Kerala - Kochi   

A taste of India in Germany

How about tasting puttu and kadala in the backdrop of chendamelam played in an alley of classic paintings of the Ravi Varma era? Or about relishing parathas with potato curry in the company of Zakir Hussain's tabla?

This is not a rare offer in Indian cities. But it is certainly a precious one in a foreign land. These and much more of the Indian art and culture as well as culinary delights could be tasted at the India Cultural Centre at Schwabisch Hall, a township in Germany.

The centre is a venture of the Ernakulam-based CGH Earth hotel of the Casino group, in partnership with a German entrepreneur, Rudolf Buhler.

The centre, opened on May 9 by Mayor of Schwabisch Hall Joseph Pelgrim in the presence of Indian Ambassador Meera Shanker, will showcase the rich culture of India in general and Kerala in particular, says Jose Dominic, CEO of CGH Earth.

Food and art

A team of 12 persons from the Casino group is managing the centre. The culinary centre named Spice Land offers a variety of Indian dishes. The contemporary art gallery exhibits pieces of fine Indian art. "We are sending an ambassador car to be exhibited at the craft centre called Bazaar," says Mr. Jose.

Schwabisch Hall is situated between Munich and Stuttgart. The township, surrounded by rich agricultural area, is an ideal setting for a cultural extravaganza, according to him.

Kerala Week

"We are planning to organise cultural exchange programmes," he says. A Kerala Week highlighting live cultural shows of artists from Kerala is on cards.

Similarly, art and culture and culinary specialities of different States will be featured in future programmes

The centre is situated in a heritage building. The building has three floors, each floor having about 3,000 sq ft area. It belongs to the City Council, according to Mr. Jose.

Stuttgart is twinned with Mumbai for official cultural exchanges. The exercise is likely to be repeated with Kochi. The groundwork for the process has already started, according to him.

R. Ramabhadran Pillai

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