Qatar: More than 1200 audiences witnessed a very lavish cultural festival of Indian folk forms at La Cigale Hotel conducted in commemoration of the 68th Republic Day of India by Indian Cultural Centre (ICC). The programme involved various cultural shows staged by Indian schools and affiliated organisations of ICC.
The event brought together leaders from different organisations of Indian community. Ambassador of India to the State of Qatar P Kumaran was the chief guest. On the occasion, he conveyed his wishes to over 650,000 Indians staying in Qatar. He said, “India is a nation where diverse cultures and races are co-exist. India as a nation has come a long way since the independence and now is the fourth largest economy in the world in terms of purchasing power parity. We have so many reasons to celebrate today. Many developed and developing countries are envious of India due to its growth in the field of IT, highly skilled human resources and a good education system.” He also appreciated the efforts of Indian Cultural Centre for conducting such programmes and promised all the support to strengthen ICC further for the benefit of the community.
The gathering was also addressed by ICC President Milan Arun, General Secretary Juttas Paul and Guest of Honour Khalid Al Hamadi, Senior Director at Ooredoo. Milan Arun welcomed the gathering and lauded the performances by all the artistes, affiliated organisations and schools in the cultural programme. She also stated that ““Republic Day Cultural Programme is one of the flagship extravaganzas of Indian Cultural Centre which reaches out to different strata of Indians based in Qatar to come forward and mark together this special day with festivities displaying our rich culture and heritage. ICC thus, also provides a platform for the talented diverse Indians hailing from various parts of our glorious country to portray their hidden and unfulfilled cultural aspirations left behind when they crossed over the shores in search of greener pastures.” The last year’s activity report of ICC was presented by Juttas Paul. Khalid Al Hamadi appreciated the Indian community for the service it is providing to the country of Qatar and reiterated the support of Ooredoo to the community.
Pravasi Bharatiya Samman 2017 awardee Dr. R Seetharaman was also felicitated on the occasion. ICC Vice President A P Manikantan spoke about the contributions of Dr. R Seetharaman to the community and Qatar in general. On behalf of Indian community ICC President Milan Arun, ICBF President Devis Edukulathur, IBPN President K M Varghese and ISC President Nilangshu Dey together handed over the memento. On behalf of Dr. Seetharaman, his wife Sangeetha Seetharaman received the honours.
Immediate past managing committee members of ICC were also felicitated during the programme. ICC Head of Education Dr. Nayna Wagh, led the felicitation function and Ambassador P Kumaran gave away the mementos to the past managing committee members.
During the event, a souvenir highlighting the activities of ICC was also released. This function was led by Head of Counsellor Services K S Prasad and souvenir was released by Ambassador P Kumaran and Khalid Al Hamadi. ICC Joint Secretary Sriraja Vijayan proposed a vote of thanks.
The cultural programmes presented by various affiliated organisations and Indian schools included folk programmes such as Garba, Kavadiyattam, Karakattam, Nagpuri folk, Silambattam, Therukooth, Kuravan Kurathi, Jhumur folk dance, Tarpa dance, Margam Kali, Mylanji, Lambadi folk dance, Telugu folk dance, Adivasi tribal dance, Dandiya, Kolkali, Lezhim dance, Tulu folk dance and Lavni dance. These programmes provided a glimpse of the cultural diversity of India during the function.
The cultural programmes were headed by ICC Head of Cultural Activities Vishal J Mehta and coordinated by ICC Managing Committee members Dr. Nayna Wagh, Girish Jain, Sriraja Vijayan, K S Prasad, Niyaz Ahmed, Advocate Jaffar Khan M, Anjan Ganguly and other leaders of the affiliated organisations.
Indian Cultural Centre is the official body of Indian expatriate community functioning under the aegis of Embassy of India for the purpose of advancement of social, cultural and education activities of the Indian community in Qatar. ICC is also the platform to serve the interest of almost 650,000 Indians residing in Qatar. The proclaimed objective of ICC includes promoting the rich Indian culture among Qatari nationals and expatriates of all other nationalities living in Qatar. Further, ICC is committed to function as a body of Indian Embassy to strengthen the deep-rooted Indo-Qatar friendship and cultural relationship. There are more than 100 different Indian organisations functioning under ICC on various fields.
