Poland–India Cultural Bridge Awards
Every year, Fundacja MMEI presents the Poland–India Cultural Bridge Awards to people and institutions whose life and work have brought Poland and India closer together: artists, scholars, teachers, translators, community leaders and organisations.
The Awards are part of the Foundation’s work to promote culture and cooperation between Poland and other countries. Their partner is TABP, The Association of Bengalis in Poland.
From nomination to gala
1. Nomination
Anyone can propose a person or institution. Nomination dates and the nomination address will be published here.
2. Jury
A jury appointed by the Foundation reviews the nominations and selects the laureates.
3. Gala
Laureates receive their awards at the Foundation’s annual gala in Warsaw.
Award categories
- Outstanding Contribution to Indo-Polish Cultural Relations
- Promotion of Bengali Culture in Poland
- Promotion of Indian Arts & Culture in Poland
- Special Recognition
Key dates
- 2026 gala: Warsaw, 17 October 2026
- 2027 nominations: dates to be announced
2026 laureates
Each laureate receives a crystal trophy bearing the Foundation’s emblem: two roads rising from an open book in the colours of Poland and India, carrying a shared world between them.
Indologist at the University of Warsaw, where she has taught Hindi since 1984 and has headed the Chair of South Asian Studies. Author of the first Polish-language textbook of Hindi and of The Infinite Story, a study of the Rāmāyaṇa tradition in Hindi literature, she has shaped generations of Polish specialists on India.
For over four decades, from 1973 to 2015, she taught Bengali at the University of Warsaw, training generations of specialists on West Bengal and Bangladesh. A former scholar at Visva-Bharati in Santiniketan, she has translated Bengali literature into Polish and was the scholarly editor of the Tagore anthology Poeta świata (2011).
Kathak dancer, teacher and choreographer, and one of the first to promote Indian classical dance in Poland. An ICCR scholar, she trained at Kathak Kendra in New Delhi under Pt. Jai Kishan Maharaj, and today teaches at the Museum of Asia and the Pacific in Warsaw, bringing Indian dance to stages and classrooms across the country.
The 2026 gala
The 2026 awards were presented at the Foundation’s gala in Warsaw on 17 October 2026, on the Durgotsav Poland stage.
