Vietnamese enjoy TET

Vietnamese enjoy Tet in Laos, France, India, Sri Lanka, Chile

Posted: 11 Feb 2013 09:43 PM PST

A dance at the gathering in Chile

In the first days of the 2013 Year of the Snake, Vietnamese in Laos flocked to Phat Tich and Bang Long pagodas to ask for peace, wealth and luck, as well as to extend New Year greetings to each other.
It is also a chance for younger generations of Vietnamese in Laos to discover their culture.
They also prayed for the further development of the traditional relations between Laos and Vietnam, to make their work or business in Laos more comfortable.
On the first day of the Lunar New Year (February 10), a ceremony was held in Truc Lam Pagoda in Villebon-sur-Yvette , France , to pray for peace for Vietnamese people living in Paris and its neighbouring regions.
More than 300 people including Ambassador Duong Chi Dung participated in the ceremony hosted by Buddhist Monk Thich Phuong Duong.
After the ceremony, the visitors had a chance to enjoy Vietnamese vegetarian food provided by the pagoda.
On the same day, representatives of Vietnamese monks studying in India worked with the Vietnamese Embassy in the country to hold a ceremony to greet the New Year and ask for peace.
Ambassador Nguyen Thanh Tan wished the monks good health and briefed them on Vietnam’s achievements over the past year.
On the evening of February 9 (last day of the 2012 lunar year), the Vietnamese Embassy in Sri Lanka organised a ceremony to welcome the 2013 Lunar New Year.
Among the participants were guests from the host country, ambassadors and diplomatic representatives from a number of countries, overseas Vietnamese, and Vietnamese students.
In Chile, a warm gathering was held by the Vietnamese Embassy to bring in the New Year. It attracted not only overseas Vietnamese but also guests from the host country.
Ambassador Ha Thi Ngoc Ha highlighted achievements in the relations between Vietnam and Chile in 2012, including the highest ever rise in two-way trade, which reached US$561 million, an increase of 15.26% from 2011.
(VNA)

Hundreds people split their sides with Laughter, every morning

Hundred people split their sides with laughter every morning

VietNamNet Bridge – Every morning, hundreds of people grouped up behind King Ly Thai To statue, which faces Hoan Kiem Lake, to look at each other and are doubled up with laughter. This scene makes others curious.

Most of them are women who are at least at middle age. They are members of the Laughter Yoga Club, a new physical exercise recently imported into Vietnam from India.

The club’s chairman Le Anh Son (yellow) said that this type of Yoga is developed by an Indian doctor. It combines smiling exercises with Yoga breathing methodology. He added that five-minute practice of laughter yoga consumes energy equivalent to a 30-minute exercise with machines.

Over 100 members of the Laughter Yoga Club practice everyday at 6.15am. Members are requested to laugh cheerfully like kids.

This is a ‘warm-up’ laughter.

Laughter is spreading.

All people cannot control themselves. They all laugh as much as they can,  without any reason.

Grandmothers look like kids.

Ms. Hoa, 63, who has practiced this form of yoga for over one year, said that thanks to this yoga, she felt better and healthier.

A foreign man

They relax after laughing.

This girl is a little ‘scared’ seeing her mother’s ‘odd’ behaviors. The mother has to explain to her daughter.

After on hour of laughing, they say goodbye to see each other again the  next morning… to laugh.

Le Anh Dung

Indian arts exhibited in HCM City | Look At Vietnam

Indian arts exhibited in HCM City

July 2, 2012

LookAtVietnam – Twenty-nine paintings by 14 famous Indian artists are exhibited at the Ho Chi Minh City Art Museum.

The opening ceremony.

The exhibition “Kalpana – The Indian contemporary plastic works,” opened on June 29. Many Vietnamese painters and visitors attended the opening ceremony.
The event is co-organized by the Indian Consulate General in HCM City and the HCM City Art Museum to celebrate 40 years of Vietnam-India diplomatic relations.
With well-known painters such as Jamini Ray, Amrita Shergil and Maqbool Fida Husain, the exhibition brings Vietnamese art enthusiasts a blend of traditional and modern art.

Vietnamese painters at the exhibition.

These paintings are copy versions, drawing on the fabric material selected by reputable Indian artist, Anjolie Ela Menon. They reflect Indian art’s break away from the colonialist embrace to enter a new era of artistic expression, recognized and applauded worldwide.
The exhibition introduces visitors to the interference between classic and modern view of Indian artists.
Kalpana in Hindi language means “imagination.” Through colors, Indian artists also take visitors to the world of Indian street art, traditional toys, Hindu epics, Islamic decorations and people’s daily activities in small towns of India.
Director of the HCM City Arts Museum, Ms. Ma Thanh Cao, said that this is the first large-sized and high-quality exhibition to honor Indian artists in HCM City.
The exhibition will run until July 6.
Indian paintings at the exhibition:

Three women by Jogen Choudhury (1939).
“Ek Nayani” by Ramachandran (1935).

“Noon 2” by Anjolie Ela Menon.

“Baticalao” by Anjolie Ela Menon (1940).

“Mother and child ” by Jamini Roy (1887-1972).

“Brahmacharis” by Amrita Shergil (1913-1941).

“Verandah 2″ by K.G. Subramanyan.

“Embroiderer” by Arpana Caur (1954).

“Who are they” by Khrishen Khanna.

“Woman with a cat” by Manjit Bawa (1941-2009).

“Bright green sari” by Jogen Choudhury (1939).

“Diagonal” by Tyeb Mehta (1925).

“No name” by Manjit Bawa (1921-2009).

“Dharti” by Arpana Caur (1954).

“Malva night” by K.G. Subramanyan (1924).

“Bandwalla is practicing” by Krishen Khanna (1925).

“Make-up for bride” by Amrita Shergil.

“No name” by Bhupen Khakhar (1934-2003).

“The head” by F.N.Souza (1924-1999).

“Jesus Christ is crucified” by Jamini Roy (1887-1972).

“A farmer family” by M.F. Husain (1915).

“Thorn crown” by F.N.Souza (1924-1999).

Compiled by P. Lan

French ruled period advertisement Vietnam

Discovering advertisements in the French-ruled period

June 3, 2012

LookAtVietnam РThrough these advertisements, readers will discover interesting things in the life of the upper class in Vietnam one century ago. These advertisements come from a French magazine, Extr̻me-Asie, published in April 1927.

Advertisement for a photo shop, set up by Mr. Khanh Ky in 1907.

Fresh meat advertisement.

Advertisement for a pharmaceutical firm, established in 1920 by Louis Sarreau.

A ‘super-car’.

The advertisement for Langbian Palace Hotel in Da Lat.

An umbrella shows the position of the user and owning a ‘famous-brand’ umbrella is the dream of many people.

Advertisement of Brossard & Mopin, the oldest financial firm in Indochina.

This is advertisement of the Colonial Financial Corporation.

Soft drink was quite popular in the French-rule period.

Advertisement of the Charner shopping mall in Saigon.

Advertisement for an antique shop.

The Indochina Bank.

Advertisement for rubber products.

Belle Indochine