Students from 50 nations at cultural fest

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, November 21

Offering a vast collective platform to students from over 50 countries to represent the heritage of their respective places, Lovely Professional University (LPU) is organising its annual international fest ‘One World’. The 8th edition of the two-day fest is on the theme of ‘International festivals and cultural celebrations”.

Ambassador of Afghanistan to India, Shaida Mohd Abdali; Ambassador of Gabon, Désiré Koumba; Ambassador of Gambia, Jainaba Jagne; Minister, High Commission of Nigeria, Alatise Ismail Ayobami; High Commissioner of Ghana,Michael Aaron Yaw Nii Nortey; and Chargé d’Affaires, Embassy of Uganda to India, Margaret Kedisi, inaugurated the international cultural extravaganza on the campus.

The festival, with its avowed purpose of promoting diversity, was flagged off for a 2-km long colourful cultural procession which comprised 50-plus international tableaux.

Showcasing the cultural inheritance of their respective countries, the international students kept on dancing and singing all the way. Celebrating the theme of the year, students were seen holding placards with slogans related to festivities.

International students were seen with dresses, ornaments and other attributes of their country. Continuing celebrations at four venues of the campus through 40 exhibition stalls, 2,000-plus international students mesmerised the 50,000-plus audience.

Welcoming the guests and the participants, LPU Chancellor Ashok Mittal said the celebration, held with a separate theme every year, helps students strengthen unity in diversity and attain universal brotherhood for a peaceful co-existence in the world.

The countries from where the students came included China, Bhutan, Cameroon, Gambia, Yemen, Mali, Maldives, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Sudan, Rwanda, Tanzania and Thailand, among others.

A B.Pharma (Ayurveda) student from Mauritius, Arvin Singh Sahadey, said, “I have come to understand the ethnicity of Ivory Coast through its ceremonies and ritual celebrations. Most of these are animated by dances to the beat of drums, flutes and pumpkins used as instruments, especially for ‘Goli Mask Dance’, where human face masks and disc-faced masks are used. They are believed to connect people with supernatural powers, which may have a good influence on their lives.”

“We are here to represent our country. We are happy to see that students of other countries enjoy our culture with a feeling of oneness. In fact, the event ‘One World’ makes us more practical with an elaborate insight into how the world can be one leaving aside all intrigues and self-interests. We have also come to understand that the unity among human beings lies in their diversity.”