On December 4, 2005 the Culture of Peace Banner featuring the Banner of Peace and Manifesto 2000, fluttered in the light breeze above Crookety House, Kalimpong as visitors gathered for the opening of the Iternational Centre for Agni Yoga

The small hill station of Kalimpong is in the Darjeeling District of the Indian foothills of the Himalayas, close to the border with Sikkim, Nepal and Bhutan. Helena Roerich, who wrote down the Agni Yoga teachings, lived in Crookety House during the last years of her life, following the death of her husband, Nicholas.

In December, 2005 Crookety was opened by the Italian Community of Living Ethics, in co-operation with an Indian charity, Darjeeling Goodwill Animal Shelter Trust, as the International Centre for Agni Yoga. The Centre is a place for study, application and diffusion of Agni Yoga, according to the principles expressed by Helena Ivanova Roerich in her writings. It is a meeting place, where people promoting a new culture have the opportunity to deepen their knowledge of this Teaching.

The Centre was opened with a ceremony of joy and beauty. Around 70 invited guests (including the Russian and Italian Consuls from Calcutta and leaders of the Kalimpong community) assembled first at the hill-top stupa dedicated to Helena Roerich and then at Crookety House itself. It was a brilliant day. The sun was shining and the sacred mountain, Kanchenjunga, third highest mountain in the world, dominated the stunning views from the front lawn. Following a performance by a local string quartet, speeches, a tour of the house, and a wonderful lunch of Indian and Italian delicacies, a Tibetan Dance group from a local school entertained the visitors.