An enjoyable cultural celebration

Nauroze or Nawruz (literally ‘new day’) is the Iranian New Year, also known as the Persian New Year, which is celebrated worldwide by millions of various ethno-linguistic groups.

Despite its Iranian and Zoroastrian origins, Nauroze is celebrated by diverse communities. To observe this auspicious occasion, the embassies of Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Krygyzistan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and the United Nations in collaboration with the Serena Hotel, held a celebratory event at the hotel. It was attended by diplomats; invitees and families of participating embassies. The guest of honour was President of Pakistan, Dr Arif Alvi. After his departure the hotel saw more visitors coming in to enjoy the celebration.

The venue was the Business Centre lawn of the hotel and it a colourful affair with banners fluttering in the light breeze; men women and children dressed in the bright and beautiful ethnic costumes of their country; decorated stalls showcasing the artefacts of their country had been set up by the embassies and were a centre of attraction. And yes, the cuisine of the countries was also available for those who wanted to partake of it.

There were speeches by different personalities and all spoke of love and peace and the significance of Nawruz. No celebration is complete without dance and music and each of the CAR embassies presented dances performed by the children of the embassy, except for Iran and Turkmenistan who opted to show documentaries of how Nauroze is celebrated in their country; one embassy showcased a music performance by one of its diplomats and the Afghan’s showcased their traditional dance, with which we are familiar as its practiced both sides of the border. The Turkish embassy presented a spirited group dance – also by children, while it has to be said that though all the acts were enjoyable with toe tapping music, it was the very lively performance by the PNCA artistes ‘that set the stage afire’ as one of the MC’s said! Of particular interest was the performance of the female ‘dhol’ player as it was the first time many people had seen a young girl play an instrument that is considered a male monopoly and they were quite impressed!

It is events such as this which bring countries and communities together and creates understanding and appreciation of each other’s culture, so hats off to the organizers.

Maybe they have started a tradition of celebration that will be held every year!