nuevo in Bogotá. The spouses of the diplomats and officials of the Indian Embassy participated in the Bazaar with Indian handicrafts items such as shawls, jewellery etc., indian textiles such as kurtas, bed sheets, bed covers, scarves, etc., and with delicious Indian food items.  The Indian stall was the largest and the most beautiful decorated.  Hundreds of visitors visited the Indian stall and were impressed by the articles [ … ]

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Festival of India 2007

The Food Festival of India 2007 will be held in Cartagena (23-30 October 2007 at Hotel Hilton), in Bogotá (1-6 November 2007 at Hotel COSMOS 100) and in Quito (8-11 November 2007 at Hotel JW Marriott).
With the participation of Mr. Vikas Chawla, Head Chef and his Assistant Chefs, Mr. Manoj Madan and Mr. Bablu Paul, all of whom are Indians from the Ashoka Hotel of the Indian Tourism Development Corporation of India, the Food Festival of India 2007 would undoubtedly be an experience unparalleled in all senses.
The utilisation of diverse spices is essential for Indian Food; these distinguish between different plates and different taste.  Indian food presents a grand variety of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes in all these presentations: Sweets, Salads, Spicy Dishes suited for all tastes.  During the Festival, you would have the opportunity of tasting distinct regional menus of India and enjoy in particular the taste of meat or fish marinated in herbs and cooked in typical Indian style.  Without doubt it would be a great experience.
Also you can enjoy the delicious traditional sweest of India and know about the wonderful mixture of cardamom, almonds, pistachios, honey, nuts and delicious rose syrups amongst others.
 

INDIAN CUISINE 
 

The multiple families of Indian Cuisine are characterized by their relatively extensive use of spices and herbs. Indian cuisines vary, reflecting the varied demographics of the ethnically diverse subcontinent. They are also characterized by a wide assortment of dishes and cooking techniques.
 The staples of Indian cuisine are Rice, Atta( whole wheat flour), and a variety of Pulses, the most important of which are Chana( Bengal gram), Toor( pigeon pea or yellow gram), Urad( black gram) and Moong( green gram). Pulses may be used whole, dehusked, eg: dhuli moong or dhuli urad, or split. Pulses are used extensively in the form of dal (split). Some of the pulses like Chana and Moong are also processed into flour (Besan).
 Most Indian curries are fried in vegetable oil. In North and West India, groundnut oil has traditionally been most popular for frying, while in Eastern India, Mustard oil is more commonly used. In South India, coconut oil and  gingelly oil is common. In recent decades, sunflower oil and soyabean oil have gained popularity all over India. Hydrogenated vegetable oil, known as Vanaspati ghee, is also a popular cooking medium that replaces Desi Ghee (clarified butter).
 The most important/ frequently used spices in Indian cuisine are chilli, pepper, black mustard seed (rai), cumin (jeera), turmeric, fenugreek, asafetida (hing), ginger and garlic. Popular spice mixes are garam masala which is usually a powder of five or more dried spices, commonly comprising of cardamom, cinnamon and cloves. Some leaves are commonly used  like tejpatta(cassia leaf), coriander leaf, fenugreek leaf and mint leaf. The common use of curry leaves is typical of South Indian cuisine. In sweet dishes cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, saffron and rose petal essence are used.
 India can be broadly divided into 4 regions namely East, West, North, South but the cuisines which are popular throughout the world or liked the most by people all over, are the North-Indian cuisine & South-Indian cuisine. The Eastern cuisine is better known around the globe for its sweet items/dishes.
 Northern
 North Indian cuisine is distinguished by the proportionally high use of dairy products; milk, paneer, ghee( clarified butter) and yoghurt are all common ingredients. Gravies are typically dairy-based. North Indian cooking features the use of the “Tawa”(Griddle) for cooking flat breads like roti and parantha, and “Tandoor”(Clay Oven) for baking breads such as Roti, Parantha, Naan,Kulcha etc. Main courses like Tandoori Chicken are also cooked in the Tandoor. Other breads like puri and bhatoora, which are deep fried in oil, are also common. Goat and lamb meats are favored ingredients of many North Indian recipes.
 The Samosa is popular North Indian snack, and now commonly found in other parts of India, Central Asia and the Middle East. A common variety is filled with boiled, fried or mashed potato. Other fillings include minced meat, cottage cheese(paneer), mushroom(khumbi) and chickpeas.
 The staple food of most of North India is a variety of lentils, vegetables, and roti(wheat based bread). The varieties used and the method of preparation can vary from place to place. Popular dishes include gujiya, chaat, dal ki kachori, jalebi, imarti, several types of pickles, murabba, sherbet, panna and aam papad. Popular sweets include mithai such as gulab jamun, rasmalai, peda, khurchan, petha, rewdi, gajak, milk cake, balushahi, bal mithai, singori, kulfi-falooda, gulquand and several varieties of laddu, burfi and halwa.
 Some common North Indian foods such as the various kebabs and most of the meat dishes originated with Muslims advent into the country. Pakistan was part of North India prior to the partition of India. As a result, Pakistani cuisine is very similar to North Indian cuisine.
 Southern
 South Indian cuisine is distinguished by a greater emphasis on rice as the staple grain, the liberal use of coconut and particularly coconut oil and curry leaves, and the ubiquity of sambar and rasam (also called saaru/chaaru) at meals.
 South Indian cooking is more vegetarian friendly than North Indian cooking. The Dosa, Idli, Vada, Bonda and Bhajji are typical South Indian snacks. Andhra, Chettinad, Hyderabadi, Manglorean and Kerala cuisines each have distinct tastes and methods of cooking. In fact each of the South Indian states has a different way of preparing sambar; a connoisseur of South Indian food will very easily tell the difference between sambar from Kerala and sambar From Tamil Nadu.
 Eastern
 East Indian cuisines employ thickening agents such as cashew or poppy seed paste. Milk based sweets are also very popular fare, being a particular speciality in Bengal. Bangladeshi cuisine is very similar to East Indian cuisine. Fish and seafood are very popular in the coastal states of Orrisa and West Bengal. Many of the sweet dishes now popular in Northern India initially originated in the Bengal region.
 

