Diary of Day 4: #IndiaByTheNile #Egypt #Cairo
By Faridoon Shahryar
Date: April 26, 2016.
It was a day dedicated to conversations and it was deeply satisfying at the level of spirituality. Sometimes when you observe the pain of others, you can relate to it in an unspoken way and it is cathartic because our own pain appears less.
In the morning I was interviewed by Ola Samir for an Egyptian website. It was interesting how she recorded the conversation on video as well as it's audio. The questions were interesting.
I and Tahir went to Maharaja Restaurant in Zamalek with Marwa Love Salman whom we've known since our last trip. She's extremely well behaved, courteous and intelligent. It feels wonderful to know people outside of your own country who treat you with such respect.
We went to Maulana Azad Centre for Indian Culture in the evening and were pleasantly surprised with Egyptian fans who are learning Hindi/Urdu due to their love for Hindi films. They danced and sang for us. A girl couldn't speak a word of Hindi but she danced superbly on #ManwaLaage with all the trappings of a classical dancer. A boy was a total filmi chap as he sang and danced like a pro. A mother and daughter duo are both learning Hindi/Urdu in the same class. An Arabic man sang Amar Akbar Anthony for us and sang the Arabic translated version as well.
The next stop was Cairo Opera House where first of all we treated ourselves to a nice cup of tea. Later we interviewed Mr Sanjoy Roy, the director of Love Story, A Bollywood Musical which is one of the attractions at India By The Nile Festival this year.
The best was saved for the last as our Egyptian good friend Nadia Jereidini along with her wonderful friends Amira Mohamed and Hanan treated me and Tahir out for dinner at Mahraani Restaurant on a big boat stationed at the Nile river. Great ambience with carefully crafted artistic decor and nice soft music. The food was awesome. Chicken tikka, seekh kabab, naan, gaajar halwa with ice cream and then there was chhoti ilaaichi, laung and saunf to complete the course. The mint tea was a delight. When you talk to people whom you trust, a lot of positivity flows without making any efforts. You get to feel the pain of your friends that's hidden by their bright smiles. If you're a friend then you should care about the pain of the people who make a difference in your lives in whatever capacity. The precarious manner in which the world is perched at right now, it is important that we must make efforts to help each other irrespective of the religion, cast, creed, colour or any other barrier. It may sound clichéd or pedantic but we must keep Humanity first. Everything else will follow.
Good night!
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