The Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry (BIMP) of University of Connecticut in Storrs will present a puppet play “Arjuna’s Meditation” from ancient Hindu Sanskrit epic Mahabharata in May. The play will be directed by Ms Jody Diamond and performed by Mr Matthew Cohen (scholar and Javanese shadow puppet performer) with Gamelan Si Betty (Harvard University), this classic Javanese puppet play is co-sponsored by Asian and Asian American Studies Institute. Arjuna is a hero in Mahabharata, the longest poem ever written comprising over 100,000 couplets.

Hindu statesman Mr Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada commended the University of Connecticut for highlighting Hindu heritage. Mr Rajan Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, urged major universities of the world; including Harvard, Oxford, Stanford, Cambridge, Princeton, UC Berkeley, Yale, Columbia, Toronto, Tokyo and Melbourne to frequently organize Hinduism focused exhibitions-plays-films-other media, thus sharing rich philosophy-concepts-symbols-traditions of this oldest religion with the rest of the world. If they needed any assistance, he or other Hindu scholars would gladly help, Mr Zed added.

BIMP; besides over 2,500 puppets from all over the world; has the largest collection of videotapes, films, and other media about puppetry in USA. Its puppetry exhibitions tour across USA and John Bell is the Director. University of Connecticut, founded 1881, is one of the top public research universities and ranks among the top 20 public universities in the nation. It offers 78 research and professional practice fields of study, 106 undergraduate majors and 6 professional degree programs to over 31,000 students. Ms Susan Herbst is currently the President of the University of Connecticut.