- NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - امس 05:26

Life-altering journey through India

Heritage educator Dr Kris Rampersad on mapping India’s development 180 years after ancestors left. "An unforgettable phenomenal-packed life-altering experience." This is how Dr Kris Rampersad an intercultural multilateral outreach specialist, multimedia innovator/educator describes her recent visit to India. “Astoundingly, many cultural elements that descendants of Indians have rooted in Trinidad and Tobago and our extended diaspora across North America and Europe are now disappearing from the Indian landscapes," Rampersad noted in her blog, Demokrissy on her website GloCal Knowledge Pot (www.krisrampersad.com). Rampersad recently returned from India following participation as Content Creator and Policy Influencer ambassador of the diaspora at the 18 Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) which took place in Bhubaneshwar. PBD is the flagship diaspora event of the Government of India. She also attended the Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj before continuing on an extended stay that took her through ancestral districts of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar from where most of the descendants of Indians in TT originated. She took the opportunity to visit core heritage sites across Odisha, Prayagraj, Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Ayodhya, Mathura, Gokul, Vrindaban, Rishikesh, Haridwar, Kurukshetra, Hapur, Kabirpur, Delhi, Agra among others. Rampersad, who holds a TT National Gold Award for Development of Women/Journalism, said she seized the opportunity for an extended stay to identify best practices in cultural heritage tourism as she maps India’s development strides as it positions itself as a leader of the global south. This builds on her development initiatives, and pioneering doctoral and post-doctoral research on migration, settlement and adaptation. She said while there she identified numerous opportunities for multipronged diaspora engagement through education, IT, health, agriculture, textiles, transportation, digital payments, solar energy and other emerging sectors. She interfaced with thank tanks, experts, students, journalists and community leaders who provided close insights while she also made presentations to universities and technical organisations on bridging knowledge and other gaps to enhance diaspora relations. "This would add to my experiences of India to inform mapping of best practices in sustainable development and trace differences since our ancestors left almost 200 years ago," she said. From this and other experiences, Rampersad is identifying best practices for cultural heritage tourism, education and diaspora outreach as an independent scholar and multilateral relations specialist focusing on gender-sensitivity mainstreaming and culture-centred approaches to development. TT this year celebrated the 180th anniversary of the arrival of Indians in TT. Rampersad, a fourth and fifth generation descendant of persons of Indian origin, was one of the first guests from the Caribbean that included Nobel Laureate Sir Vidia Naipaul and legal luminary Sir Shridath Ramphal at the inaugural PBD in 2003. It is now the flagship biennial event in which the Government of India reaches out to its diaspora, said to be the world’s largest diaspora gathering. She also studied for a diploma in mass communication at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication at the Jawaharlal Nehru University Campus and earned its highest Rajasthan Patrika Award. [caption id="attachment_1164460" align="alignnone" width="720"] Indian High Commissioner receives books from Dr Kris Rampersad. -[/caption] This week, Rampersad paid a courtesy call on Dr Pradeep Rajpurohit, High Commissioner of India to TT who warmly welcomed her back home as the two exchanged experiences of Maha Kumbh Mela, which Rajpurohit also attended. Maha Kumbh Mela is a significant global heritage event celebrated during a particular alignment of planets once every 144 years, while Kumbh Mela is celebrated every 12 years. The Indian High Commission of TT is currently preparing to welcome President of India, Shri Narendra Modi to TT on the invitation of Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, a fourth-generation descendant of persons of Indian origin. Rampersad also presented Rajpurohit with copies of her books, Through the Political Glass Ceiling which maps Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar’s pivotal journey to becoming the first woman in that position, and LiTTscapes – Landscapes of Fiction, the official commemorative publication of TT’s Jubilee Year of Independence that opens up opportunities for economic diversification through knowledge sectors that link bridge industrial with literary, heritage, educational and other social sectors. Rampersad is unfolding highlights of her India visit through her social media channels as she develops two of her creative innovations, the world’s newest creative genre, the MultiMedia MicroEpic and CEIBA-EDUtainment which blend education and entertainment through new media. Her posts can be accessed through her website krisrampersad.com and social media channels as KrisRampersad on You Tube, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest. Rampersad shared how she closely observed the strategic impacts of emerging fields as information technologies and solar power in reducing poverty in villages and expansion of the middle class, while retracing footprints through ancestral regions and ancient heritage sites across Odisha, Prayagraj, Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Ayodhya, Mathura, Gokul, Vrindaban, Rishikesh, Haridwar, Kurukshetra, Hapur, Kabirpur, Delhi, Agra among others. She was also guest of honour at key events at Universities of Banaras, Gorakhpur and Delhi where she delivered insights on expanding educational programmes with our diaspora, drawing from her research and experiences over the past four decades on migration, settlement and adaptation of Indians across the globe. She participated in the launch of studies on the Indian Diaspora, presenting at seminars and conferences in Banares, Gorakhpur and New Delhi, met with children at district schools and community knowledge holders as scribes of Pandas, record keepers of ancient ancestral lineages of Indian families. Rampersad further shared insights on advancing multilateral and bilateral mechanisms and programmes to enhance India’s engagement with the diaspora and the Global South through interconnecting the spheres in which she functions across gender-sensitive mainstreaming, culture-centred development, education and media/new media. This is in keeping with India’s development drive to advance recognition of the diaspora’s contributions to Viksit Bharat which was the theme of PBD 2025. Pravasi Bharatiya Divas is India’s largest outreach initiative to engage its diaspora through discussions, socials and exhibitions. It is celebrated biennially on January 9 in India to recognise the contributions of the Indian diaspora in its journey to Viksit Bharat – development of India. This marks the day Mahatma Gandhi returned from South Africa to India in 1915, escalating focus on social injustices being experience by Indians abroad which propelled the movements for independence from colonial rule across the globe. To collaborate, partner and sponsor development of these materials for film and educational outreach and to stay connected and updated through her website krisrampersad.com and social media channels as KrisRampersad on You Tube, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest. See links: https://krisrampersad.com/knowledge-exchange-on-daughters-of-world-largest-diaspora-a-visit-with-the-india-ambassador/ https://krisrampersad.com/inside-pulse-of-a-civilisation-tracing-ancestors-footsteps-in-worlds-largest-diaspora/   The post Life-altering journey through India appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.