By Madame Sosostris The sound of Arabs The Cairo Opera House celebrated its 23rd anniversary in a big concert at the Main Hall featuring the opera singers Walid Kouraiam, Riham Abdel-Hakim and Maye Farouk with the National Arab Music Ensemble conducted by Selim Sahab. As ever, Sherif Sonbol was ready with his camera. To mark the fifth International Day of Non-Violence, the Egyptian Minister of Culture Emad Abu Ghazi and the Ambassador of India R Swaminathan jointly unveiled a bronze bust of Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the Indian nation and apostle of non-violence, at the Supreme Council for Culture last Sunday. Present were Egyptian officials including the former deputy prime minister Yehia El-Gamal, the official spokesman of the Egyptian Cabinet Mohamed Hegazi, officials of the Ministry of Culture and a large number of foreign diplomats, men of letters and media figures. The bust, which was made by the renowned Indian sculptor Ram Sutar, was given by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) to the Egyptian people in recognition of the Gandhian ideals and philosophy they adopted during the 25 January Revolution. At this juncture, the government of India pledges to the government and the people of Egypt its steadfast support during the transitional period. In 2007, the UN General Assembly adopted a unanimous resolution to establish an International Day of Non-Violence. The day aims at spreading the message of non-violence through education and public awareness, around the world. Reflecting universal respect for Gandhi and his philosophy, 2 October, his birthday, was the date chosen. A poetic evening took place last week at Talaat Harb Cultural Centre, affiliated to the Cultural Development Fund, which is headed by Mohamed Abu Seada. The evening featured the poet Mohamed Bahgat accompanied by the children's choir headed by Doaa Attia. Bahgat read poems in the spirit of the 25 January Revolution, while the choir performed a number of his songs composed by Helmi Bakr, Yasser Abdel-Rahman, Attia Mahmoud, Mohamed Diaa and Essam Ismail. The Deputy Prime Minister of England Nick Clegg held a conference with a number of young activists at El Sawy Culturewheel. Clegg, the keynote speaker, discussed the future of democracy in Egypt as well as the objectivity of the elections. On the occasion, the British Embassy said El Sawy Culturewheel was chosen for the event because it is regarded as the Hyde Park of Egypt. Last Friday, the Colour Festival took place at the International Park in Nasr City, organised by the Rainbow team. The international event originated in India, and specialises in coloured water games. The Catholic Centre headed by Father Boutros Daniel held a theatrical performance entitled La (No), starring Hisham Abdel-Hamid -- Abdel-Hamid's response to the 25 January Revolution and the Arab Spring. It involves 17 silent scenes. "Rebel Youth. Birth of a Nation. Portraits of Italian Risorgimento" is the title of the exhibition inaugurated a couple of days ago at the gallery of the Italian Cultural Institute by the director of the institute Patrizia Raveggi as well as Massimo Campanini, Franco Greco, Samir Arida. The exhibition is a project of the Italian Ministry of Youth in collaboration with the Institute for the History of Italian Risorgimento at the Central Museum of Risorgimento in Rome. It presents the young freedom fighters who started the process that brought about the unification and independence of Italy (the anniversary of the country is conventionally placed on 17 March 1861, 150 years ago). It should be noted that the relevant freedom fighters were mostly very young, aged 16 and above. That is why, to mirror the youthful spirit of the Italian Revolution, graffiti of the famous freedom mottoes was sprayed on the walls of the gallery. For the duration of the exhibition the gallery itself presents a street-like view of the rebels. (see Listings p.24) The Arabic play Touqous Al-Asharat wal-Tahawalat (Rituals of Signs and Transformations), by Syria's best known playwrights, the late Saadallah Wannous, will be staged at AUC Gerhart Theatre in the New Cairo Campus on 27, 31 October and 1 November. Written in 1994, the play is an exposé of a city's political and social corruption.
