By IANS,
Dubai : Indian missions and expatriate Indian organisations across the Gulf are making elaborate preparations to mark the 61st anniversary of India’s independence this Friday.
In Abu Dhabi, Indian Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Talmiz Ahmad will hoist the tricolour Friday morning and read out extracts from President Pratibha Patil’s speech.
In Dubai, Indian Consul General Venu Rajamony will hoist the flag at the Indian High School and this will be followed by a programme of patriotic songs and dances.
In the evening, the Indian Professional and Business Council (IBPC), Dubai, will hold a cultural programme at a five star hotel here.
The highlight of the evening will be a performance of the classical ballet ‘Parampara’ by Bollywood actress and Rajya Sabha member Hema Malini and her daughters Esha Deol and Ahana Deol.
In Oman, the Independence Day celebrations already started Wednesday with a musical evening at the Indian embassy auditorium.
India’s Ambassador to Oman Anil Wadhwa will hoist the tricolour at the Indian School Darsait Friday morning, which will be followed by a tree-planting ceremony by volunteers of the Art of Living foundation.
A cultural programme will also be held at the embassy auditorium Friday afternoon, which will be coordinated by Oman-based Odissi dancer Shubharna Bose.
Oman TV will telecast a half-hour documentary titled ‘A Day in the Life of India’.
In the evening, the embassy lawns will resonate to the fusion tunes of ghazal and jazz in a unique programme called Gazaala. Bollywood singer Roop Kumar Rathod and Fazal Quereshi will be accompanied by other fusion musicians in the programme.
The Indian embassy in Oman is also organising an India-Oman art exhibition at the Omani Society of Fine Arts in Muscat.
The exhibition, titled ‘Mixture’, will run Sep 16-21, and will feature works of Indian figurative artist Neelam Dhar and well-known Omani artists Abdullah Al Riyami and Saleem Sakhi.
India’s Ambassador to Bahrain Balkrishna Shetty will be the chief guest at the main function to mark Independence Day at the Indian School, Isa Town.
Over 200 schoolchildren will present a cultural programme called ‘India on the Move’ featuring India’s freedom struggle, the post-independence developments and the country’s cultural heritage.
There will also be an Odissi recital by Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) artiste Jyoti Srivastava.
Kannada Sangha Bahrain will also celebrate the 61st anniversary of India’s independence in a mega cultural event Friday at the Indian Club, Manama.
The programme will pay tribute to India’s freedom fighters and will feature patriotic songs, dances and dance dramas, all focusing on India and the nation’s freedom movement.
In Doha, India’s Ambassador to Qatar George Joseph will hoist the tricolour at the Indian Cultural Centre and read out excerpts from the President’s speech.
This will be followed by a programme of patriotic songs by schoolchildren.
In Kuwait, Indian Ambassador M. Ganapathi will hoist the flag. This will be followed by a cultural programme in which schoolchildren will give various performances.
India’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia M.O.H. Farooq will hoist the flag in Riyadh. In the evening, the Indian mission will host a reception at the Indian International School.
In Jeddah, newly appointed Indian Consul General Sayeed Ahmed Baba will hoist the flag at the official function in that Red Sea coast city.
Apart from these programmes, major newspapers in the region are also bringing out special supplements to mark the occasion.
There are over 4.8 million expatriate Indians across the six Gulf nations.