Qatar Indian Authors Forum to foster cultural exchange and discussion

The Qatar Indian Authors Forum (QIAF) was officially launched at a ceremony held at the Integrated Indian Community Centre in Doha on Friday.

During the event, QIAF president Dr K C Sabu stressed that he forum’s official launch will reflect positively on enhancing the creativity of Indian authors in Qatar and also give them a platform to exercise their writing skills in different areas such as poetry, novels and other literary categories. He also noted that there is active co-operation with the Qatari Forum for Authors, which comes under the Ministry of Culture. This co-operation will help both Indian and Qatari authors to exchange views, experiences and discuss related issues, in addition to enriching the literary experiences of both through cross-cultural interaction. Further, translations of works from both sides will be arranged in a much easier way.

The QIAF website was also launched on the occasion. Dr Sabu said QIAF has around 75 registered members, with the youngest being a 10-year-old aspiring Indian writer named Joachim. On his part, Joachim expressed happiness to be a part of the forum and said he is excited to further explore his creative skills through writing novels.

Indian poet Ansari Arimbra said the official launch of the forum will enable all Indian authors living in Qatar to further explore different areas of literary expressions. He also stressed that living in Qatar gives authors an unique opportunity to explore different cultures, as Doha has become a global hub for arts and culture.

Dr Sabu also launched the translation of an Arabic book written by Ali Hassan Anwari, author and cultural activist, titled The Scent of Books. It is a cultural autobiography of the author describing his journey in the world of books and reading. Anwari said the launch of QIAF is an important event for Qatar’s cultural scene and will further boost translations from Arabic to Indian languages, and vice-versa, which would eventually help authors from both sides to produce better literary works benefiting from the rich Arabic and Indian cultures.

He expressed hope that more meetings and activities among the two sides will be held in the future to explore the potential of such deep, rich cultures and history.

The Ministry of Culture extended its full support to the newly established forum, with senior officials attending the launch ceremony.

Saleh al-Obaidly, director of programmes at the ministry and a member of the Qatari Forum for Authors, highlighted the deep-rooted Qatari-Indian relations since the pearl-fishing days as well as trade exchange from the past, involving products such as perfumes, incense and spices. He said the two countries have enjoyed excellent relations over the years and a large shared heritage and rich culture has been produced due to intensive social and business activities.

Al-Obaidly noted that the Ministry of Culture has highly welcomed the idea of QIAF and has extended all necessary support to make it flourish and to exercise its activities. He added that the forum will have a distinguished impact on the cultural and literary scene in the country, giving Qatari and Indian authors more subjects and issues to explore and exercise their literary creativity.