By Sajeev K Peter
KUWAIT: Embassy of India, Kuwait yesterday hosted a day-long cultural event titled 'Splendors of India-Festival in Kuwait', showcasing India's cultural diversity and some well-known Indian products that are available in Kuwait. The festival was held at Kuwait's prestigious Dar Al-Athar Al-Islamiyyah Museum-Yarmouk Cultural Centre and was part of the ongoing year-long celebrations, marking 60th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between Kuwait and India and 75th anniversary year of India's independence.
Indian Ambassador Sibi George inaugurated the day-long festival in the presence of Kamel Abdul Jalil, secretary general of National Council of Culture and Arts (NCCAL), Ahmad Bastaki (Kuwait Investment Authority), embassy officials, exhibition participants and visitors. The event consisted of 'Teas of India' exhibition, book exhibition, demonstration of Indian martial arts, live music and dance performances and screening of select Bollywood films.
"This is part of our self-reliant India (Aatmanirbhar India) and 3T (trade, technology and tourism) series of events we organize regularly at the embassy. I am confident that today's festival will further help build our partnership with Kuwait at both economic and cultural levels. It will further inspire our Kuwaiti friends to make India as their next tourism destination," the ambassador said in his inaugural address.
The ambassador dedicated yesterday 'Splendors of India' festival to more than fifty thousand Indian school children who are studying in various Indian schools in Kuwait. "I recall the many challenges our children faced during the pandemic. The pandemic deprived them of two years of their childhood. Despite the challenges, they have managed an extraordinarily academic year with extraordinary resilience and understanding. Now that they are back to school, I wish them all a very successful academic year 2022. In coming weeks and months, I hope to connect directly with our children, our teachers and parents," he said.
The embassy will shortly launch a registration drive of all Indian children enabling them to connect with the embassy directly, he said. The ambassador said the embassy had a series of cultural and business events in collaboration with various organizations and institutions in Kuwait since the launch of the yearlong celebrations in June last year during the visit of India's External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar. He also recalled the MoU the embassy signed with NCCAL for year-long cultural events and the joint events both Kuwait and India held together.
"I am happy to see the huge turnover at today's festival and the overwhelming response from the participants," the ambassador told the Kuwait Times on the sidelines of the exhibition. He said the embassy is enrolling participants only through registration and strictly following the COVID-19 health protocol. Later in the evening, the embassy honored Indian students and artists who have been participating in the various cultural events organized by the embassy during 2021.