HUNGARIAN CULTURAL INSTITUTE DELHI
It's not just by chance that Hungary's oldest Cultural Institute in Asia has been established in Delhi. Hungarians have always turned with great respect and appreciation to India, to its vast and ancient culture, to its depth of philosophy and religions and its post-Independence democracy. India, with its rapidly developing, dynamic economy, and being a regional superpower in Asia, has been playing a strategic role in Hungary's foreign policy.
The Hungarian Cultural Institute or previously the Hungarian Information and Cultural Centre, founded in 1978 and working continuously for decades on 'Janpath', one of the posh localities of the capital. This building, also known as Baikunth, contemporary and of the same style as the other major public buildings, was one of the most attractive mansions of the capital.
The cultural relations between India and Hungary dated back to a much longer time than just these few decades since the establishment of this Centre/Institute. Famous Hungarian travellers, scholars and explorers have reached India as early as in the 18th century. János Honigberger, who had come from Transylvania, was the court doctor of the famous Maharaja Ranjit Singh. It was Alexander Csoma de Kőrös who made the ever first Tibetan-English dictionary in India, and during the centuries, also a good number of Hungarian artists came to get inspiration from this country. Indians do appreciate their Hungarian born countrymen. Paintings by Amrita Sher Gil, the outstanding 20th century artist, born to a Hungarian mother and an Indian father in Budapest, are among the greatest art treasures of India today. Indians also remember that the legendary poet Rabindranath Tagore was treated in Hungary for his cardiac ailment, and that he used to recall the memories of his visit to Hungary with much fondness and gratitude.
The most important target of our institute is to strengthen the cultural, scientific and educational relations between the two countries as well as to increase the existing ones. Our Institute is also responsible for certain tasks of cultural diplomacy. We assist Hungarian scholars and scientists in finding the right Indian partner institutions, and pay attention to scholars so that they can utilize their scholarships in the most efficient manner while being in India. Our Institute’s networking system facilitates research scientists and universities from Hungary and India to be able to contact each other, and also, that Hungarian and Indian ensembles can give guest performances in each other's countries. Hungarian language class students can learn Hungarian with the help of the Institute and the Embassy of Hungary as well, and some of them have become recognized translators by now.
Dear friends of the Hungarian culture, I hope to see you soon during one of our cultural events, visiting this webpage or the Institute’s Facebook page.