ABHIJIT KALITA,
GUWAHATI,Nov 9 : Girijananda Chowdhury University in Azara has successfully organized Japan Carnival 2024 in collaboration with Japan Foundation, New Delhi, at the Guwahati campus on 8th and 9th of November.
The one-of-its-kind festival was endeavoured by the Department of English and Foreign Languages, Girijananda Chowdhury University to celebrate the rich tapestry of Japanese cultural heritage while fostering deeper ties between the two great nations, India and Japan, through art, costumes, and traditional performances.
The Japan Carnival celebrated various facets of Japanese life and culture, including traditional games, Yukata fashion (a traditional Japanese dress), movie screenings and Cosplay (a portmanteau of ‘costume’ and ‘play’).
The term refers to a performance art which consists of people dressing up as colourful characters and acting out scenes from popular culture, including anime, manga, TV series, music performances and video games. In addition, mini-lessons in Japanese were offered on stage by GCU students, including lessons in Hiragana script and numbers, as well as exercises in naming family members and performing basic classroom expressions in Japanese. An interactive quiz on Japanese history, geography and culture was also held during the event.
The Carnival kickstarted on 8th November with Jasoda Ranjan Das, President, SSA Society, delivering a warm welcome address in which he noted a remarkable aspect of Japanese society. While Japan has made great advancements in science and technology, it remains famous all over the world for its arts, culture and traditions, a double achievement that can serve as a model for other nations.
Prof. Kandarpa Das, Vice Chancellor, GCU, subsequently spoke about the long and robust friendship which India and Japan have shared over the years and decades. Prof. Das noted that GCU has keenly strived to bridge the information scarcity in India about Japan by giving students the opportunity to learn and celebrate Japanese language and culture, particularly through significant efforts undertaken by Nozomi Tokuma (Assistant Professor, ENFL). Moreover, the University also aims to start a full-fledged BA and MA course in Japanese in the near future.
The event featured addresses by two honoured guests Takashi Kobayashi of the Embassy of Japan and Koji Sato, Director General, Japan Foundation. The visitors from the Land of the Rising Sun in turn commended GCU’s efforts in sharing and celebrating Japan’s rich language and culture with the wider world through unique efforts such as the Japan Carnival and the introduction of full-fledged Japanese courses. In addition, Kobayashi, First Secretary, PR & Culture, Embassy of Japan, gave an insightful presentation on the various scholarship and exchange programmes available for students from India, including the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) programme and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology scholarship programme (MEXT).
