Abu Dhabi: The 2009 Indo Arab Cultural festival was officially launched on Thursday evening with joint calls for better fusion of cultures.
"Festivals such as this help develop one to one contacts with people& and this is the best outcome. Exchanges of ideas and interaction between people belonging to different cultures help nurture better relations," said Ahmad Shabeeb Al Daheri, Deputy Speaker of the Federal National Council, at the opening ceremony.
The festival was organised by the Kerala Social Centre (KSC) and is being held at its premises. A packed audience, comprising an interesting mix of Arabs and Indians, witnessed the festival's third edition.
"Humans cannot survive in harmony unless they evolve into one unity with fused cultures. Differences must be forgotten and love must be fostered between humans, irrespective of nationality, language, religions, regional or cultural differences," said renowned Indian novelist C. Radhakrishnan.
"In the past, cultural exchanges were harder, but now the world has shrunk into a smaller place. Science and technology has made it possible to travel to any part in the world within hours and to contact any person within a few seconds," he noted.
K.B. Murali, KSC president, said that though there were good economic and diplomatic relations between Indo-Arab countries, cultural interaction had not yet been attained at desirable levels.
"As a socio-cultural organisation, our mission is to initiate this dialogue," he said.
Lebanese scholar Professor Mitri Boulous, also spoke on the 'Indian affection towards Khalil Gibran'.
Fete: Building bridges
What: Indo-Arab Cultural festival 2009
When: February 26 to March 7
Where: Kerala Social Centre
For schedule visit: www.indoarabculturalfest.com
Will you be attending the festival? What are you looking forward to the most?
