Emmanuel Lenain made the statement during the fourth edition of Bonjour India 2022. (FILE)
New Delhi:
France’s Ambassador to India, Emmanuel Lenain on Monday praised India’s diversity and the impressive way the country is handling it during the launch of Bonjour India 2022.
“Indian diversity is fascinating, and it has the ability to manage this diversity. We think it is very modern. Living in a more globalized world, it is a challenge for all of us to manage this diversity of culture influences , information… We I think India, in this regard, provides a very good role model. Obviously it’s not easy for us, overall India is very impressive,” said declared the French emissary.
Mr. Lenain made the statement during the fourth edition of Bonjour India 2022.
Bonjour India 2022 will present in 19 Indian cities a program of 120 events created in collaboration with French and Indian partners, in fields such as education, science, literature, cinema, gastronomy, street art, arts stage and photography.
“We are delighted to offer a new edition of Bonjour India in 19 cities across the country. With 120 events, it is one of the most important cultural festivals ever organized by France abroad. This goes to show the importance of India for France, and the quality of our partnership”, declared Mr. Lenain.
This edition marks the 75th anniversary of India’s independence and the establishment of diplomatic relations between France and India.
“We built this festival as a gift from France to the Indian people. The poster reflects this intention, in the form of a birthday card, in different Indian languages,” Mr. Lenain said.
“You can see that we chose an illustration of The Little Prince as the main image on this poster, for various reasons: The Little Prince is a novel about friendship, and the festival reflects on the long-standing friendship between the people of France and the people of India.”
The French envoy added: “This is the book that usually comes to mind in India when people think of French literature. It is the most translated book in the world, excluding religious books. It has been translated into over 300 languages and dialects including Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Punjabi, Rajasthani, Tamil, Telugu and even Sanskrit.”
The Little Prince, although he himself turned 75 four years ago, is a character who still speaks a lot to young people. Young people find this book very modern and are particularly interested in its philosophy.
“It’s proof that you can still be young at 75! Moreover, it is our objective to speak to Indian youth. It is a priority of our strategic partnership, as evidenced by our efforts to welcome young more and more Indian students to France for academic mobility programs,” Mr. Lenain said.
Bonjour India is a collaborative work of the entire French cultural network in India. It includes French institutions such as the French Embassy and the French Institute in India, as well as the network of 14 Alliances Françaises (which are Indian organizations dedicated to the promotion of French language and culture) and numerous partners cultural events across the country, which are co-producing or hosting certain events.
Bonjour India is a two-way program with India, which also organizes the Namaste France festival in France.
“I would like to thank the Government of India, especially the Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, for this continued collaboration in the cultural field. We are honored to have the Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture Meenakshi Lekhi will attend the Bonjour India launch tomorrow night,” said Mr. Lenain.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
