With many elements of Indian culture having a profound impact across the world, the eagerness to know about our land's culture - an amalgamation of several cultures - has increased. The Consulate General of India, New York saw such eagerness and interest in the 30 odd children from the WCL Academy, an international school in New York's East Village promoting international awareness and celebration. The children accompanied by five teachers had come to visit the Consulate on May 12, 2014 as part of their International Week activity.

The children with the Consul General Dnyaneshwar M. Mulay

The children enjoyed a guided tour of the Consulate building, which is part of New York's Upper East Side Historic District. With the building reflecting India's rich history and culture, the children thoroughly enjoyed walking past the portraits and statues of some renowned Indian leaders - Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore amongst others and learnt about these leaders who were instrumental in India's independence and growth thereafter.

The children in the Consulate Ballroom

Consul General Mr. Dnyaneshwar M. Mulay welcomed the children personally to his office for a brief interaction. He invited the children to share their thoughts about India. There were quite a few interesting replies from the children. Mr. Deepak Dave, Executive Director, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan conducted an audio-video presentation touching on some finer points of India's history and her contribution to the world. The children, full of curiosity, bombarded Mr. Dave with questions on National symbols, yoga, tigers, temples and the like. Mr. Dave also encouraged the children to try the Indian delicacies that were served. The children were also taken to the consular section - to understand more about the Indian passport and visa issuance process. They were taken on a counter tour with a Consular officer explaining the whole process. The children thoroughly enjoyed the visit and left with a smile saying 'Namaste'!