Greetings from Uzbekistan!

When Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh visited Uzbekistan, last year, he prepared the ground for a cultural and educational exchange between the two countries. The new country, Uzbekistan, is in its infancy, having got its freedom from Russia, only a few years ago.

Part of the central Asian counties, with a strong cultural heritage taken from Persia and Russia, Uzbekistan is a Muslim nation with a difference. Rejoice! Women are not in any way subservient. They walk with pride without a burkha/ or a head scarf or dos and don’t rules for women. Nor is there much ado about religious practice. It has paid to have been a part of Russia. People are free spirited, because they have inherited the spiritual legacy of a heart without a religion. Opium of the people, as Marx called religion, is not what binds them to slavery of the soul. 

And therefore, they practice Islam, in a matter of fact manner.  

               Cultural show - dance

                   Although a poor nation, with a sharp divide, between the super rich and the poor, their poverty has dignity. You won’t see beggars and you won’t see hungry children on the roads. Not even first world countries like England can boast of this. You might still come across the beggar outside the ATM - “Spare some change please?” 
                                                  

              Students of the University with Professor from DU, Dept of Philosophy

 And unlike many developing countries, even like ours, you won’t find many children bursting our of households or screaming on playgrounds or sitting with a begging bowl or putting up a sad face at traffic signals begging for food to eat and money. Their poverty has dignity and even the poorest has aesthetic and cleanliness sense. 

At one time, Uzbekistan, formed part of the silk route and with the merchandise, traveled the many Buddhist monks to set up Monasteries and viharas (staying places for monks undergoing training) there. In fact the oldest Buddhist viharas of Central Asia are here and date back to 1^st Century AD. Built with mud, the monasteries were both a religious site and a place for meditation.Strangely, the monks who traveled to Central Asia came from the east and these monk were the many who were sent by Emperor Ashoka across the east to spread Buddhism. Thus, the people take great pride in having hosted Buddhism in the early times and much of their cultural identity is based on the fact that their country was at one time a Buddhist country. And had an Indian link, through the great deeds of Emperor Ashoka.

Samarkand, one of the most ancient cities in the world, is now a world heritage site. It is where the old, the medieval and the new mix together. Please view the pictures in the folder marked Samarkand. (See http://www.advantour.com/uzbekistan/samarkand/history.htm for more on Samarkand).

 Eminent professors of Delhi University, including the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh’s daughter, from the departments of History and Philosophy and Sanskrit, Persian, were the chosen few, who went on this trip, to ascertain, the extent of cultural exchange that can happen between the two countries. They were astonished and overjoyed to find that in the Tashkent Institute of Oriental Studies, the student spoke fluent Hindi and were head-over-heels in love with Shah Rukh Khan! In fact, they were completely in love with India Hindustan. It was very heartening to see this. They knew and respected Indian culture very much. They spoke, wrote Hindi and the HoD of Hindi department, could cook like an Indian and even prepared the much loved, samosa, for the crew! 


               
                The team included the Indian Prime Minister's daughter as well, and eminent professors of     Delhi University

               
                Indian Ambassador to Uzbekistan - Skand Dayal with the delegates

  The country is beautiful. It has a very positive energy and joie-de-vivre. Lots of dry fruits, milk and honey. And the people are beautiful and sensitive. The ladies are beautiful too, while the gentlemen charming. Although, most of them are non-vegetarians, they are aware of our food habits. On their visit therefore, the vegetarians in the team were very well looked after. 

The delegates came back with a feeling that Uzbekistan was in its basic social fabric, very much like India. Even the posh five-star, Hotel Grand Plaza, where they had been put up, had a Restaurant called Raj Kapoor! And of course, everybody sang the same song –Hindustan - Shah Rukh Khan!

Getting there:

By Air From Delhi : Uzbekistan Air – daily flights to Tashkent/ daily flights to Amritsat from Usbekstan - Rs 21,000 return X-Delhi
Hotels spend: Rs 1,000-2,400/person
Food spend: Rs 160-320/meal/person

Shopping: Buy their Carpets and other curios, and loads of dry fruits to take home.

 TIP Landmines common near borders with Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan

Note: Please view more pictures in the folders marked Tarmiz University, Samarkand, Faiyaz Tipa Buddhist site.

       
          Harvest dance... India and Uzbekistan can reap a rich cultural exchange

                                                        Little Buddha

  The first Buddhist viharas and monastries in Central Asia, First Century AD

A little flirtation with the Indian Philosopher...