You're reading: Indian culture gains popularity in Ukraine through food, yoga

Ukrainian interest in Indian culture has been growing by leaps and bounds in recent years, from the proliferating schools of yoga to the intensification of academic exchanges. The Indian community in Ukraine might not be very large, but it has an outsized impact here.

India had a close relationship with Ukraine in Soviet times, as the neutral Asian state was allowed to send students to learn and Bollywood films to screen in the Ukrainian Soviet Republic. However, the collapse of the Soviet Union broke the chain, and Indian culture disappeared for several years until relative stability returned to newly independent Ukraine. Today, Indian culture is not only sponsored via government programs, but also through the initiative of Indian businessmen and the enthusiasm of Ukrainians themselves.

One of the earliest focal points for this cultural revival centered on Himalaya restaurant. It was the first authentic Indian dining establishment in Ukraine. Since its foundation in 1997, Himalaya has served as a sort of community center for the expatriate Indian community, where holidays and life events of this small community would be celebrated. “Our businessmen would come for business lunches and meetings,” Himalaya director Yashwi Tripathi says. “Also, the India Club would gather here, while the restaurant serves to keep children of Indian families close to their roots.”

There are three Indian restaurants in Kyiv now. The popularity of Indian cuisine beyond the expatriate community is one of the factors that has led to greater exposure to Ukrainians at large. “What has surprised me in my time here is the interest of Ukrainians in participating in Indian culture,” says the Indian Ambassador to Ukraine Rajiv Chander.

The Indian community’s celebrations of its major religious holidays are often public affairs. Diwali, or the Festival of Lights, is one of the biggest Hindu festivals, signifying the victory of light over darkness. Taking place in the autumn, the local Indian community has coordinated its Diwali celebration with dance festivals, yoga demonstrations, and Days of Asian Cuisine.

Holi, or the Festival of Colors or the Festival of Love, meanwhile, has won widespread popularity on Trukhaniv Island in Kyiv. “We noticed that the festival last year had 1,500 Ukrainians queuing up to get in,” said Ambassador Chander. “They were singing Indians songs and dances and painting each other with colors.”

Normally held in the spring, because of its coincidence with local holidays, Holi has been moved to July.
The major national holidays the Indian community celebrates is Republic Day on Jan. 26 and Independence Day on Aug. 15.

The Indian community in Ukraine consists of around 4,000 students studying at institutes of higher education, mainly in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Chernivtsi, and about 200 families involved in business, according to the Embassy of India. They formed the India Club in Kyiv and more recently the Sanskriti Centre for Indian Culture. Founded by Rajesh and Kasturi Saraiya, a successful business family, Sanskriti is a non-profit charitable organization that organizes Indian dance lessons, festivals and cultural exchanges.
The Indian community has been active in the International Women’s Club of Kyiv, for many years sponsoring a pavilion at its annual charity bazaar.

Bollywood is making its return to Ukraine. In March one of the latest Bollywood releases was screened at Oscar, a prominent Kyiv cinema, in conjunction with the Indian Embassy. Red Hat, an Indian film distribution company based in Kazakhstan, is dubbing recent Indian movies into Russian and releasing them through a local film distribution network throughout Ukraine. The company aims at four-five general releases per month. “We want to bring back the magic of Indian cinema to Ukrainians,” Ambassador Chander said.

Days of Indian culture has been and will be held in September-October, which will include demonstrations of Indian classical, folk and Bollywood dance, yoga and, of course, food. “Last year we had 250 Ukrainian and Indian dancers performing on Khreshchatyk in downtown Kyiv,” Ambassador Chander said.

There are more than 30 Ukrainian cultural associations/groups spread across the country, engaged in the promoting Indian dances. Most groups have learnt Indian dances on their own and are promoting the same through festivals and by running dance classes. In fact, Ukraine has its own Indian dance online portal.

Yoga has been a big hit in Ukraine, with its many schools well represented by the numerous studios. The Ukrainian Federation of Yoga, meanwhile, has affiliates in over a dozen Ukrainian cities. The Indian Embassy even issues visas for yoga tourism, according to Ambassador Chander.

Academic culture has been revived. Ukraine’s oldest continuously operating institute of higher education, University of Kharkiv, has had a Department of Indology since Tsarist times. More recently, the All-Ukrainian Association of Indologists is engaged in organizing seminars, exhibitions on topics relating to India. A Ukrainian Hindi teacher of Taras Shevchenko National University was awarded the Vishwa Hindi Samman, an award for excelling in Indian studies, in  2012. With the help of the Indian Embassy, a Chair of Indian Studies at the Institute of International Relations at Shevchenko University was established. Two Indian lecturers have taught foreign policy and economics there. “We hope to have another lecturer in law teach there as well,” Ambassador Chander said.

India at a glance

Territory: 3,287,263 sq km
Population: 1,236,344,631 (July 2014 est.)
Government type: federal republic
Country leader: chief of state: President Pranab Mukherjee (since 22 July 2012); head of
government: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (since 22 May 2004)
GDP (purchasing power parity): $4.96 trillion (2013 est.)
GDP (per capita): $4,000 (2013 est.)
Main industries: textiles, chemicals, food processing, steel, transportation equipment, cement, mining, petroleum, machinery, software, pharmaceuticals

Ukrainian-Indian economic relations:

Trade turnover: $3.0 billion (2013)
Exports from India to Ukraine: pharmaceuticals, chemicals, ores and minerals tobacco products, tea, coffee, spices, silk, jute
Exports from Ukraine to India: fertilizers, sunflower oil, engineering technology, engines
Ukraine FDI into India: $1.12 million (2013)

Kyiv Post business journalist Evan Ostryzniuk can be reached at [email protected].