The Indian team at their stall.
Could this actually have happened? Well, it did at the College of the North Atlantic-Qatar (CNA-Q) at its Souk Areej Min Baladi (Flavours of my Homeland) event held recently at the college campus.
In the Souk, aimed at celebrating multiculturalism, students from the two South Asian countries showed how peaceful coexistence could be achieved. The event itself, where students from 19 countries participated, was a parade of beauty of life in multiculturalism.
“We have nothing like India-Pakistan (rivalry) here. We are more than friends. We call them (Indian students) brothers. Even back in Pakistan, we wonder what is wrong? I think it is only politics,” says Muhammad Omar, the Booth Leader of Pakistan’s Booth at the Souk, strategically located right next to India’s.
“At CNA-Q, it is always that India and Pakistan are always together. It was like this when we were making the booths. If we needed anything, we were going to Pakistan and if they need anything, they were coming to us. We both are there for each other,” says Ali Fazal Patka, Country Leader for India at the Souk.
“You should have come and seen us when we were setting up the booths. More than 50 percent of Pakistanis were in Indian booth and vice versa, helping each other set up the stalls,” agrees Omar.
“There are no borders here and that is the best thing here. Most of my friends are from Pakistan. Everybody is united. If it (peaceful coexistence) can happen here, it can definitely happen anywhere,” believes Patka.
Waleed Shakeel, the Country Leader for Pakistan says at the college they always keep them together. Corresponding to their countries’ sizes, they were also awarded bigger stalls at the Souk. Pakistan’s stall was slightly bigger and that, Shakeel says, was awarded to them after they won both awards at last year’s global village.
However, there is one moment, when even these students ‘fight’ — whenever there is India-Pakistan cricket match! They watch it in the college auditorium with a huge crowd cheering the two teams.
“If an Indian gets out, the Indians get a rollicking and if a Pakistani gets out, the Pakistanis get a rollicking. But at the end of the day, we all come together. It is just for fun and it is events like this that bring us closer,” says Patka.
At the Souk, the two countries showcased their native cultures through costumes, pictorial displays and cultural performances. They even invited each other over for performances and participation in dances.
The Pakistani booth showed four to five cultures from Pakistan where there were henna stalls, traditional attire corners and a pictorial display of a village set-up.
“Most of the countries are doing only one thing, but we the Pakistani students from different parts of the country did not want to do just one thing. Pakistan is not about just one thing, it is much bigger,” says Shakeel, himself attired in a sherwani, Pakistan’s national dress.
He was hoping to win the award in best costume. There were two more awards in best Booth and most authentic performance. In their performances, the Pakistani students showed everything cultural besides paying a tribute to the country’s armed forces.
It was almost similar at the India booth. They presented history starting from Mughal era India. In that background, visitors were invited to wear a pagri (turban) and take selfies.
There were pictures from the famous celebrities from India and a showcase of the diversity of attire that people wear in different regions and states of India.
Patka says from a group of about 50 people, people worked in the sets of about 10 at a time to establish the booth. “We started setting it up a little late than others, but it took us about 2-3 days to complete it. We have also performed bhangra and other such traditional dance forms from India here. We also invited the Pathans from Pakistan when they were performing,” says the Indian Country Leader.
There were other stalls spread all over the sprawling college campus, divided into regions as Middle East, Africa, Asia, America and others. One of the most attractive booths was the Canadian, planned by Heather Hiscock, the organiser for Canadian committee.
“We have tried to make it a Canadian Winter Wonderland. We have what we feel represents Canada in winter. So we have a cabin in the woods, we had our hockey and we had our snowball fight,” says Hiscock.
Every province in Canada would have something similar to this, she adds. Come winter, everyone loves to go out into the woods. Even in summers you would have it, but in winters they are playing hockey up there, and going skiing, skating and just enjoying being outdoors.
“And the cabin represents what it is like for most Canadians at the end and how they feel afterwards,” says the organiser. They had a committee of eight people who spent the last two and half months working on it. And about 35 people helped Hiscock on the night of the event.
In their cuisine, they also kept the winter theme and brought hot chocolate with Canadian cookies. There were performances on the stage by Canadians, who are part of faculty at the college, besides the regular popular music from the North American country.
“We have tried to look at how we could represent Canada the best. We did everything that we could do to involve everyone visiting us. We had lots of moments for pictures,” says Hiscock.
CNA-Q’s large Qatari student body officially hosted the event, where students and staff representing 19 countries showcased their heritage and traditions for the evening. Over 3,500 members of the public visited the campus courtyard as it was transformed into a lively souk, bustling with the sounds, sights and flavours of the various countries represented at the College.
“Our College community is a lot like the State of Qatar — we are comprised of a mosaic of individuals who come from different backgrounds and heritages. In the past, we have displayed our multifaceted College community at an event called Global Village,” said CNA-Q President, Dr Ken MacLeod.
“This year, we invited the public to come directly to our campus to learn about the many countries that are represented here, and let the students shine as ambassadors of their native countries. We decided to do this in a souk-style setting, which, of course, is the quintessential hallmark of Qatari culture,” he added.
Souk Areej Min Baladi was organised, in part, with the Bedaya Center for Entrepreneurship and Career Development which facilitated vendors providing delicious food, handicrafts, jewellery, clothing and accessories.
