"The centre will fulfil the long-felt demands of both local Indian and Ukrainian people alike who are interested to know more about Indian philosophy, art, classical dances and literature etc. In due time the centre will act as a strong bridge between the two great countries," said Jyoti S. Pande, the Indian ambassador to Ukraine while inaugurating the centre.

 He congratulated Kasturi and Rajesh Saraiya for taking the initiative to fund the centre from their own London-based foundation.

 "The couple has taken great pains to establish this centre and they deserve our utmost cooperation," added the ambassador.

 Pande, who himself is a great exponent of Indian classical music for decades, has been a guiding star ever since he landed in the Ukrainian capital nine months ago.

 With his resources he has procured the services of Gulfam Ahmad, a noted sarod and rabab player and of RS Thakur, a rennowned tabla player.

 Both these artists will come for three months annually to teach the classical music to the budding artists.

The centre has been also affiliated to the Mumbai based-Bharatiya Vidhya Bhawan which has been promoting Indian philosophy both in India and abroad for the past seven decades.

"The establishment of the centre will be a big boon for the students and scholars alike who have been longing to know more about India and its multi-facet dimensions. There is big craze to learn Indian music and dance. Similarly there is a demand to read Indian poetry and literature," said Shailesh Purohit, a noted businessman and a poet too.

Incidentally both Kasturi and Rajesh had come as students in 1986 and with the collapse of communism and the disintegration of the Soviet Union, they became interested in business.

With great labor and dedication they established a Steel Mont Trading company which has made them one of top-most entrepreneurs in Ukraine and many other countries. But their love for Indian culture has never deserted them.

"Today we have fulfilled a long-cherished dream. What we got from India and Ukraine, it is our moral obligation to pay back to these two great cultures with our modest way. Sky is the limit to promote India but we have taken a right step in the right direction" said Kasturi and Rajesh to this visiting correspondent.