To commemorate the 225th birth anniversary of Russian poet Aleksandr Pushkin, the All-Russian State Library for Foreign Literature, named after MI Rudomino, hosted a teleconference between Russia and India. The theme of the teleconference was 'Reading is the best teaching. Reflections on Happiness.'

Pushkin has often been considered his country’s greatest poet and the founder of modern Russian literature.

According to TV BRICS, the fourth teleconference organised between Russia and India saw the highest number of participants. 

As reported by ANI, students and teachers from 20 higher education institutions across Delhi, Gujarat, Kerala, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana, West Bengal, Punjab, and Haryana took part in the teleconference.

These institutions included Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Delhi University (DU), the English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU) in Hyderabad, and Maharaja Sayajirao University in Vadodara.

During the teleconference, foreign participants explored the universal concept of happiness in Pushkin's works and recited his poems in Russian.

They also watched video sketches of locations where the Russian author lived and wrote, including Mikhailovsky, Zakharovo, Bolshiye Vyazem, and Prechistenka in Moscow, among others.

The General Director of the Library for Foreign Literature, Pavel Kuzmin, emphasised that literary works written in different languages would help representatives understand the vividity of cultures.

He further added, "We would like to tell about the culture of the BRICS countries and to find the common, deep traditions and human relations that are common to all the inhabitants of the BRICS countries. BRICS is first and foremost a community of people who share similar values."