(MENAFN- The Peninsula) The Peninsula
Doha: Qatar Cultural and Literature Festival concluded on a high note yesterday with the participation of prominent luminaries such as famous Indian singer Mika Singh and bestselling author Chetan Bhagat.
The festival launched on Thursday with a concert by Singh who enthralled the audience at Katara Drama Theatre performing some of his hit songs while Bhagat opened the second day of the event with an engaging session on ‘Making a Nation Read.'
Among the key features of the two-day festival held at Katara Cultural Village were cultural performances, panel discussions and book launches.
Organised in line with Qatar-India 2019 Year of Culture, the festival brought the two countries closer through art and culture with speakers coming from both countries including Bollywood actor Vindu Dara Singh, acid attack survivor and motivational speaker Laxmi Agarwal, Qatari artist Amal Al Aathem and Doha-based artist Rashmi Agarwal, to name a few.
'I am very excited to see this combination of two such rich cultures on the same platform. We did not just have speakers from India but we also had speakers from Doha. Seeing them having a conversation on various important issues was very interesting. We all are one at heart and with this festival we have shared our feelings and our rich cultures with each other and got to know each other in a better way, said Ruhi Ganguly, Festival Producer and CEO of Question Associates Pvt. Ltd.
Festival Director and award-winning author Anamika Mishra, who was in Doha for the first time, said she had fallen in love with the city and its people.
'I felt privileged to direct this festival as we got to see an interesting amalgamation of two different cultures on our platform. It also feels great to see such a positive response from the people of Qatar for our show. We had an amazing event with a lovely audience from Doha, said Mishra.
Other members of the organising team were of the same view, lauding the great support extended to them in Doha.
‘The people of Doha are really friendly and supportive. We didn't face any problem despite having different languages and culture. I believe our festival was all about the same. We come from diverse backgrounds but that didn't stop us in communicating and exchanging ideas. With this festival, we created a benchmark, said Festival Producer Ankit Satija.
‘Being a coordinator of this festival, at first I thought I would have a hard time in coordinating because we were working from India but I was surprised to see the level of support that we got from Doha. People who connected with us from Doha had made it easier for me to work for the event. I am humbled to see the response and excitement in both the nations, said Festival Coordinator Deepali Verma.
Among the other highlights of the festival were a poetry performance by actor, singer and poet Piyush Mishra, a musical theatre and panel discussions that delved into significant topics including ‘Empower Women, Empower Society,' ‘Impact of Culture on Writing Books' and ‘Cinema and Cultural Difference.'
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