PM to inaugurate conference during Iran visit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate a conference titled 'India-Iran Two Great Civilizations: Retrospect-Prospects' on Monday during his visit to that country.

Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), which is organising the conference, said in a statement released here that it is a part of 'The Cultural Festival of India in Iran' from May 23 to 25 and has been put together in collaboration with Indian Embassy in Tehran along with Bonyad-e-Sadi and Farhangistan-e-Zaban-o-Adab-e-Farsi from Iran.

"The facsimile edition of the Kalila va Dimna is a tribute to the cultural interflow between India and Iran over millennia, attested by the nexus of the Rig Vedic hymns and Gathas of Zarathushtra, coming down to the reign of Akbar who introduced Persian as the language of administration in India which continued till the middle of the 19th century under the East India Company.

"The Persian version of the Kalila va Dimna entitled Anwar-i Suhayli had the historic destiny of being the textbook for learning Persian to run the government of the day," ICCR President Lokesh Chandra said.

During the conference, ICCR will also be displaying the Indian publications of Persian manuscripts. There will be a sample of over 100 books in Persian.

Besides the conference, ICCR would also be presenting an evening of poetry recital: Sitar and Tar (Iran) Jugalbandi with Nishant Khan, a leading exponent; display of rare Persian manuscripts and miniatures and publishing, in facsimile, Kalileh-wa-Dimneh of the 6th century procured from the Rampur Raza Library.