Cultural Cabaret
The two-night Cairo Cultural Cabaret Project which took place the last weekend in June at the Shahrazad Nightclub off Emad Eddin Street in Downtown Cairo, came off with flying colours. Participants and attendants simply loved the 1930s and 1940s atmosphere—that was the time when Emad Eddin Street was the famous night district in Cairo—and responded with gusto. The project is organised by the Embassy of Spain in Cairo jointly with Modern Touch Entertainment, and sponsored by a number of Egyptian and Egyptian Spanish businesses. The Cairo Cultural Cabaret Project is designed to bring back the glamour of the old nightclubs which were an important part of Cairo’s buzzing and dynamic cultural life for many decades.
The Riff Band, one of Egypt’s favourite jazz ensembles, performed during the recent evening at the Shahrazad, together with DIVINAS a group of three divas from Barcelona with a repertoire of the golden days of swing. The Shahrazad Nightclub was one of the most elegant and dashing of Cairo cabarets, and was the haunt of film stars, socialites and even occasional visits of King Farouq himself.
The voices of DIVINAS brought a unique sound. Their three characters reminded of the great divas of the 1950’s and carried the audience through the show with flair and dancing and a sense of humour, and making the evening an unforgettable one. Backing them is D’Band, excellent musicians, connoisseurs of this particular music style. The Riff Band, a seven-piece band with vocalists Ahmed Harfoush and Noha Fekry and a mix of Egyptian and international musicians, has been one of the major additions to the Cairo jazz scene since 2002.
India: the climb to success
The Maulana Azad Centre of the Indian Embassy joined the Egyptian Indian Friendship Association (EIFA) to hold a recent lecture entitled “Lessons learnt from the successful development experience in India” in Cairo. The lecture was delivered by Aleieddin Hilal, political science professor at Cairo University and head of EIFA.
Dr Hilal talked of the various ways through which India managed to establish a successful educational system; to successfully venture into fields of advance technology such as space research and communications, all the while ensuring the consolidation of its political and economic institutions. India successfully instated channels for the smooth rotation of political power and authority.
Dr Hilal held previous posts as Minister of Youth, dean of Cairo University’s Faculty of Political Sciences, and head of the Higher Education Council. He wrote several books and papers about India as the second largest country in the world in population and religious diversity as well as the most democratic political system among the countries of the South.
Kathakali and Thiam
The Musical Library of the Cairo Opera House recently hosted a photography exhibition on “The art of Kathakali and the rituals of Thiam” by Aliaa ‘Kokla’ Rifaat. The exhibition was organized by the Maulana Azad Centre under the auspices of the Indian Embassy in Cairo. Rifaat, who was born in Cairo, studied photography in Paris, later specialising in portrait photography and the photography of local rituals and traditions. She received several awards and prizes in appreciation of her special style and ability to portray and focus on human emotions. The exhibition included two of the most popular dances in the South Indian state of Kirala, the Kathakali and Thiam which are dramatic, classic dances that go back to the 17th century.
Merging Indian and Egyptian
His father is a music legend and he too carved a special niche for himself as a Santoor player. Rahul Sharma, son of Santoor maestro Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma, is now entertaining music buffs with his new album A Meeting by the Nile, a fusion of Indian and Egyptian music. Rahul collaborated with Egyptian artist Georges Kazazian and Indian playback singer Sunidhi Chauhan for the venture. “The album is a confluence of the Indian instrument Santoor and the Egyptian Oud,” the 37-year-old Rahul said. “This is the first time I have done an album with an Egyptian. Since Egyptian music is quite popular, I’m sure people will like the album,” he said. Rahul is a much-sought-after music artist and has released more than 40 albums including Maya, Fusion, and Samandar.