India & America- more than half a century in pictures

Did you know that Indian and the US have been friends for more than 50 years? How do you think the two celebrated their friendship?

The American center in New Delhi decided to commemorate the event by showcasing its rare photos.

Rare archival images, including those of the foundation stone-laying of the iconic American Embassy in the national capital, are part of an exhibition marking 70 years of the Indo-US ties that was launched on Wednesday.

Titled ‘Celebrating 70 Years of US-India Relations’, the event, which runs through August 14, features images and photographs from the US Embassy archives that document their relationship as far back as the 1950s.

The exhibition is run by the American Centre, which also showcased a dance performance — ‘Dancing Stories from the East and West’ — to mark seven decades of the ties.

“All around us, you will see inspiring images from past and present that reflect the strategic partnership and strong friendship that the United States and India have enjoyed for 70 years now,” said Sarah Ziebell, the US Embassy’s Regional Public Engagement Specialist.

“Building this exhibition was both a labor of love and a joy for the team that assembled it, and we are proud of its reflection of US-India dosti,” she said.

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The show is broken into themes that mirror the depth and breadth of the two countries collaboration, ranging from security and economic partnerships to the sharing of talents and culture across such areas such as science and technology innovation and performing arts creations, the US Embassy said in a statement.

US Chief Justice Earl Warren had laid the cornerstone of the embassy’s current building back in the 1950s, according to a post shared by the Centre on its Facebook page with the rare black-and-white photograph.

‘Dancing Stories from the East and West’ is the result of a collaborative process between Nyama McCarthy-Brown, Assistant Professor of Contemporary Dance at Indiana University and Tanya Saxena, an Indian classical dancer, whose work arises from different pedagogical traditions but who have found commonality in expression, the statement said.

In addition to each performing their solo works, McCarthy-Brown and Saxena debuted a cross-cultural piece that merges their countries’ distinct styles of dance.

“The collaboration illuminated treasured dance traditions from two very distinct cultures and wove them together harmoniously, yet without infringing upon the integrity of either form.

“To be sure, each form was magnified in the presentation, juxtaposed to the other. The work was a collaboration, in every sense, a true partnership of embodied culture,” McCarthy-Brown said.