CLASSICAL DANCE OF INDIA

The Classical Dance of India unifies body, mind and soul and is extremely traditional.  Even now the norms of the scripture of Natya Shastra, written by Barata Muni are respected.  The dance is composed of “NRITTA” (abstract dance or purity) and of “NRITYA” (expressive dance composed of facial and hand gestures).
 The group Natyalaya has established itself in the last seven 7 years as the main classical dance group of India in Brazil.  The Director of the group, Mrs. Patricia Romano, had been trained under the guidance of the renowned dance maestro, Kalamandalam Sumathi, who is the Director of the School of Classical dances at Permubavoor in Kerala, India.
 Patricia Romano developed and specialised in the classical techniques of Bharatnatyam, Mohiniyattam and Kuchipudi.  She also successfully developed a new choreographic mixture between the techniques of classical dance and the modern Hindi music of Bollywood (cinema industry of India).  This new style is known as Danza Masala that signifies the mixture of the spices of India.
 For its participation in the Food Festival of India, the group, Natyalaya, would comprise of its Director, Patricia Romano and the following dancers: Anays Alves Soares, Naira De Almeida Prado, Isadora Gon Alves Silva, Iara Amanda, Pereira Romano and Patricia Romano Fucciola.
 

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Release of Gandhiji’s Autobiography

On 8th October, 2007 the Vice President of the Republic of Colombia, Dr. Francisco Santos Calderon presided over a brief ceremony in the Office of the Vice Presidency to release the first Colombian edition of the autobiography of Mahatma Gandhi: ¨The story of my experiments with truth¨ in Spanish version.  President of the Republic of Colombia Dr. Alvaro Uribe Velez wrote the prologue for this edition.
In attendance were officials and three former Ambassadors of Colombia to India as well as academicians, members of the Embassy and the media.
In his speech, Vi [ … ]

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Indian community commemorates independence day

On 15 August 2007 Independence Day was celebrated at the Embassy residence. The ceremony was attended by almost all the members of the Indian Community in Bogotá, some of whom were accompanied by their Colombian spouses.
The Ambassador hoisted the National Flag followed by the singing of the National Anthem. The Ambassador thereafter delivered an inspiring speech on the remarkable achievements made by India in the political, economic and social spheres in the last 60 years, specially that experienced by the country from the beginning of this century.
The ceremony was fol [ … ]

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La Embajada celebrÓ el Dia de la RepÚblica en el Hotel La Fontana

El 26 de enero del 2007, la Embajada celebró el Dia de la Replública en el Hotel La Fontana, al cual asistieron alrededor de 300 personalidades de la comunidad colombiana, así como diplomáticos, representantes de los medios de comunicación y miembros de la comunidad india en Bogotá. 

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