Kuwait: Hundreds of people from different walks of life participated along with their families in a Desert Picnic hosted by Indian Muslim Association (IMA-Kuwait) under the theme ‘Building an Ideal Family’. A huge premises with separate tents for men and women and many small tents for basic amenities in a desert provided a great escape from the daily routine to the entire family.
IMA’s Desert Picnic is a customary annual event consisting of Educational Sessions, Entertainment Interludes, Sports, Mushaira (Urdu Poetry Session), several kinds of competitions and lots of activities so that the entire family can rejoice in a leisurely atmosphere. Islamic books stall was available during the picnic that displayed various contemporary books in different Indian languages.
Khaja Arifuddin, an educationalist from Andhra Pradesh, graced the event as a special guest and addressed the gathering on the ‘Importance of Islamic Family Value System’. While pointing at the collapse of family value system in the developed countries, he criticized various social menaces such as relationships outside the institution of marriage and Old-Age-Homes.
Various sports activities such as volleyball, running race, cricket, tug of war were conducted separately for men and women. In a parallel session, many prominent Urdu poets participated in Mushaira and presented their poems to a big applause and appreciation from the audience. The poets included Masood Hassas, Afroz Alam, Aamer Kidwai and Khaled Azmi.
Sharafuddin Soofi, a well-known speaker, highlighted the ‘Pre-requisites for an Ideal Family from Islamic perspective’ during the Friday-Sermon. He stressed the need of women empowerment particularly in educational field that will help contribute immensely towards the development of family and society at large.
In the afternoon session, the artists of IMA youth wing presented stage shows and cultural programmes under various themes. It was one of the prime attractions of the picnic that added flavor to the atmosphere. Animations and cutting edge technology were employed for the stage activities.
Prizes were distributed to the winners of various competitions. Nisar Ahmed compered the programme. Masood Shehab, IMA-President, was present on the dais. Noman Vasekar, Chief Organizer for the event, gave picnic guidelines to the participants to ensure discipline and safety during the event.
