CULTURAL

The President of Costa Rica, H.E. Mr. Oscar Arias Sanchez, Nobel Peace Prize winner, wrote the prologue for the Spanish language translation of the autobiography of the Father of Indian Nation –Mahatma Gandhi. The autobiography titled "Story of my experiments with truth", was released and baptised by President Oscar Arias himself in the presence of the Ambassador of India to Costa Rica and the Foreign Minister and other dignitaries in San Jose, Costa Rica on 16 September, 2008.

There is a great deal of interest in India’s history and cultural heritage in Costa Rica and much of the credit for this goes to Prof Hilda Chen Apuy who visited India on a UNESCO scholarship in the 1950’s and introduced studies on Indian History, Philosophy and Sanskrit at the University of Costa Rica in San Jose. She also writes extensively on India.

Performances of Indian dance and music troops in Costa Rica have been regularly sponsored by the ICCR. A 13-member Odissi ballet group led by Shri Durga Charan Ranbir Das performed in San Jose in April 2004. A Bharata Natyam dance troupe led by Dr. Ananda Shankar Jayant visited San Jose in September 2004 while in September 2002, a 5-member Kathak dance troupe led by Ms. Sunanya Hazarilal performed at the same city.

Several Indian films were also screened at the University of Costa Rica. A cultural Festival of India was organised in Costa Rica from November 2-4, 2006 in coordination with the Juan Santamaria Museum of Cultural History. Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports of Costa Rica, Ms. Maria Elena Carballo Castegnaro inaugurated the Festival. The activities of the Festival included screening of Indian films, a photo exhibition of the churches of Goa entitled Velha Goa, and a lecture on Indian culture by the renowned Indologist, Prof. Hilda Chen-Apuy. ICCR is examining a proposal for a Hindi teacher in the University of Costa Rica.