Sri Sri brings Olympic-size culture fest to Washington D.C.
Darpan News Desk IANS, 19 May, 2023 12:30 PM
Washington, May 19 (IANS) Spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's Art of Living announced Thursday it will co-host its trademark Olympic-scale World Culture Festival on Washington D.C.'s iconic National Mall, which has been called America's Front Yard, later this year in September-October.
"We need to bridge the gap. There is a lot of polarisation in the world," Sri Sri Ravi Shankar said at a news conference.
"The World Culture Festival is an occasion for people to come together and celebrate each other's differences. It is the need of the hour, to bring people together in celebration and to spread the message of peace and to say that we are one human family."
Holding the fourth edition of the World Culture Festival in Washington D.C. will send a message to the whole planet as "there is so much need for awareness about the importance of non-violence and creating peace and (resolving) mental health issues," the spiritual leader added.
The Art of Living is co-hosting the cultural event with the government of the city of Washington D.C.
"Washington D.C. is the perfect city to bring people together from around the globe," said Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser.
"We are a city that celebrates diversity and inclusivity, a global city, a welcoming city, and a city that loves visitors. We know that Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's message that 'diversity is the beauty of creation' aligns with our D.C. values. So, we invite people to plan their visits, and we'll see you in the fall!"
The three-day event will be held from September 29 to October 1 and organisers said they expect more than 1,50,000 people to participate, coming from all over the world. They added that as a measure of the early buzz about the event, more than 50,000 people have already registered to attend.
The three-day festival will be packed with cultural performances and culinary offerings from around the world -- including dancers and performers from India, China and Ukraine -- and a long list of world leaders have already committed their presence and participation such as former UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon and former Indian Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu.
The Art of Living is bringing the festival for the first time to the US -- the previous three iterations were held in Bengaluru (2006), Berlin (2011) and New Delhi (2016). Upwards of seven million people attended these events altogether, the organisers have said.
The National Mall is an iconic location -- called, as noted, America's Front Yard. It's home to the Washington Monument, Memorials to Presidents Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King Jr, and to World War II and the Vietnam and Korean wars.
The Art of Living had considered other venues as well such as Los Angeles in California and Albuquerque (home to epic TV show 'Breaking Bad') in New Mexico. But they chose Washington D.C.
When asked by Washington D.C., Sri Sri countered with another question, rhetorically: "Why not Washington DC."
Jatinder Singh, 37, and his partner, Thevamanogari Manivel, 40, appeared by video link from prison in Melbourne Magistrates Court on Tuesday, where they were committed to stand trial over theft and other charges, the Canberra Times reported. Crypto.com intended to refund Manivel $100 but she was erroneously transferred $10,474,143.
The walls of India K' Raja restaurant, owned and operated by Tony Sappal, were spray-painted with derogatory words and phrases targeting Asian Americans. "For 27 years, this has been home. Nobody has ever displayed that kind of anger or hate to us," Sappal told the Richmond Times Dispatch.
Seehra has been awarded 'Commendation for Brave Conduct' for his swift action towards an agitated patient who threatened to blow up the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital in Queensland. The patient had a red-wired explosive-looking device wrapped around his body, Seehra told SBS Punjabi.
Ji Min Sha, a 22-year-old junior cybersecurity major from Seoul, South Korea, has been held as the prime suspect in the case, Purdue Police Chief Lesley Wiete said. Wiete called the crime "unprovoked and senseless". Chheda was just 10 days away from his 21st birthday, the Indianapolis Star reported.
In a statement, the Chief Minister said it is unfortunate that a Punjabi family hailing from the Harsi village of Hoshiarpur district in the state have been murdered in California. He said that as per reports the family was kidnapped and was brutally murdered later on. Mann said the deceased have been identified as Jasdeep Singh, Jasleen Kaur, Amandeep Singh and an eight-month-old baby Ruhi.
A prominent New York senator is joining the ranks of American lawmakers who want the White House to end vaccination rules at the Canada-U.S. land border. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Rep. Brian Higgins, Democrats both, have written to urge President Joe Biden to "reciprocate" Canada's new COVID-19 border policy.
