Sunday Times 2
‘India- Sri Lanka Artists’ Week’ strengthens cultural relations
The ‘India- Sri Lanka Artists’ Week’ held from January 18 to 23, 2014- marked the first artists camp between the two neighbouring countries with a mission to strengthening good relations between them.
Some of the exhibits. Pix by Mangala Weerasekera
“Anything may divide nations but we have to count on what binds us together,” said Sanjeev Bhargava, the founding director of SEHER, an organisation established to promote Indian arts and culture. The India- Sri Lanka Foundation collaborating with SEHER, the hotel Taj Samudra and Lanka IOC presented this event for the first time in Sri Lanka thus marking a milestone in the cultural relations between the two neighbours.
Rajan Krishnan, a senior artist well-known among both the Sri Lankans and Indians, who ‘celebrates nature’ through his paintings, holds the opinion that “art can unite people, culture and all norms of humanity”.
Six artists were selected from each country representing three generations; two senior artists, two middle- aged and two young. One Indian dancer, Anwesa Mahanta, added diversity to this event.
“The artists are freely allowed to work in their own time” said Mr. Bhargava. Their work was displayed at an exhibition which took place on January 23, at the Taj Samudra.
During the week the artists also visited the Faculty of Visual Arts and the Faculty of Dance, University of Colombo to hold educational sessions on Indian and South Asian Arts.
Chandraguptha Thenuwara, one of the senior Lankan artists, says this is an “exchange 
programme that allows both countries to benefit from each other.” According to him, unlike through political and geo-strategic events, artists mainly through visual arts, can enhance the “mutual understanding between two nations thereby making them pay due respect to each other which doesn’t count on national boundaries.”
Mr. Dhargava holds out hope that India- Sri Lanka Artists’ Week will be back in 2015. Their mission to strengthen cultural relations between the two neighbours was an absolute success, he feels. This was “just a beginning!” he says.