Thousands of fans turned out to see veteran Indian film actor Mammootty and award-winning singer Hariharan at the Indo-Bahrain Heritage Fest (IBHF 2014) last night (May 9).

The event was held under the patronage of Minister of State for Information Affairs and official government spokeswoman Sameera Rajab. The classical music concert took place at The Indian School in Isa Town and featured Indian and local artists, reported the Gulf Daily News, our sister publication.

There were musical performances by Hariharan and an orchestra featuring other artists.

The event was organised by Al Hilal Corporation along with AARS Arts Centre and Deshabhimani Gulf.

Indian Ambassador Dr Mohan Kumar was chief guest and the chief editor of famous Indian daily Deshabhimani V V Dakshinamoorthi guest of honour.

Akhbar Al Khaleej Editor-in-Chief Anwar Abdulrahman was present.

Addressing the event, Abdulrahman said a person cannot be cultured just by reading books or graduating from university.

"It's much more than that. The word culture means appreciation and understanding for civilisations, for knowledge, for music, for arts as well as ideologies," he said.

"In fact, in short culture means open-mindedness and accepting the waves and tides of every civilisation," added Abdulrahman.

Mammootty in his speech praised Bahrainis' hospitality and the country's rich cultural heritage. Indian School chairman Abraham John and Mr Dakshinamoorthi also spoke at the event.

An event spokesman said more than 5,000 people attended the show. "Most came to see the legends - Hariharan and Mammootty - the major attractions of the show," he said.

"Mammootty is a veteran film actor and producer, who has mainly worked in Malayalam cinema and won several awards, including the National Film Award for best actor.

"He also won five Kerala State Film Awards and 11 Filmfare Awards. In 1998, he was awarded the Padma Shri for his contributions towards the arts. There are thousands of fans who wish to talk or at least see him and we have had a good turnout," he stated.

"Hariharan is an Indian playback singer, who has sung for Malayalam, Tamil, Hindi, Kannada, Marathi, Bhojpuri and Telugu films.

"He is an established ghazal singer and one of the pioneers of Indian fusion music.

"In 2004, he was honoured with the Padma Shri by the Indian government and is a two-time National Award winner.

"With tickets sold out and a huge crowd coming to see them, we expect to raise more than BD2,500 ($6597) through this event. All the proceeds will go to local charities," the spokesman added.

The event featured Arabic performances, various stalls, a fashion show, a magic show, dance performances and much more.-TradeArabia News Service