The Maulana Azad Centre for Indian Culture, under the auspices of the Embassy of India in Cairo, opened the doors at its new premises in Zamalek on 12 February.
Celebrating the event, an exhibition titled Celebrities from Egypt and India, displaying paintings by young Egyptian artist Ahmed Khairy, was inaugurated.
According to the official press release, the new premises are located at the 2nd floor, Abu El-Fida Building, No: 3, Abu El-Fida Street, Zamalek, and they include a main hall for exhibitions, performances, and film/documentary screenings, a library with 7,000 books on India, and classrooms for Hindi and Urdu courses.
The new location serves as a platform for continuation of the activities already held at the old premises, which opened in 1992 in downtown Cairo, for years offering a wide range of cultural activities.
The Maulana Azad Centre for Indian Culture took its name from Abul-Kalam Ghulam Muhiyuddin (1888-1958), a scholar and leader of the Indian struggle for independence. Muhiyuddin was born in Mecca, Saudi Arabia to a daughter of Sheikh Mohammad Zaher Watri, a well-known Arab scholar from Medina, and Maulana Khairuddin, a Bengali Muslim of Afghan origin.
Maulana Azad himself was profoundly interested in Muslim and Arab cultures. His extensive travels took him to Afghanistan, Iraq, Egypt, Syria, and Turkey. In Cairo, he met Egyptian revolutionary and statesman Saad Zaghloul and a number of other revolutionary figures.
Source: Ahram Online