India and US share a common vision of peaceful and stable world : Richard Verma

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US Ambassador to India inaugurates renovated ORI building

US Ambassador to India Richard Verma being felicitated by University of Mysore Vice-Chancellor Prof. K.S. Rangappa with a Mysuru Peta, silk shawl, sandal garland and a memento (wood-inlay of the Crawford Hall) during the inauguration of the renovated building of Oriental Research Institute (ORI) in city last evening. Also seen are Director of ORI Dr. H.P. Devaki (extreme left) and Registrar of UoM Prof. C. Basavaraju.
US Ambassador to India Richard Verma being felicitated by University of Mysore Vice-Chancellor Prof. K.S. Rangappa with a Mysuru Peta, silk shawl, sandal garland and a memento (wood-inlay of the Crawford Hall) during the inauguration of the renovated building of Oriental Research Institute (ORI) in city last evening. Also seen are Director of ORI Dr. H.P. Devaki (extreme left) and Registrar of UoM Prof. C. Basavaraju.

 

Mysuru :

US Ambassador to India, Richard Verma inaugurated the renovated building of the Oriental Research Institute (ORI) here yesterday. The renovation was funded by the US Consulate, which had donated $50,000 in the year 2012.

Speaking on the occasion, Verma said that both India and the United States have entered into a ‘strategic plus’ phase in their relationship, sharing a common vision of a peaceful, prosperous and stable world. He further stated that the partnership is bolstered by people-to-people ties between the two nations and said, “How we work together to achieve a common vision defines our strategic plus partnership, be it with regard to economic and trade relations, energy, space, climate change, science and technology etc.”

The US Ambassador referred to the ancient Indian treatise of Arthashastra by Chanakya and said that Chanakya had told that a ‘true friend’ in international affairs was someone who shared common objectives and added that India and the US share democratic values and can be called ‘true friends,’ if they accept the wisdom of Chanakya.

Speaking at the programme, Vice-Chancellor of University of Mysore (UoM), Prof. K.S. Rangappa requested Verma to contribute $2,00,000 dollars for the restoration of various heritage buildings of the University.

The ORI now houses more than 30,000 paper and palm-leaf manuscripts and over 45,000 rare books. The items were put on display for the Ambassador including a rare manuscript of Chanakya’s Arthashastra, transliterated versions of the religious work commissioned by the then Maharaja of Mysuru, Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar and rare palm-leaf manuscripts with treatise on astronomy, medicine and mythology.

Looking at the manuscripts, Verma said that he was thrilled to see the only copy of the Arthashastra in Mysuru.

Registrar of UoM Prof. C. Basavaraju and Director of ORI Dr. H.P. Devaki were present during the VIP’s visit.

Richard’s Mysuru Connection

It might be surprising to know that the US Ambassador to India, Richard Verma has a closer connection with Mysuru than we had thought.

Richard’s sister Roma Murthy is married to Bala Murthy from Mysuru. Bala Murthy’s father late N. Narasimha Murthy was the former Principal of National Institute of Engineering (NIE).

Speaking after the inauguration of the renovated ORI building, Verma said that it was a great honour to be in the city where he was able to meet some of his family members. He recalled that his father, who went to the US to pursue a Master’s degree in English Literature, had a close interaction with scholars of the Department of English, UoM.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / Wednesday – April 01st, 2015

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