My dears, last Sunday I was so eager to accompany my colleague Reham El-Adawi to the Maulana Azad Centre for Indian Culture to meet Miss India-World 2004 Sayali Bhagat. The global beauty was visiting Egypt for one week to shoot the latest music video of Egyptian pop star Hisham Abbass. At the bustling reception organised by the centre's director and Councellor for Cultural Affairs and Communications Kanchan Gupta, I met the newly named Indian Ambassador to Egypt Rajendra Singh Rathore, popular Egyptian actresses Hanan Turk, Rania Youssef, Dina Abdallah, spontaneous actor Abdallah Mahmoud as well as a group of my friends from the Indian community in Egypt. The shooting of the video will take place in Cairo, Luxor and Aswan. On this occasion, Sayali released a CD of Indo-Egyptian fusion music, Neel-Dhun (Music of the Nile), in which Egyptian oud player Georges Kazazian is the lead musician. This is the second such popular cultural venture initiated by one of Egypt's most popular singers whose earlier music video titled Nari Nareen also included Indian artists. It went on to become a top hit in India. Abbass, my dears, is as popular among young Indians as young Arabs. My dears, last week was certainly busy. I also had the chance to attend two thrilling events organised by the Italian Embassy in Egypt. My dear dynamic friend Italian Ambassador to Cairo Antonio Badini granted our great Nobel Laureate for Literature Naguib Mahfouz a gold pen studded with diamonds. It signifies recalling the power of art to relieve people from pain and suffering. In honour of the great novelist, Badini held a cocktail reception at his residence attended by a galaxy of literati and art critics such as Rafiq El-Saban. Unfortunately, Mahfouz 's critical health conditions impeded him from attending. So Badini, along with the Cultural Counsellor at the Italian Embassy Adelia Rispoli, Director of the Italian Cultural Centre Carla Burri and Editor-in-Chief of Al- Ahram Hebdo Mohamed Salmawi headed for Mahfouz 's residence to give him the pen in person. Badini also bestowed the Insignia of Official Knight of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Italy upon professor and former secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Gaballah Ali Gaballah. At the celebration, Badini explained in an address, which he surprisingly delivered in Arabic, that the award goes to the distinguished contributions of Gaballah to the enhancement of the relations between Egypt and Italy in the archaeological sector. Congratulations! During his participation in the Syrian Resurrection Avant-Garde Organisation Festival, my dear colleague Mahmoud Bakr, Al-Ahram Weekly 's very own environmental editor, was awarded the festival's shield. The festival included sports activities designed for children aging from 6-12 years from Syria's various governorates, as well as cultural and artistic seminars. Head of the organisation Ahmed Abu Moussa said there are several agreements ratified with other children organisations in the Arab world aiming at improving the skills and talents of children. At a cultural evening held at the Egyptian Cultural Centre in Athens, Greece, our colleague Al-Ahram Assistant Editor Abdel-Azim Darwish talked about the first steps of reform undertaken in Egypt, different political developments witnessed by the Egyptian society, the human rights issues and efforts by Mrs Suzanne Mubarak to support women's participation in the political life. The discussion was led by the Egyptian Cultural Attaché Hisham El-Asmar, who granted Darwish the shield of the centre at the end of the evening. It seems, my sweets, that art is every where this Summer! On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Canadian Embassy in Egypt, an art exhibition titled "Life in Montreal" by gifted painter Ragae Karras was opened at the gallery of Al-Hanager Art Centre by the Canadian Ambassador to Cairo Michael de Salabery and director of the centre my dynamic friend Hoda Wasfi. Also at Toot gallery in Mohandiseen, Mexican Ambassador in Egypt Miguel Orozco and his lovely wife Marisa opened an exhibition by Mexican artist Conchita Anorve-Tschirgi. The show, running through 19 May, showcases a group of paintings depicting brightly coloured scenes inspired by the Egyptian environment including the River Nile, peasants, nature and houses of the Egyptian countryside. Scooby Doo Nursery held its third annual celebration at the Meridien Heliopolis last week. The party included celebrating mother's day and graduation of scooby 4 -- that precious step from kindergarten into the bigger world of "school". Around 60 children aged between one to five years representing five English and French classes took part in the party performing songs and dances -- performing the works of Kazem El-Saher, Saber El-Robaie and others. The parents were delighted! Nursery Directors Mr Mahmoud El-Emari and his wife Inas Shahine with daughters Roudi and Rony were so proud of the teachers' efforts and the obvious success. While Shahine selected the songs and the programme, Hani El-Maghrabi designed the dances and Karate performances for the children and trained them daily. Our very own sports page editor Inas Mazhar was delighted to discover that her two children, Nadine and Ziad of Scooby 4 and Scooby 2, had hidden talents! Art, as I told you my delights, is in the air. The Cairo Group for Applied Art is organising the Cairo Art Guild Silver Jubilee exhibition at the Egyptian Centre for International Cultural Cooperation (ECICC). Next Sunday, the exhibition will present the art works of 20 amateurs and pro painters at the center's premises. It will be inaugurated by First Under- Secretary of State for Foreign Cultural Relations Cherif El- Shoubashy.
