Some of the delegations to the World Tourism Union conference at the reception of the Governor of New Delhi, wearing round their necks the traditional garlands of flowers; Lebanon's representative, Mr. Michel Touma, is seen in the third row (second from the left)

Last October the annual session of the International Tourism Union, which comprises 52 states, was held in India. Mr. Michel Touma, Commissioner of Tourism and Summering, was unanimously elected president of the International Tourism Union for the 1956 session — an event that was a great honor for Lebanon and a strengthening of its standing abroad, in view of the Union's international importance and the lofty station of its members in learning and specialization. We record here the talk Mr. Touma gave specially to "The Woman's Voice" about some of his impressions in the land of the Hindus.

— The Editors —

Garlands of blossom: The moment our feet touch the soil of India, at the airport or at the railway station, garlands of blossom reach out to us — white, sprinkled with color. They loop them around our necks in overflowing welcome; they hang down over the breast, and their perfume scents the air, that the visitor may remember that India is the land of peace and non-violence, and that a passion for beauty and art is a deep-rooted trait in the Indians.

The International Tourism Union: The meetings were held in the hall of the Indian Parliament. President Nehru opened them with an eloquent speech in English lasting about an hour and a quarter, and His Excellency the President of the Republic invited the delegations and the official bodies to a magnificent reception. The extreme warmth the guests met with left the greatest impression upon their souls, the more so as this warmth did not come merely by way of good hospitality, but was a showing forth of a people's life and a people's spirit from every side. What cause for astonishment and wonder were those organized excursions, by airplane or by special trains, across the far-flung wilds, in their unknown depths and the fullness of their solitude!

Benares — the holy city, where the devout bathe in the sacred river Ganges