Author Chetan Bhagat, singer Mika Singh, actor-poet Piyush Mishra were among those from India who participated in the two-day long Qatar Cultural and Literature Festival that concluded here on Friday.
The event, which was orgzed with an aim to enhance bilateral ties between the two countries through art and culture witnessed power-packed performances from Bollywood celebrities.
Not only performances by Indian personalities garnered overwhelming response but also celebrities from Qatar like Zunira Malik, Amal Al Aathem and Mervat Ibrahim received appreciation from the crowd in Doha, even from Indian Diaspora residing in the country. Overall, the event observed a huge cultural amalgamation under one roof.
"Both Mika Singh and Chetan Bhagat are massively famous people and I personally admire them. Especially, Chetan Bhagat as he has been an inspiration to me and it is because of him that I started writing too. I was really happy to meet him at the event and interact with him," said Anup Raghavan, who went all the way from India to attend the event.
"We were really happy to be a part of such a big event here in Doha. We never heard of such an event in Doha where culture and literature were taken up together as a subject. Earlier, it had either been only culture fests or literature fest. So, it has been a very memorable and exciting experience for all of us", added Zunaid Hassan, a resident of Doha.
The festival began with a book launch by Chetan Bhagat. Following the inauguration, Piyush Mishra gave a stellar poetry performance. A panel discussion on women empowerment titled 'Empower women, empower society' was also held.
"I was here in Doha for the first time and frankly we were not expecting that we will pull it off so well. We are really overwhelmed that the event went off smoothly and all our relentless efforts paid off! I am really thankful to the core team for the amazing work and support," said Festival Director, Anamika Mishra.
( With inputs from ANI )