Abhijit Deshmukh from Paris
At the Rio 2016 Olympics, my first Olympics, I had the opportunity to visit the Great Britain House. It was a relaxed place with music, beer, and screens to watch the Olympics, just like any pub in the UK. It was a good place for networking. Although it wasn’t impressive, a thought came to my mind: why is there no “India House”? We have such a rich culture and heritage, and so much to showcase. At the Tokyo Olympics, India House was planned, but due to the pandemic, no country was allowed to have their house. Finally, in Paris, we have India House.
While I was covering shooting in Châteauroux, it took me a week to visit India House after it was open to all. The Incredible India House is situated at Parc de La Villette in the heart of the city. Several other countries’ houses, like Casa Brazil, Casa Colombia, and Canada House, are also nearby. The India House initiative was undertaken by Mrs. Nita Ambani and the Reliance Foundation. My first impression from the outside was “Wow.”
There is a beautiful wall with ancient windows where all athletes and celebrities arrive and pose. This wall has now become a popular selfie point among visitors. A section is dedicated to displaying Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s interactions with athletes. Next to it is a huge wall with photos of all 117 Indian athletes qualified for the Olympics. An athlete who has won a medal in Paris is given a replica of the medal, which is placed next to their photo. So far, the wall only has Sarabjot Singh’s medal replica. Manu Bhaker and Swapnil Kusale are expected to visit India House soon. Several Indian athletes, including Rohan Bopanna, Sumit Nagal, Ramita Jindal, and many more, have visited India House. Even ex-Indian cricketer and legend Rahul Dravid and BCCI Secretary Jay Shah have visited India House.
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Everyone is attracted to “Swadesh”, home to India’s traditional arts and artisans. It is an initiative to preserve and promote age-old arts and crafts. One can see the famous Banarasi saree in weaving, where techniques such as Tanchoi, Jangla, cutwork, and Butidar are used. The Kashmiri “Kal Baffi” carpets are also on display. Using the Talim coded language, artisans create designs reflecting Kashmir’s natural and architectural beauty.
Visitors, especially women, are lined up to get a special Mehndi design on their hands. The Mehendi section is managed by Veena Nagda, known as the Mehendi Queen of Bollywood. I spotted two Australian men who thought “Mehendi” was a tattoo thing. All they wanted was Olympic ring tattoos. However, they did get an Olympic ring symbol tattoo on their hand.
The cultural centre has a huge stage for dance performances. Whether it was famous Hindi, Punjabi, Marathi, Telugu, or Bengali songs, the performances exceeded your expectations. Fans can watch Olympic sports live on the big screen as well.
How can one miss the food plaza that serves delicious food? Dosa, Pav Bhaji, Vada Pav, Pani Puri, Biryani, Butter Chicken, and many more cuisines from different parts of India are available.
“We loved the Indian House. We had butter chicken, but the dosa looked delicious. Why didn’t we have the dosa? We have been to several houses, including Colombia & Brazil House, but the Indian House is the best in Paris,” said Dan, an Australian visitor from Sydney.
Once all the performances are done, there is a live DJ where fans forget everything and dance to the tunes.
India House should be named “Incredible India House”, as it gives you an unforgettable experience of rich culture and heritage. It’s a must-visit place if you are in Paris during the Olympics.
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