DAMMAM: Abdullah Saihati, chairman of Saihati Group, has commended Soorya, Asia’s largest cultural organization, for its efforts to promote peace and integration through culture.
“Integration through culture is a great idea. It’s the need of the hour, and I am happy to be associated with Soorya,” said Saihati, who is the chief patron of Soorya Sargam.
He made these comments while opening Soorya Sargam’s annual festival titled “Ragam, Thanam Pallavi” here on Wednesday. He noted Soorya Sargam’s efforts to promote Saudi-Indian cultural relations.
Shashi Tharoor, who was India’s candidate to become UN secretary-general and author of several books, was the chief guest.
In his keynote speech, Tharoor highlighted the remarkable progress achieved by India despite the cultural, racial, religious and political differences of its people.
“We may have the largest number of dollar billionaires in Asia, yet there are 260 million people in our country living on less than 30 cents a day. We have the world’s second largest pool of trained scientists and engineers, many of whom are in the Gulf, but the fact remains that we have millions of children who have not seen the inside of a school,” he said.
In 1984, the cell phone was regarded as a luxury by the government. Now we are buying over nine million cell phones a year. India has the cheapest cell phone rates in the world, which means fishermen, farmers and autorickshaw drivers can all have cell phones.
“This has empowered India’s poor,” he was quoted as saying by Girish Kumar, Sargam’s joint secretary.
Tharoor noted the international reputation achieved by Indian culture and cuisines. Indian hotels and restaurants across the world employ a large number of Indians. He described India as a country of minorities. “Even Hindus are a minority due to the cast system.”
Krishnamoorthy, the chief architect of Soorya, announced the appointment of Rafeek Younus, president of Sargam, as the chief coordinator of Soorya in four regions: Middle East and Gulf; Australia; Europe, and Fareast.
The performance of Rajendra Gangani, a well-known Kathak dancer, and Rajesh Vaidya, a popular musician and veena guru, and their groups enthused a crowd of more than 600 people, mostly Keralite families.
