‘Passage to India’ festival at MIA Park from Jan 16
Indian Cultural Centre (ICC) in association with the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) and the Indian embassy will be organising, ‘Passage to India’, a community festival at MIA Park on January 16 and 17.
“A grand culmination to the Qatar-India 2019 Year of Culture, showcasing India’s cultural diversity and grandeur, the festival will be opened by ambassador P Kumaran on January 16,” ICC president A P Manikantan announced yesterday.
“One of the major attractions of the festival will be a replica of Red Fort, a historic monument in the Indian capital, New Delhi,” ICC general secretary Seenu Pillai explained at a press conference. There will be more than 35 stalls at the event, including many serving different types of Indian food.
Over 10,000 visitors are expected to attend the event each day, according to Manikantan. “Previous editions of the festival were held in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2016. We had large participation of the community members as well as other nationals in these editions. We expect the same this year and the footfall is likely to go up,” he said.
K M Varghese, chairman, ICC Advisory Board, noted that there is a proposal to honour Indian businessmen who have been in Qatar for 40 years or more. “We are working out the modalities of the proposal. If we can reach out to such people, we hope to honour them during the festival,” he stated.
According to Nayana Wagh, head, Cultural and Educational Activities, ICC, there will be a number of cultural programmes during the two-day event. “It will cater to artistic tastes of our audience. Around 650 people are expected to perform in the events,” she added.
ICC officials Nirmala Shanmugapadian (cultural co-ordinator), Jaffarkhan M (head of premises, HR& Sports), Bhumeshwar Padala (head of consular services and external events), and Mohsin P (head of affiliation and membership) were also present.