During the past few years I have been designing and assembling the brochure for the Gala Evening of Indian Association Baden. Most of it is laying out text and graphics, editing of submitted articles and the miscellaneous things that go with getting words and pictures onto the printed paper. Of course, many of the things are not apparent by flipping through the booklet and easily slip under the radar screen. This year, however, I decided that the editorial that I wrote for the brochure and the speech for the president of the association deserve better exposure. And hence this article. The next two sections are those two items in annotated form so that the inquisitive can dig deeper into the topics that I touched on.
The 38th Gala Evening of Indian Association Baden has Festivals of India as its theme - a diaspora celebrating as joyously as the home country. We hope to recreate the colour and excitement that the people in India look forward to throughout the year. The multi-religious and poly cultural composition of the country make each event of the year a veritable pageant for both participant and spectator. Many serve to glorify the Deity but, ultimately, they are a celebration of life.
The bonds that connect India and Switzerland go back to the birth of the nation: Switzerland was the first country to sign a friendship pact with India. Peering further backward in time, one can see other interactions that have arguably changed the course of history. The outcome of the battle of Wandiwash (Tamil Nadu) between the English and French, which ended all hopes for French dominance in India, was influenced in no small part by the Swiss commander de Vasserot.
Next year will mark the centennial anniversary of the Nilgiri Mountain Railway. Though the line is diminutive in comparison to the railway network laid down by the English in the rest of the country, Swiss engineering was what finally made the hill-stations accessible. Inventor Riggenbach's rack system and the engines from the SLM are still the central feature of this newly minted UNESCO World Heritage site.
In our times, the two countries have deep-rooted bonds that are no longer mere footnotes in history. Globalization links nations but Switzerland and India have cooperated long before it became a byword. From the establishment of the Volkart Trading Company in 1851 in Bombay to the hundreds of commercial enterprises that now bring together the two countries, they reiterate the inextricability of those bonds. For decades Indian film-goers have been treated to Swiss mountains as a distant paradisiacal corner of India. Bollywood's small distortion of geography has been accepted with open hearts by the Indian psyche as necessary for the proper placement of romantic songs.
Indeed, this gathering of the members of Indian Association Baden today in Wettingen is a bridge between cultures. Let us celebrate this by disproving Kipling who said that "East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet". Chasms are meant to be spanned. And then enshrined in a festival to be celebrated, year after year. Such is the nature of the annual Gala Evening.
I welcome you to the 38th Gala Evening of the Indian Association of Baden. Now that our bodies have been nourished with an Indian Dinner, we can look forward to the colorful programme during the next few hours. The Cultural Show prepared by the members will depict festivals of India. Five festivals that are spread over a year will be presented on this stage, within a span of 90 minutes.
This year marks the 60th anniversary of the Independence of India. Switzerland was the first country to sign the friendship treaty with the young nation. On November 14, a statue of Gandhi, the Father of the Nation, will be unveiled by the President of the Swiss Confederation, Micheline Calmi-Rey in Parc Ariana, Geneva to commemorate that friendship treaty.
If you open your wallet and find a 10 franc note, take a careful look at it. It is a manifestation of that friendship between India and Switzerland. On one side, there is a picture of the Swiss-born architect Le Corbusier. On the obverse, are his buildings in Chandigarh. It has the secretariat along with architectural plans of that city. Nehru and the Government of India had requested the legendary urban planner to design Chandigarh.
Some of the bright young faces in this hall belong to students who have graduated from one school or another around this region. These second generation of Indians will be going on for further studies or joining the work force. My congratulations to all of them. We know that great things lie ahead for you. I would like to mention two names: Akarsh Prasad and Arjun Muralidharan received special awards this year.
This year, as every year, we had several events for our members and friends. They ranged from Bowling to cooking classes, from the variety evening to the picnic in the middle of summer. They were all well-attended and the feedback we got was positive. However, the highlight this year, was the Badenfahrt. This, once every ten year event, was a grand success for the city of Baden and for the association. Our Bollywood-themed restaurant served over XXX people with a wide variety of Indian dishes every day. The Badenfahrt committee and the helpers put in long hours. The 10 days were exhausting but we hope that it was a satisfying experience. I know that I will remember it for years to come.
About 38 years ago when the seniors among us got together to found the association, little did we imagine what it would be like in 2007. In the mean time, many of us have become citizens of this country and will mostly likely spend the rest of our lives here. Our children have grown up here and consider this their home. The association is one of the many links to the home country and to the fellow country men. The strength of the association lies in its cohesiveness and the willingness of the members to help out during the events of the year. The executive committee would like to extend their thanks to all those who assisted them during the year.
To those who are concerned that this is going to be a long speech, I have good news. I have reached the end. But before I conclude let me thank the executive committee for the cooperation and the hard work.
Thank you.
