At the centre of controversy, the three-day World Cultural Festival received a huge vote of confidence from Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he called it the 'Kumbh Mela of culture', heaping praise on Sri Sri Ravi Shankar for his role in familiarising the world to India's rich spiritual and artistic heritage.
"I congratulate Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's effort of 35 years which has helped in spreading India's culture and values to over 150 countries in the world", Modi said to applause of a huge gathering of members of Art of Living Foundation
The Prime Minister's endorsement of the efforts of Sri Sri rang out loud on a day when the festival continued to face strong criticism in Parliament with JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav even demanding that Sri Sri Ravi Shankar be sent to jail for challenging the penalty imposed by the National Green Tribunal.
However, the PM remained unfazed by the controversy on account of the festival being organized on the ecologically sensitive Yamuna flood plains, when he arrived at the sprawling venue and enthusiastically waving at the massive audience.
Speaking before thousands who braved light showers and bumper-to-bumper traffic to arrive at the venue, the Prime Minister underlined the importance of India's soft power by quoting an anecdote from his visit to Mongolia. "A reception was organized for me at a stadium by the Art of Living. There were very few Indians among the crowds. Most of the audience was Mongolians, but some waved the Indian tricolour. This was a salute to India's cultural legacy to the world."
The National Green Tribunal on Friday cleared the decks for the event and gave Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's foundation three more weeks to pay Rs 5 crore in damages for holding the festival on the Yamuna floodplains. But the green court took exception to Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's earlier refusal to pay the fine, saying when a person of his stature makes such statements, it hits the rule of law.
However, these concerns seemed distant from the audience which was enthralled by a wide medley of performances--from Vedic chants to South American troupes singing "Sitaram, sitaram". Sitting on the dais along with Sri Sri and the PM, were political dignitaries from Sri Lanka, Nepal, France, Russia, the European Parliament among many others. Rajya Sabha deputy chairperson P J Kurien was also there, while Delhi government was represented by tourism minister Kapil Mishra, with chief minister Arvind Kejriwal now expected to visit the festival on Sunday.
The Prime Minister summarised the philosophy behind the Art of Living movement: "There is no art to acquiring material needs. When you keep to your principles, when you follow your dreams, when you fight challenges, when you live for others, that's when you need the Art of Living."
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