Indian Culture

     India's history and culture is dynamic, spanning back to the beginning of human civilization.The recorded history begins with the Indus Valley Civilisation around 3,300 BC. The history of India is punctuated by constant integration of migrating people with their diverse cultures. India has been a true melting pot in which different cultures merged, and formed a diverse yet united, inclusive cultural land of plurality and tolerance. People value humanity, tolerance, respect for women & elders. India is a spiritual country where people believe in spiritualism. People follow all faiths including Atheism. People in India are modern and follow all the changes according to the modern era while preserving their traditional and cultural values. India is a huge country and is unique in its own ways in terms of many Languages, different forms of Dances, Music, Architecture, Food, Religions and Customs which differ from one region to another region in India. There are 22 official languages in India but Hindi is the connecting language for whole India. There are many classical dance forms, the most prominents are Bharatanatyam, Kathakali, Kathak, Kuchipudi, Odissi, Sattriya, Manipuri, Mohiniyattam, in addition to various Folk dances like Bihu, Garba, Bhangra, etc. Similarly there are various forms of Indian Music like, Khayal (originated form Arabic word means 'imagination'), Dhrupad, Tarana, Tappa, Tumhari and Ghazal. It has always been an inspiring and proud Civilisation and Culture.

2.    There is an archaeological site of Ain Ghazal which dates back the historicity of Amman to 7250 BC. Jordan has been an area bridging Egyptian, Roman and land of Palestine with Mesopotamia Babylonia etc. There has been evidences of large historical interactions between Jordan, Arabian peninsula and Turkey. Jordan represents the similar cultural values like India namely tolerance, moderation, pluralism and inclusivity. The cultural affinity bring India and Jordan close.

India and Jordan

3.    There is great interest in Jordan for Indian art and culture, especially Bollywood films. Bollywood actors like Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan are very popular in Jordan. Traditional cultural troupes have always received warm welcome in Jordan.

4.    Given the good reputation of the Indian cinema and film production, the Petra Development Tourism Region Authority (PDTRA) has time and again shown keen interest in promoting tourism through the film production, at various locations in Jordan, displaying the natural and aesthetic features in Petra. M/s. Petra Musketeers Film Services, a private enterprise has also shown interest in assisting Indian film industries in Jordan. Indian film and TV serial producers and directors often use locations in Jordan for shooting movies. A song sequence from Bollywood movie “Krrish 3” was shot at various locations including Petra. Bollywood and other regional Indian film industry is increasingly looking towards Jordan specially for shooting films.

5.    There are regular cultural exchanges, including the visits of performing troupes and exhibitions between the two countries which has helped to promote people to people cultural contacts. At the invitation of ICCR a 12- member Jordanian Percussionist Band ‘Drum Jam’ visited India and participated at the ‘World Percussion Festival’ in New Delhi in November, 2014. Mission, with the support of ICCR has organised various events in Jordan, most prominent being events related to the 65 years of establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Jordan in 2015, The opening ceremony of the Mega event of 2015 was inaugurated by a photo exhibition on the high level visits between the two countries including King Hussein, King Abdullah and Prince Hassan’s visit to India and Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s visit to Jordan,. Simultaneously, an exhibition on Islamic Monuments of India, A book on ‘India and Jordan-towards progress and prosperity’ was launched and a 5-day Bollywood film festival also commenced. This was followed by a series of events from March – June 2015. These events included from a numerous performances of cultural troupes from India to Indian food festival and organising a ‘India Week in Aqaba’. There are other ICCR sponsored prominent event organised during the previous years like a 10 member Rajasthani Folk troupe led by Esak Khan performed in Amman and at Al Dulayl in Zarqa Governorate in Feb 2016, a 10-member Rajasthani Cultural Troupe led by Shri Sadiq Khan Langa, performed at three different cities of Jordan in 2018, the visit of Jordanian delegate to the Kumbh Mela 2019, Dr. Ahid Abdullah Abduh Almubaydeen, who termed his visit to India as "once in a lifetime trip" that "cannot be explained in words, without experiencing" and Visit by 06-member Odissi dance group led by Ms. Sasmita Panda, to give cultural performances for the 15th City Festival at Zaha Cultural Center in 2019.

6.    Though COVID-19 pandemic affected the regular activities of the Embassy of India, it has utilized tides of the time and organized various events, some of them online with live streaming on social Media. Embassy of India commemorated 150^th Birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi with holding various events throughout the year 2019-20 in Embassy premises, Schools and Colleges, in the similar fashion 70th anniversary of adoption of the Constitution in 1949 was also celebrated 2019-20, special events on 550^th Birth Anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev ji & Baisakhi, Birth Anniversary of Vallabhbhai patel, Hindi Diwas, 16^th Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas, Holi, Diwali, Onam, etc.

7.    India is celebrating 75 years of independence - Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav. Embassy of India has recently held opening ceremony of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav on 20^th April 2021 at a large scale involving University students and professors. There will be many more events through out the year. The first International Day of Yoga was celebrated on 21 June 2015 and since then it is celebrated every year in Amman. In 2020 it was celebrated in the Embassy premises with live streaming on Embassy’s social media platforms. The 7^th International Day of Yoga will be celebrated on 21^st June 2021 with due respect to Covid-19 Guidelines at that time.

8.    Agreements and MOUs in a wide range of areas of shared interest have been signed. During the visit of His Majesty King Abdullah II to India in Feb/March 2018, the Cultural Exchange Programme was renewed for the years 2018-22. An Agreement for tweening of the cities of Agra-Taj Mahal and Petra Development and Tourism Region Authority was also signed during the same visit. Scores of professionals and students from Jordan have got trained in India under the auspices of Indian Council for Cultural Relations [ICCR] and the Indian Technical Economic Cooperation [ITEC] Programmes. There are over 2500 Jordanian alumni from various Indian universities who take pride in the time spent in India for their studies. There are almost 15,000 Indians in Jordan and mainly working in the Garment and construction sectors.

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