By TCN News
Janadriyah is a cultural heritage and folk festival of Saudi-Arabia that is held every year ever since 1985 when it was first held in 1985 by Saudi National Guard was inaugurated by the late King Fahad Ibn Abdul Aziz.
The Janadriyah village in the north east of Riyadh was built specifically to host this festival. This is the largest festival of its kind in the Gulf, attracting millions of visitors from all over the region each year. The village is divided into sections according to the provinces of Saudi Arabia. Each area, or pavilion as they are referred to, showcases the unique culture, architecture, foods, dances, traditional dress and craftsmanship of that region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Some of the events at the Janadriyah include camel racing, horse racing, Display of traditional crafts such as pottery, weaving, woodwork, metalwork, leatherwork etc.
Every year the event is celebrated for about 18 days with a country chosen as guest of honour and the country showcases it’s culture, tradition, culture and art.
This year, 2018 India was the Guest of Honour. And India set up a great pavilion displaying it’s growth story, technical advancement, traditional folk dances and Bollywood performances. The state pavilions’ performances were sprinkled with local flavours much to the delight of the Saudis and others.
Yoga was demonstrated every day and it attracted the interest of many Saudis. Best of the diverse Indian culture was displayed by the different states which was the main attraction at the event.
T Srinivasan, Eng. Mohammed Abdul Nayeem, Eng. Mohammed Shakeel, CEO Nawazinda Telecom Technologies Co. Ltd. and Dr. Mohammed Ashraf Ali were part of the organising committee. The Indian ambassador Ahmed Javeed congratulated the whole team and attributed the success to the dedication and team work of the Embassy staff and volunteers who worked round the clock.
The ambassador also presented plaques of appreciation to the business community who participated in Janadariyah. They included MV Rao, VP and Country Head, L&T, Zameer Mohammed SA, Area Manager KSA & Bahrain, Tata Motors, Mohammed Abdul Nayeem, Masah Co., Dr. Fadi M Al Ghareeb, CEO, Aster Sanad Hospital, Bachu Vidya Sagar, VP and Country Head, Shaporji Palonji Group, Sachin Ibrahim, Lulu Hyper Market, Mohammed Afnas, ITL, Dr. Shinoop Raj, Regional Head Riyadh & Dammam, Abeer Hospital, Mohammed Rafi, Gateway Holidays and Niyas Ellikal, Sales Manager, Jet Airways.
He also presented the mementos to Indian embassy officials and the members of the Managing Committee.
The event was attended by many a prominent Saudi businessman like Dr. Abdullah Al Maglouth, Chairman Al Maglouth Group and head of investment committee at Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dr. Said Al Rabiah Chairman Al Rabiah Group and RGTT, Ibrahim Al Mojel, Chairman Al Mojel Group and many others.
The Indian business community facilitated the Indian Ambassador, Embassy officials, businessmen and volunteers for their relentless contributions and services to make the Janadariyah 2018 a huge success.
There were around 2.5 million visitors to the Janadriyah this year. The event was a super success which pleased the audiences especially the Saudi Government which resulted in increase in the number of visas issued to Indians.
The event concluded with playing of the National anthem of India and Saudi Arabia.
