Cheerful smiles were obvious when I met my friend Kumar. India is a close ally of Bahrain and Narendra Modi’s visit - the first Indian prime minister to visit Manama - is a new addition to the strong ties between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Republic of India.
In December 2007, the Bahraini Indian Society was launched to strengthen relations between the two countries and two peoples. Many Indian companies are based in Manama reaching out to the Gulf market. Why not, Bahrain is one of the most diversified economies in the region.
Kumar keenly tells me that India-Bahrain relations are based on a long history spanning hundreds of years of civilizational. When I asked him about the impact of this relationship on both countries’ institutions, Kumar said proudly that the cooperation between India and Bahrain is growing at a rapid rate and that the volume of trade exchange between the two countries grew by 24.6 per cent between 2016 and 2018.
I have no doubt that the bilateral relations between Bahrain and India thrived through the development of economic relations that are growing rapidly. The two countries culminated in this relationship with the establishment of the Joint Higher Committee between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Republic of India. In 2014, an office of the Federation of Indian Industries was opened in Bahrain to facilitate trade and commerce between the two countries, the first of its kind in the Middle East.
Bahraini-Indian relations have been a stepping stone towards further closer bilateral cooperation since the two countries began diplomatic representation in 1971. His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa visited India in February 2014 and the two countries signed a number of memorandums of understanding worth $450 million for trade and investment between the two sides.
Manama has opened its doors to the global economy, and the economic climate for foreign investment in Bahrain provides vital opportunities for Indian and international companies and investors. Kumar tells me that in 2018, non-oil trade between the two countries amounted to about $1.1 billion.
PM Modi commented on his website, indicating that his visit to Manama will have a positive impact on enhancing bilateral relations in all areas of cooperation between the two friendly countries.
Abdullah Al Alami,
Freelance Saudi writer
The Colours of Life is an annual poetry festival organised by The Second Circle, a sister group of the Bahrain Writers’ Circle (BWC). David Hollywood was the charismatic founder of both, The Second Circle and The Colours of Life Poetry Festival. The BWC owes the concept, character and energy of the festival to David Hollywood’s vision and dedication.
The first Colours of Life was held in 2012 and featured fifteen poets representing nationalities from Bahrain, Malaysia, the US, Canada, India, Ireland, Yemen and the Netherlands.
The poets recited and performed around 60 poems that ranged in mood and emotion from white and black through grey, purple, lavender, blue, red, gold and rust to yellow and green all the way back to white. The troupe included Bahraini poets who presented Arabic poems.
Since then, almost every year, except in 2014, the BWC has held the unique Colours of Life Poetry Festival. It is perhaps the only bilingual, Arabic and English, poetry presentation in Bahrain that includes a multicultural, multi-ethnic cast of poets from a wide variety of countries. This year, there are 20 poets from Bahrain, the UK, Canada, Germany, India, Malaysia, Pakistan and Yemen, featuring 34 poems. It may well be the only poetry festival on the island that includes musical and visual accompaniment to the poems.
The Festival will be held on September 28 at 7 pm at Riffa Views’ International School’s LEVEL 5 – a non-profit professional learning. LEVEL 5 hosts a myriad of learning experiences for students, educators and the wider community to create, collaborate and grow. For a full listing of the events and workshops, check out www.thelevel5.org/bahrain
Admission is free. Parking is available. All guests are required to please bring their CPR/ID card for entrance.
For more information, membership inquiries and details of meetings visit www.bahrainwriterscircle.net.
Claudia Hardt,
Bahrain Writers’ Circle
