Saudi Gazette

JEDDAH — The two-day Telangana Day held at the Indian Consulate premises proved to be a grand success, as unprecedented crowd turned out for the festival, with some returning home without seeing it.

Indian Consulate with collaboration of Saudi Indian Business Network (SIBN) conducted the event as part of India@70 that showcases rich culture and progressive achievement of various Indian states by conducting respective state days. Telangana was the second state that held a amazing show over the weekend.

The two-day glittering program was a festive, abuzz with many from the Telangana state — including women and children — hail from dense forests of Adilabad to narrow bylanes of Hyderabad old city who are living in Jeddah.

The program continued for six uninterrupted hours on both days as attendees were treated to Hyderabadi humor, culture and cuisine with a variety of skits. Despite the crush, the people expressed enthusiasm throughout their attendance by savoring the fae on offer.

Indian Consul General Md. Noor Rahman Sheikh, who official inaugurated the fest, was present along with his wife, Dr. Nazneen till the day’s festivities concluded.

The tradition of old city of Hyderabad Muslim culture in general and the wedding ceremony in particular with popular Arabic Marfa rhythmic beat thrilled the audience.

Marfa, also known as Dhaf band is played by Siddis, an ethnic group of African descent from Yemen and Ethiopia border areas who had settled in Hyderabad during Nizam rule. They were part of the Nizam’s army. Many Hyderabadis prefer to play Marfa in weddings.

Dholak Ke Geet of Deccani Shadi (marriage) also excited audience especially women, it is like Sangeet of North in Telangana. The women feel without Dholak Ke Geet all wedding preparation is incomplete; however, today the tradition is on the wane.

Amid these traditional rites, wedding ceremony, where bride and groom were played by Atiya Rashid and Zubair Siddiqui — a recently wedded couple — the Hyderabadi Shadi stood out as main attraction of the event.

“Dolu Dolu, Bonala Panduga”, theme song of Bonalu festival by Shruti and Sri Lalita was also enjoyed by audience. Bonalu is prime Hindu festival of Hyderabad city where women make the offering of rice, jiggery and curd carried in clay pots.

Other Telugu song “Telugu Bhasa Teeyadanam” by Imran, Aravind, Rahul and Krishna Sai also evoked overwhelming response from the audience. Mohammed Yousuf Ali, President of Telugu Association of Jeddah highlighted the diversified culture of Telangana that reflecting true spirit of secularism.

Long time NRI Arif Qureshi, from Hyderabad, shed light on historic Osmania University, stating that it was the nursery from where many had graduated into elite positions.

The sublime and funny verses at Tanzia Mushaira under the chair of Aslam Afghani captivated the audience. Siasat’s Urdu daily’s Islamic calligraphy exhibition also held on the sidelines of event. Local singers Sikinder and Amjad Hussain performed Hindi and Telugu songs.

Amjad Shareef from the commercial section of the Indian Consulate supervised the event. SIBN General Secretary Mir Gazanfar Zaki coordinated the event. It was anchored by Event Coordinator Imran Kauser, who took the audience across the length and breadth of the state by highlighting each event and introduced them with crisp synopsis.

Many attended to witness rich culture of Nizam’s land, however, some were disappointed for not showcasing of past rich glorious history of the state.

Mirza Qudrath Nawaz Baig made presentation on investment opportunities in Telangana. He explained about integrated single window system for industrial promotion in the state through flagship scheme of IPASS that guaranteed 15 days time limit clearances for mega projects. Visiting TRS senior leader Sultan Quadri paid visit to kiosk of Telangana investment.

Abdul Rahman M. Baig briefed audience about tourism destinations in the state. He said that though state is new but was rich in tourism opportunities. “It has a variety of tourist attractions including historical places, monuments, forts, waterfalls and forests,” he said, adding Telangana tourism bagged 8 national awards for its achievement in the country.

Hyderabadi cuisine food stalls too proved a draw with visitors with the spicy food items on offer.

The replicas of Kakatiya arch of Warangal and Charminar of Hyderabad, both incorporated in state government logo, stood out as special attraction during the event.

Abeer Group, FRiENDi mobile, Air India, Jazeera Airways, Al Kabeer, Shadab Restaurant, Applebees, Al Mutamayuz Modern Sweets and Tarfeeh supported the event.

The celebrations of 400 years old Hyderabad’s Charminar in Jeddah, held in 1991, was considered as largest event of Telangana community. But the just concluded event has surpassed not only that mark but also for community events held in the consulate.