It was a first time for Cathy Lu, a Taiwanese student, to visit India. Elated over having learnt few steps of Indian dance and tried “spicy Indian food”, she says, “I would love to come back for another exchange programme. It helps to get to know Indians better. I feel I can even come back to this country and teach Chinese here.”
Cathy was one of the members of a team of 17 ‘Youth Ambassadors’ from Taiwan who participated in a cultural exchange programme recently. Hailing from various colleges of Taiwan, these youngsters visited the Noida campus of Amity University before taking a trip to Agra.
Cultural exchanges are always welcome since one gets to mingle with people from other parts of the world. If the exchange involves youngsters then the meetings become even livelier. Such as the recent experience when these students from Taiwan showcased their culture and tradition through mesmerising performances.
The exchange programme aims to enhance the mutual understanding and strengthen cultural exchanges between India and Taiwan, at the same time giving an opportunity to the youth of Taiwan to share their culture, values and traditions with their global counterparts and broaden their horizons. But at times words are not required to communicate. In such a case what could be more expressive than dance!
The young Taiwanese Ambassadors showcased their culture through their traditional dance and students from Amity University reciprocated their gesture by performing Indian dance. The Taiwanese ambassadors through their mesmerising performances apprised audiences with Mountain, Ethnic Groups of Taiwan, Various Instruments used in Taiwanese dance forms, Taiwanese Food and others. At no point of time, their passion waned, which showed how deep-rooted Taiwanese youth are to their tradition and culture. The performances of students from both the countries brought out the grandeur of the two cultures.
In the presence of Tien Chung- Kwang , Ambassador, Taipei Economic and Cultural Centre in India (TECCI), Frances Lee, minister at TECCI expressed her appreciation to the University for hosting the group from Taiwan. “Taiwan, just like India, is a democratic country with traditional civilisation dating back to 5000 years,” she said informing that Taiwan has been absorbing the essence of other Asian civilizations, as a result of which both contemporary and traditional features coexist in Taiwanese culture. She stressed that in Taiwan there are over 600 Indian students pursuing their higher studies but there are very few Taiwanese students studying in India. She expressed her hope that in future there will be more student exchanges between India and Taiwan, enhancing the mutual love and understanding between both the countries.
DHNS
