Pack of Cards By Madame Sosostris

I had a wonderful time at the Cairo Opera House last Friday, my dears, celebrating the 56th anniversary of India's independence day. The "Freedom Concert" -- as it was called -- took place at the Small Hall, and featured a famous folkloric troupe from the western Indian state of Goa. Grupo Alegria was the name of the band, and their music and dance repertoire embodied a pleasing mix of both speedy, as well as more traditionally slow, rhythms. Their sound also suggested a clear Portuguese influence. Grupo Alegria has performed all over the world, spreading their unique blend of Latin and Asian culture wherever they go. Goa itself is said to represent a delicate synthesis of various cultures, and is a true reflection of India's spirit. The Indian Council for Cultural Relations sponsored the group's Egyptian tour -- which included performances in Damanhour, Alexandria, Ismailia, and Fayoum -- under the rubric of an Indian- Egyptian Cultural Exchange Programme, and in association with the Egyptian Ministry of Culture. At the opera house, a great many luminaries were in attendance, including Indian Ambassador to Cairo Satnam Jit Singh, Cultural Counsellor Kanchan Gupta, much of Cairo's diplomatic community, as well as a bevy of Indians based in Egypt.

It was -- in many respects, my sweets -- a rather musical week. My diligent colleague Reham El-Adawi spent much of her time over the last few nights up above the city at the Citadel complex, where the 15th Citadel Festival for Music and Singing took place. The glorious annual event ended last night, drawing the same diverse crowds that enjoyed the nightly concerts that had been taking place on three different open-air stages within the Citadel complex for the past 10 days. In fact, a total of 66 concerts were performed altogether, featuring a healthy mix of oriental, western and folkloric sounds. The musical heritage of four countries was showcased this year: Egypt, Palestine, India, and Sudan. Culture Minister Farouk Hosni honoured seven prominent artists during the course of the event -- globally renowned pianist Ramzi Yassa, bass baritone Reda El- Wakil, trumpet player Raouf El-Gannaini, international flautist Inas Abdel-Dayeim, orchestra conductor Taha Naguie, tenor Youssef Ezzat and Italian conductor Aldo Magnato.

Some ways away, in the sleepy seaside town of Al-Arish, another multicultural festival was also taking place. My dear colleague Mustafa El-Menshawy told me all about the third annual Assalah International Week, which brought together celebrities and cultural luminaries from around the world for an engaging dialogue on the global arts scene. Writer and critic Dessouki Said was the event's organiser, successfully managing to attract diverse personalities such as prominent Austrian actor Claus Maria Brandauer and gorgeous Egyptian actress Poussi to the Mediterranean coastal city, thus adding a significant touch of glamour to the still-nascent three-year-old fest. Brandauer was co-star to Sean Connery in films like 1983's Never Say Never Again and 1990's The Russia House. He was joined in Al-Arish by Spanish painter Francis De Paula, Canadian film director Isabelle Lavigne, and Egyptian-Canadian painter Raga'i Keras. Keras moved to Canada in 1968, where he specialised in watercolours of street and landscape scenes. His work regularly appears on the cover of the Montreal Star Scene magazine, and has been published in several books. Other prominent guests of the festival included North Sinai Governor Ahmed Abdel-Hamid, President of the Cairo International Film Festival and First Undersecretary for Foreign Cultural Relations at the Ministry of Culture Cherif El- Shoubashi, Austrian Ambassador Ferdinand Trauttmansdorff, and Jean- Philippe Tacgdjian of the Canadian Embassy. Al-Ahram columnist El-Sayed Yassin was also there, directing a rather interesting -- and appropriate, considering the venue -- symposium on "Culture and Media in the Age of Globalisation".

It is not often, my dears, that a budding academic receives three scholarships in a row. That, however, is exactly what happened to Magdi Ali, an economic researcher at the Governor's Office of the Central Bank of Egypt. First, in 1994, he was awarded a British scholarship to study in England, where he obtained his MBA from the University of Birmingham. Two more scholarships followed, both from George Mason University in the United States. The first allowed Ali to obtain his MA in Economics, and the second catalysed his receipt of a PhD with a concentration on "International Finance and International Monetary Economics". I must admit that -- as happy as I was to witness such a magnificent achievement -- I actually understood very little of Ali's thesis, preferring instead to rely on the righteousness of that famous Egyptian saying, "Leave the dough to its baker".

A unique play called Balah Zaghloul (Zaghloul's Dates) has been showing in the open-air theatre at the Aga Khan Garden in Shubra for the past few Fridays. Plenty of children have been flocking to the garden to enjoy the show, as well as try their luck in a drawing competition being held on the fringes of the event. The idea is for the children to draw what they see as the most attractive characters or situations from the play itself. At the end of the play's run -- which coincides with the Reading for All Festival -- prizes will be awarded to the most talented children. The idea behind Balah Zaghloul is to emphasise the negative effects of excessively relying on others. Themes such as honesty are dealt with in a very interesting way by the play, which also features plenty of singing and dancing. Hamdi Eid wrote the lyrics, while Fathi Khattab composed the lovely music. Ahmed El-Dala choreographed the show, while Alaa El-Halwagy produced the masks and decor. Written and directed by prominent artist Hanaa Saadeddin, Balah Zaghloul was first shown at Shubra Al-Khayma's Cultural Palace a month ago to rave reviews and packed houses. It is scheduled to move on to Alexandria's Creative Cultural Palace by the end of the month.