Indian music legend A R Rahman will perform in Doha as part of the Qatar-India Year of Culture 2019, Indian ambassador P Kumaran has said.
“Katara Studio is doing a musical programme with A R Rahman. He will be performing at Khalifa International Stadium along with Dana Alfardan. That will be held on March 22 and 26, and Rahman will be coming with his troupe,” the envoy told Gulf Times on the sidelines of the Republic Day celebrations at the Indian embassy on Saturday.
The Rahman show will be one of the major highlights of the yearlong initiative, whose formal inauguration will take place on February 4 with a cultural programme by a troupe called Ticket to Bollywood, according to Kumaran.
“The inaugural programme will be held at the Opera House at Katara — the Cultural Village. It will be a special event for VIPs and other guests. The same programme will be performed on the next day (February 5) for the Indian community. As we would not be able to accommodate the Indian community along with the guests at the venue on February 4, we will repeat the performance for the community the next day,” Kumaran
“We will have a number of programmes throughout the year. These include dance recitals, music, a calligraphy exhibition, fashion show and textile exhibition, among others," he continued.
"The first music programme will be a fusion music item by an Indian flute artiste called Naveen Kumar. He is doing the programme with Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra to perform Indian, Arabic and Western music. It will be for an hour and half, and he will perform the music of some Indian music legends such as A R Rahman and Ilaiyaraaja, among others. He will also play the music of Dana Alfardan. This will take place at Qatar National Convention Centre on February 8.”
The Indian ambassador said there would also be a number of programmes organised by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India.
“There will be some 10-11 programmes, which will be held throughout February and March," he noted.
Qatar Museums had earlier announced India as the Official Partner Nation for the 2019 Year of Culture.
The announcement kick-stared an array of programme comprising exhibitions, festivals, competitions and events set to take place in both countries over the 12 months.
The carefully curated programme is specially designed to promote mutual understanding, recognition and appreciation between the two nations.
Visa centres
“We will be opening visa outsourcing centres this year. We were planning to open them in 2018 but it could not be completed due to certain changes in the guidelines. We will open visa and passport submission centres in Al Khor and the Industrial Area. We are also planning to launch an online appointment system for embassy services to help save time for the applicants,” the Indian ambassador said.
