Photo: Courtesy of Ling Yue

A "Pray for India" event was held in Beijing on Saturday to show support for people suffering in India amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The event involved more than 40 people, including Chinese people working in media and diplomacy, as well as Indians living in China.

The prayer event was held by the Brahma and Huaxia Cultural Exchange Association, a folk communication organization between China and India. 

Ling Yue, a yoga teacher who works with the Art of Livings fund, led those attending the event in a classical Sanskrit chanting prayer for India and the world to overcome the pandemic as soon as possible.

Lin Yaqun, the wife of Zhang Lizhong, former consul general of China in Kolkata, recalled her life in the city. She said she spent a great deal of time writing poetry or painting around the city, which allowed her to understand herself better. She said her time there helped awaken her inner potential, opening doors one after another that had been closed to her, and that her life was now richer for it.

Photo: Courtesy of Ling Yue

As a representative of Chinese media, Zhang Ou, China's first chief correspondent in India, shared his thoughts and feelings about his time in India during the pandemic, noting that he participated in public welfare projects to assist medical facilities in the country

Some Indian people attended the event and prayed with the Chinese together. Sid from India, founder of a fund that has long been committed to promoting Indian folk music and who has organized several Indian classical music festivals in China, came to Beijing from Shanghai to join in the event.

The event also set up a liaison platform to help employees of Chinese-funded enterprises, overseas Chinese students and other compatriots in India, as well as the Indian people to fight against the pandemic.