Last Update: April 28, 2023, 01:15 AM IST
Dr MN Nandakumara has been awarded an Honorary MBE “for services to the teaching, performance and outreach of Indian classical arts in the UK”. (Image: Bhavan/Twitter)
Dr. MN Nandkumar, a resident of Mattur village in Karnataka, has been associated with the building for 46 years.
A renowned UK Sanskrit scholar and executive director of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Center in London has been awarded an honorary MBE by King Charles III for services to Indian classical arts in the UK.
Dr MN Nandakumar, who hails from Mattur village in Karnataka, has been associated with the building for 46 years and has on several occasions welcomed Charles – the then Prince of Wales – to the popular Indian cultural centre.
The honorary award granted by the British monarch to foreign nationals for their contribution to public life was confirmed by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) earlier this month and formally awarded at a ceremony later. Will go
We are thrilled that Dr MN Nandakumar, Executive Director of the Bhavan, has now become an Honorary MBE for services to the teaching, performance and outreach of Indian classical arts in the UK. pic.twitter.com/RLwEvZl3si— Bhavan (@BhavanLondon) April 14, 2023
Honorary Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) has been awarded “for services to the teaching, performance and outreach of Indian classical arts in the UK”.
“I am truly honored and humbled; I am most happy as this award is a recognition of Bhavan’s work and service in the field of Indian art and culture and this has come when we are celebrating our 50th anniversary this year.
“The King himself has visited the building four times and has always shown immense interest in the classes conducted by us. On one occasion, the then Prince of Wales sat on the carpet with our tabla player and tried his hand at the tabla,” he shared.
Charles first visited the building when its main auditorium was named after his beloved uncle, Lord Mountbatten – the last Viceroy of India.
The centre, registered with the Charity Commission in England as Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, conducts a range of classes including yoga, Indian languages, dance and music.
It had 900 students enrolled in its classes before the COVID pandemic and while that number has dropped somewhat due to the switch to online classes, its chief is confident of a boost in the coming months as she looks to increase youth learning. Let’s see the interest. About Indian Art and Culture.
“Our center is not just for Indians or the Indian diaspora but for anyone and everyone as we work on Gandhian principles. In fact, 95 per cent of our yoga classes are European students and all other classes are equally mixed There is appeal,” said Dr Nandakumar – known to his disciples as Nandji.
His association with the building dates back to the 1970s, when he joined the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London as a Sanskrit teacher while completing his PhD, and has been its executive director since 1995.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)
