Exhibition ‘IndiaHaven: Poles in India during World War II’ at the National School of Drama in New Delhi
The official opening of the exhibition ‘IndiaHaven: Poles in India during World War II’ (IndiaHaven: Poles in India during World War II) took place on 20th November 2024 at the National School of Drama in New Delhi. The exhibition is a collaboration between the Polish Institute in New Delhi and the Nil Desperandum Foundation. It presents individual stories of Poles deported from the Eastern Borderlands in three waves in 1940 who found a second homeland in India for the duration of the Second World War. It celebrates the bond between the Polish and Indian people- a connection that began over 80 years ago when the Maharajas of Nawanagar and Kolhapur, along with local communities, welcomed Poles escaping the Soviet Union.
Monika Kowaleczko-Szumowska, Dr Magdalena Filipczuk, Deputy Director of IPNDE, and Dr Krzysztof Korżyk curated the exhibition. It was designed by Dr Witold Modrzejewski, and graphically designed by Tomasz Żyłko. The exhibition was produced in cooperation with Cinema4good.
Highlights of the evening included a speech and recitation of Wisława Szymborska’s poem by Guest of Honour, Abhay K. ICCR Deputy Director; a touching speech by Guest of Honour Aircommodore Surendra Tyagi who joined us from Jamnagar and a welcome speech by Chargé d’affaires dr. Sebastian Domżalski. For this occasion, Apeksha Niranjan from Nrityanjali Performing Arts prepared Bharatanatyam performance which told the story of Polish refugees, including her grandmother Wanda Nowicka.
At the exhibition’s inauguration, 14 representatives from the First High School ‘Bednarska’, named after the Good Maharaja, were present.
Also, present at the opening were Dorota Kuźniarska from the Magdalena Abakanowicz University of Arts in Poznań, Dr Witold Modrzejewski, and Monika Kowaleczko-Szumowska, thanks to whom the opening of the exhibition was accompanied by various workshops for Indian students.
The event was part of celebrating 70 years of diplomatic relations between Poland and India.
The exhibition will be on display at the National School of Drama until 7 December 2024.
Photo: Indian Institute of Photography
