After 22 hours of flight, 17 hours in transit and a four-hour drive from capital Santo Domingo, I reached a picturesque paradise city called Punta Cana on the easternmost tip of Dominican Republic.
The Dominican Republic, not to be confused with Dominica in West Indies, is a Caribbean nation which forms an island called Hispaniola with its neighbouring country Haiti. These are part of a series of islands known as the Greater Antilles. Area-wise it is the second largest Carib nation after Cuba. Capital Santo Domingo, named after patron Saint Dominic, has a population of about 30 lakh.
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| At the Punta Cana beach |
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| At J W Marriott in San Domingo |
Punta Cana abuts the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean and is known for its thirty-two kilometres stretch of beaches and clear waters. The Bávaro area and Punta Cana combine to form the Coconut Coast - an area of lavish, all-inclusive resorts. It is popular for zip-lining, windsurfing, kayaking and sailing.
I spent a few hours at the J W Marriott Hotel in Santo Domingo. This hotel was awarded the best luxury city hotel in the Americas by Trip Advisor’s 2017 Traveler’s Choice Awards.
This was the first time I visited the Dominican Republic main agenda was to attend the 42nd WFUNA Plenary Assembly being hosted in Punta Cana in October (2018).
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| 42nd WFUNA Plenary 2018 |
Every three years WFUNA Plenary Assembly brings together representatives from over seventy United Nations Associations from all over the world. The plenary session was preceded by a seminar on “Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies” as well as capacity-building sessions on a variety of topics.
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| Presenting a portrait of Mother Teresa to Mr Leonel Fernandez, former President of the Dominican Republic |
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| 2nd Day of 42nd WFUNA plenary |
At the plenary, Mr Leonel Fernandez, former President of Dominican Republic, was elected the new WFUNA President. Ambassador Park Soo-Gil of Korea passed on the baton to Fernandez after serving as president for nine years. It was nice to meet them both in person during the sessions. I congratulated the new President of WFUNA and presented him with a portrait of Mother Teresa.
The Third WFUNA Global Youth Forum was also held in conjunction with the plenary assembly at the Palms Beach Hotel of Punta Cana. The hotel brags a gorgeous convention centre and five hundred rooms and suites with stunning views.
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| With Lumi Lizardo |
The Dominican Republic was under Spanish rule for 300 years and declared independence in 1821. It was occupied by the USA between 1916 and 1924 (for eight years). Since 1996 Dominican Republic moved towards representative democracy. In the past 20 years, the country has had one of the fastest growing economies in the Americas. Recent growth has been due to construction, manufacturing, tourism and mining.
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| At Pranama - Indian Restaurant in Punta Cana |
I visited Indian restaurant Pranama located at Bavaro in Punta Cana. Pranama, owned and run by Krishna and Maria, is the only restaurant in the Dominican Republic serving authentic Indian cuisine.
It was a pleasure to meet Maria with whom I was in touch with before my trip over email and phone and her warmth and I was very touched as she had very kindly offered that if I had a problem finding time to go to her restaurant, she will be happy to send my dal/roti to the resort as well.
In my overseas visits, I come across many Indians whose Indianism and love and care for Indians has touched my heart, Maria’s husband, Krishna is, of course, one of them.
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| With Maria who runs Indian restaurant 'Pranama' with her husband |
Maria and Krishna met each other in Switzerland while studying Hospitality Management in a well-known school and they were good friends. After completing their studies, Krishna came back to his home town in Hyderabad and then visited Punta Cana to meet Maria for his holidays. Krishna has fallen in love with this place. When he visited Maria for his holidays they both decided to get married.
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| With Leonel Fernandez, Antonio Lama and Dharmendra Basita |
Krishna loved Punta Cana so much that he decided to stay there and that gave birth to this beautiful Indian restaurant “Pranama”. I have not only enjoyed the food at “Pranama” but also was interested in the décor of the restaurant.
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| WFUNA Executive Committee Meeting in progress |
The credit for the interior décor goes to Maria’s mother who did all the paintings herself. The décor of the restaurant is a reflection of Indian art and culture. Indian motifs and pictures of Indian gods and goddesses further enhanced the Indianness of the place.
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| With Petra Hallebrant and Anne Borjesson |
Krishna always had a special touch and feeling for cooking and he further honed up his skills working for almost 10 years in the Swiss restaurant industry. He very well knows how to balance the flavours for non-Indians. The couple together cooks vegetarian and non-vegetarian food. The Pranama restaurant has a real tandoor where they make all kinds of tandoori dishes, including naans. Apart from the restaurant the couple also runs catering services, especially for Indian weddings, in the hotels nearby.
I was very impressed by Maria’s knowledge about India and Indian cuisine. Maria also took me around to show me Punta Cana and I never felt that this was the first time I was meeting her.
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| With Park Soo-Gil and Bonian Gulmohammadi |
As far as the Indian community in Punta Cana is concerned apart from Krishna there are two other Indian, one has a tour operator agency and the other is a Chef working for a five-star hotel.
Before coming to Punta Cana on the way I met Amit Shah who is one of the very few Indians to come and settle at Juan Dolio, a small beach town located an hour’s drive from the capital city of Santo Domingo, some 18 years ago. Juan Dolio, with a 10-kilometre white sand beach, is a weekender’s throng.
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| With Fernando Gonzales Nicholas |
I had quite a few meetings notably with Mr Fernando Gonzales Nicholas the first Honorary Consul of India in the Dominican Republic and the newly appointed Honorary Consul of India, Mr Antonio Lama.
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| With Antonio Lama, Honorary Consul General of India in the Dominican Republic |
As Punta Cana is also emerging as a marriage destination for NRIs settled in North America, I am sure in a couple of years Punta Cana will host many big fat Indian weddings.
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| Dinner with Amit Shah at Juan Dolio |
During my evening with Maria, I told her that you have an Indian restaurant in a city of three-and-a-half Indians; as there are three Indians in the city and since she is married to an Indian, she is half Indian as well.
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| With Maria Baquiro |
The Dominican Republic is a tropical paradise, all sun, sand and sea. An ideal place to unwind and host events.
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