Saud M Al-Sati.  

India’s participation as the guest of honour for Saudi Arabia’s Al-Janadriyah festival will strengthen cultural and religious ties between both countries

As the Kingdom continues its journey of modernity and development, its anchor is pegged firmly to its heritage and history. Al-Janadriyah festival celebrates Saudi Arabia's heritage.

Organised by the Saudi Arabian National Guard (SANG), the two-week long annual festival held in Janadriyah near Riyadh has been an integral part of Saudi Arabia's cultural landscape since 1985. The goal of the event is to emphasise Islamic Arab identity and consolidate the national heritage in all its aspects to preserve it for the future generations.

The festival is a melange of living experiences. No less. Camel races, equestrian shows, Saudi folklore, folk costumes, falconry, art exhibition by Saudi artists, traditional arts and crafts, including pottery, weaving, woodwork, metalwork, leatherwork and much more.

One of the countless highlights of the festival is ‘Al Ardah', Saudi Arabia's traditional dance. This sword dance is based on ancient Arabian traditions. Poetry combined with the

rhythm of drums sets the tone for men dancing with swords in their hands. Popular bands from various regions of the Kingdom also stage performances while symposiums, lectures and poetry evenings are graced by intellectuals and poets from all over the world.

Each Province in the Kingdom sets up a pavilion in the integrated heritage village, highlighting their local architecture, history, professions and handicrafts. Various Saudi Government agencies also host groups at the festival. Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, Saudi Wildlife Authority (SWA), General Authority for Sport (GSA), King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief), Saudi Red Crescent Authority are amongst the many agencies that set up pavilions.

The festival draws millions of visitors every year and sees an active participation of women.

The importance of the festival is also reflected in our Vision 2030 — culture and entertainment are indispensable to giving our citizens a quality life. The aim is to make these aspects match the rising aspirations of our citizens and be in line with our prosperous economy. Various destinations for tourists are being developed from archaeological sites, pristine beaches, monuments etc.

Right from the development of Fursan Islands and Al Raas Al Abyad shore to the reviving of heritage buildings in Al-Ahsa Oasis to the development of the historic city centres, the entire Kingdom is dotted with tourism development projects.

The festival has a global outreach. Each year, Al-Janadriyah hosts a distinguished State as its guest of honour — a gesture that is symbolic of the Kingdom's investment in relations with the Arab, Islamic and other friendly countries. France, Egypt, China, Japan and South Korea amongst others have been the guests of honour in the past.

This year, India is the guest of honour. Indeed, various programmes accompanying the festival are meant to celebrate the relationship between India and Saudi Arabia which rests on centuries of economic and socio-cultural ties — dating back to the ancient era when trade between the two comprised largely of spices, aromatic, almonds and dates. It is no secret that the civilisational ties between the two countries have been enriched by the movement of not only goods but people and ideas as well. Both nations share a rich history of literature. Also, scholars from India came to our region to learn Arabic language and Islamic jurisprudence and the Arabs came to India to learn mathematics, astronomy and philosophy.

Many Indian texts in the field of medicine, mathematics and astronomy have been translated into Arabic. Al beruni, the father of Indology, translated several books from Sanskrit into Arabic. His account of the philosophy, literature, astronomy, customs, and religion in 11th century India is seminal.

An example of this is the Panchatantra which, was originally written in Sanskrit but the original text was lost after being translated into Persian, Arabs translated it further and took it to rest of the world.

Pre-Islamic Arab poetry too has many references to Indian swords and several other Indian goods that were popular among Arabs. Not many know that Ebrahim Alkazi, the famed Indian theatre personality and the erstwhile director of the National School of Drama is the son of a Saudi Arabian trader who emigrated from Unaizah city in the early years of the 20th century to Bombay (now Mumbai).

The Foundation for the Arts that he set up is dedicated to the preservation and study of the cultural history of India. People-to-people exchanges have helped in keeping the cultural ties rich. Currently, there are more than three million Indians living in Saudi Arabia, forming the largest expatriate community in the Kingdom.

Having India as the guest of honour at the Al-Janadriyah festival, is in essence an ode to the rich cultural and religious ties between the two friendly countries.

(Saud M Al-Sati is Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to India)

Courtesy: Pioneer: Thursday, 01 March 2018