India Social & Cultural Centre hosts 'India Fest 2012' in Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi, February 6: India Social & Cultural Centre (ISC) Abu Dhabi hosted a three-day 'India Fest 2012' at their premises in Abu Dhabi which was inaugurated by H.E. M.K. Lokesh, Ambassador of India to UAE on February 2.

Chief Guest H.E. Lokesh took tour of the India fest fair through the stalls of exhibitors along with the President of ISC Ramesh Panicker, Cultural Secretary of the Embassy of India, Anuka Chakravarty who was instrumental in bringing cultural troupe from India, Sudhir Kumar Shetty, CEO Global – UAE Exchange Centre, Yogesh Prabhu, Honorary Treasurer and M. Jayaram Rai, Honorary Auditor and other co-members of the executive board of ISC. India Fest 2012 is being supported by Cultural Wing of Embassy of India and hosted by ISC with Gemini Building Materials as the Title Sponsor and Al Masoud Automobiles & Delma Group as the Main Sponsors. Nissan Sunny car is displayed in the ground floor which is the mega raffle prize included in the entry tickets.

The festival will run through 3 days with 5PM to 10 PM on the first day and 1PM to 11 PM on second day and 12AM to 11 PM on the final day. Around 50,000 spectators were expected by the Centre who had conducted these kind of festivals successfully earlier.

The gates were open at 5 PM with various stalls within the multi-storey facility of the Centre exhibited by various institutions, banks, brokers, real estate agents, jewellers, traders and many more business units operating in UAE and elsewhere. On the top floor were various food court stalls arranged by many famous restaurants as well as individuals who displayed and served mouthwatering Indian delicacies. Despite the cold and windy weather on the open top floor, people of various nationalities flocked into the Centre which had open invitations to all though they had to pay a small entrance fee which is loaded with raffle prizes.

There was a stage set on the top floor swimming pool area with dazzling lights and sounds. DJ Dhanush of Radio 105.4 FM along with co-host Aparna opened up the stage show while the Chief Guest arrived on the top floor of the facility, welcoming the guests and the dignitaries. The Chief Guest along with other guests were invited on to the stage including K P Ganesh Babu, Managing Director of Gemini Building Materials, the title sponsors, and Humayun Alam, Assistant General Manager of Al Masoud Automobiles, Padmashree Gangaramani of Al Fara Group, and others.

Entertainment secretary Ashok Kumar welcomed the dignitaries on the dais for the inauguration H.E. Lokesh, accompanied by ISC officials and sponsors lit the inaugural lamp. M A Salam welcomed the dignitaries on the dais and the ISC board of governors.

Ramesh Panicker in his presidential speech thanked the ambassador for visiting and inaugurating the festival and also organizers for putting up such a huge show. He also remembered former president Thomas Varghese who had initiated the first India Fest 2011 and conducted it successfully. He also announced that 5% of earnings of the festival will be allocated to the charity to the needy Indian community. He said last year a substantial amount had been sent to India for the purpose. He requested all the guests and invitees to enjoy the three days of festival with food, fun and entertainment arranged by the Centre.

H.E. M.K. Lokesh spoke on the occasion and commended the efforts and hard work put up by ISC and particularly by the festival organizing committee. He too remembered Thomas Varghese, who had organized this festival for the first time in ISC and thanked him for his vision. He also thanked Anuka Chakravarthy for her efforts in arranging visa and travel of 25 cultural troupe members from India who would be performing over the three days.

Soon after the inauguration were cultural shows by various world renowned musicians and artists who flew all the way from India, Indonesia and Egypt. India's famous Pandit Daya Shanker with his musicians presented a soothing Shehnai (aerophonic instrument) music and entertained the gathering. Pandit Daya Shanker and his troupe were felicitated by ISC's Honorary Auditor Jayarama Rai with roses as a mark of appreciation from Indian community. Followed was a brilliant Egyptian dance performance by Mohammed who gave a stunning presentation of their culture. Entertainment also included Qawwali presentation by the renowned Qawwali singer Jameel Ahmed from India with his 8-member troupe sang catchy qawwali numbers and enthralled the crowd. Couple dance and peacock dance were presented by the Indonesian dance troupe and all the entertainers were widely appreciated and applauded.