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The King’s Commissioner for Drenthe Ms Jetta Klijnsma and Mayor Jan van Zanen of Utrecht were the Guests of honour at India’s diplomatic reception hosted by Ambassador of India to the Netherlands, H.E. Mr. Venu Rajamony on 26th January to mark the 70th Republic Day of India.  The reception was held for the second consecutive year in the historic Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam, which is venue for Dutch royal investiture ceremonies, most recently that of King Willem Alexander in 2013.  This was also the venue of the royal wedding of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima.

Dutch dignitaries and Ambassadors of various countries stationed in The Hague, senior officials of the Dutch Government and prominent members of the Indian community attended the reception. The celebrations included a dance performance and playing of compositions by Indian maestros Dr. L Subramaniam and A R Rahman on the finest historic church organ of The Netherlands. The dance performance was an amalgamation of three of India’s popular classical dance styles, Odissi from the east, Kathak from the north and Bharatnatyam from the south, representing India’s diversity. Guests also had the opportunity to view the exhibition on “Buddha’s Life, Path to the Present” where the ancient and modern were spectacularly combined. The exhibition brought together thousand-year old objects and modern art. It included ancient sculptures from Japan, China, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, etc as well as contemporary exhibits by internationally renowned artists like Yoko Ono, Tony Feher, Alicia Framis, Tatsuo Miyajima etc.