Darjeeling, Oct. 31: The Hills are set to revive their Soviet connection.

Darjeeling Carnival 2005, to start from November 5, is getting ready to renew the almost forgotten cultural link between Russia and India, best advocated by cultural icon Nicholas Roerich.

If food, art and music were the focal theme of the previous years, the third annual ?residents? festival? is looking forward to carry on the indigenous culture beyond the geographic bounds of the country. It is being held by Darjeeling Initiative, an association of the residents of the Hill town. The highlight of the 10-day fair will be the Russian art and photography exhibition to be presented by Russian Cultural Centre.

Roerich ? the Russian painter who started his famous Roerich Expedition to Central Asia from India ? and his wife Helena had a special place in their hearts for Darjeeling and Kalimpong and it is only befitting that residents of the area have decided to honour the Roerichs. In an effort to spread Russian culture across the world, Roerich visited Darjeeling during the early 1920s, and even after his death at Kullu valley in 1947, his wife Helena lived in Kalimpong till her death.

?The Hill life was well portrayed in Roerich?s works like, Kanchenjunga, Sikkim Pass, His Country, The Great Spirit of the Himalayas and the Banners of the East series,? said Saheesh Prasad, an organiser of the fair.

?During the first two years, we concentrated on mobilising people to develop a community feeling. Now we want to take our culture beyond national boundaries,? said Samir Sharma, an organiser.

The celebrations will start every day around 10 am and will go on till 7.30 pm. In Pan Indian Cultural Show, a performance to be held every evening, the Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre of the Union cultural ministry will showcase the country?s rich culture through various forms of art.

Besides the usual array of food and flowers, the visitors will watch programmes that will flatter their cultural senses. The organisers have lined up a performance by Bharatnatyam dancers and sitar recitals by foreign students learning the forms of art.

Besides the DGHC, the municipality, the Darjeeling police, British Council and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations have decided to participate in the celebrations.