Her Excellency Ambika Soni, Minister of Tourism and Culture, India;
His Excellency Dr S Jaishankar, Indian High Commissioner to Singapore;
Mr Sunil Bharti Mittal, President, Confederation of Indian Industry;
Distinguished guests;
Ladies and gentlemen;
Good evening.
It gives me great pleasure to join you here for an enchanting evening to commemorate the 60 th anniversary of India’s Independence. The choice of Singapore to stage INCREDIBLE INDIA @ 60 underscores the close and friendly ties between India and Singapore. I must also thank the Confederation of Indian Industries for organising this event, particularly the addition of a cultural dimension and outreach to our community.
Singapore-India Cultural Relations
2 Singapore is a young multi-cultural and cosmopolitan society. Although young, we can trace our roots to the very old and celebrated cultures of the Chinese, Malays, and of course, the Indians. We are proud of our cultural ties and we celebrate our ethnic cultures as a deeply rooted and integral part of Singapore’s heritage and identity. If you have time, a visit to our National Library will enable you to see the KaalaChakra exhibition that is taking place now. The exhibition traces the spread of early Indian cultural, religious and trade-link influences in South East Asia. It offers a glimpse into the historical past of the Indian community in Singapore and traces the shared history and heritage we have between India and Singapore and Southeast Asia.
3 Today, Singapore and India enjoy active exchanges in the area of arts and culture. This is facilitated by a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which our countries signed in 1993 for cooperation in the arts, heritage and archives. This agreement had led to active exchanges in the arts, heritage, archive and library works between our two countries, at both the government and community levels.
Indian Arts in Singapore
4 There has been strong support from India for the cultural events in Singapore. Most notably, the Indian Government’s support has been instrumental in forging key museum collaborations between Singapore and India. Singapore is the first country to have secured long-term loans agreements from the Archaeological Survey of India and the National Museum, New Delhi – both the custodians of India's national collections. The first loan by the Archaeological Survey of India to Singapore’s Asian Civilisation Museum comprised three Indian temple stone sculptures which were unveiled by then Indian President K R Narayanan in November 2000 during his state visit to Singapore. Such agreements to share one country's cultural heritage with another are rather rare. We are therefore most appreciative of India’s strong support for such collaborations between our museums.
5 The Asian Civilisation Museum’s recent blockbuster exhibition “The Nalanda Trail: Buddhism in India, China and Southeast Asia” was the ‘centrepiece’ of the East Asia Summit in 2007. It would not have been possible without the generous loan of several artefacts, including the Holy Relic of Lord Buddha from Piprahwa and the Nalanda copper plate recording the donation inscription of the Sri Vijaya King. I would like to thank the Indian Government and HE Minister Ambika Soni for her personal support in securing the loan of these precious artefacts. These items have contributed to the success and significance of the exhibition. I was in the Museum on the evening before the end of the exhibition. I must tell you that I was most gratified to see the size of the crowd that had turned up to have one last look at these incredible historical artefacts.
6 Of course, our cultural partnership extends well beyond museum collaborations. We have a thriving and exciting exchange in the performing arts and visual arts. For example, the recently concluded Indian Classical Music and Dance Festival organised by the Singapore Indian Fine Arts Society was a highly successful event featuring top Indian dancers and musicians, attracting full houses at the Esplanade.
Singapore Arts in India
7 Our cultural cooperation had also opened up opportunities for participation by Singapore artists in Indian arts events. In 2005, Singapore Cultural Medallion recipient Ms Han Sai Por, together with curator Ms Tay Swee Lin, participated in the 11 th Indian Triennale in New Delhi. Ms Han was one of the ten artists selected by an International Jury to be awarded the prestigious gold award for outstanding works presented at the Triennale.
8 Singapore’s Bhaskar's Dance Academy had also toured India, performing in Chennai, Salem and several other cities in Tamil Nadu. They regaled Indian audiences with its unique infusion of the traditional Indian dance form of Kathakali with a distinctively Singaporean flavour. I believe that as Singapore Indian culture continues to evolve, we will acquire distinctive perspectives and nuances which reflect our unique cultural identity and which will be of interest to audiences in India.
9 We are also encouraging more community level exchanges. Hence the National Arts Council supported the Eunos Community Club Chinese Dance Group at the 8th International Children's Festival of Performing Arts in New Delhi last year. Their performance was so well received that they were invited to perform for the closing ceremony of the festival. We look forward to more such opportunities for our artists and our community arts groups to participate in events in India which can foster more frequent and engaging people-to-people contacts and interactions. These exchanges will go a long way to further strengthening our already strong and friendly bilateral relations.
Conclusion
10 In closing, I am confident that our cultural ties will continue to grow and contribute to the broad foundations of an excellent relationship in the diplomatic, economics, trade and investment areas. Our very substantive cultural relationship will add to the colour and diversity of Singapore’s arts and cultural scene. They will also deepen mutual understanding and appreciation of each other’s culture and foster closer cultural relations between Singapore and India. This is a relationship which we treasure and will nurture and grow in the years ahead as India continues to transform herself into an influential and powerful global player in many areas.
11 Finally, I would like to thank the Government of India and the Ministry of Tourism and Culture for your strong support in forging closer cultural ties. We look forward to more of such cooperation and to further strengthen our arts and cultural relationship.
Thank you and have an enjoyable evening.
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