Amid tributes expressing its great success .. The end of the Second Annual International Cultural Festival of the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) in India ..

With an unrivalled presence, from various religious sects in India, the central courtyard of the Hussaynat Imam Bara in the Indian city of Lucknow witnessed on the evening of Saturday the 17 Rajab 1435AH corresponding to 17 May 2014 the closing ceremony of the events of the second annual international cultural festival of the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him), held under the theme: "The Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) The righteous of the faithful and the heir of the Prophets' science" organised in the auspicious occasion of the birth anniversary of the Guardian (wasiy) of Allah's Messenger (Peace and Allah’s mercy be upon him and his pure lineage) the Leader of the Resplendent and the dragonfly of the pious Imam Ali Ibnu Abi Talib (peace be upon them) and which was set up and sponsored by the Al-Abbas's (p) holy shrine with the participation of the holy shrines of Imam Ali, Imam Al-Hussayn and Imam Al-Kadhem (peace be upon them) as well as the Secretariat of the Iraqi Shiite shrines).

The closing ceremony which witnessed an extensive presence of religious, intellectual, cultural and social figures, notables and students of Indian Hawzas, agents of religious "Marjia' " in the Islamic world, in addition to the crowd presence that filled the place where the festivities take place, started with verses from the holy Quran read by Sayed Haider Gelokhan from the Al-Abbas's (p) Holy Shrine.

Followed by a tribute to the parties participating in this festival; the Iraqi Holy Shrines of Imam Ali, Imam Al-Hussayn and Imam Al-Kadhem (peace be upon them) and the general secretary of the Shiite Holy Shrines, with the distribution of certificates of appreciation in the name of the general secretary of the Al-Abbas's (p) Holy Shrine, in appreciation for their active participation to the success of this festival, in addition to honouring the members of the preparatory committee of the festival by the delegation of the Holy Shrine of Imam Ali (peace be upon him).

After that, came the announcement of the names of the winners of the intellectual contest hosted by the stand of the Al-Abbas's (p) Holy Shrine, with 100 awards spread over four days, with 20 prizes per day, except on Friday, with 40 Awards due to the increase of the number of visitors that day, where it was distributed about 4000 participation tickets, and as it was stated previously by the Al-Abbas's (p) holy shrine, the five first winners would win an all inclusive trip for two to the Zyarat of the holy Shrines in Iraq.

On the other hand the festival witnessed a wide India media coverage especially in the city of Lucknow, from newspapers, television channels and others that followed with great interest and broadcasting the events of the festival; Different interviews were taken with the delegation officials and TV reports about the content and the different events of this Festival. In addition to the international broadcast through Karbala satellite channel and the live-cast of the ceremony by the Hussayni Indian local channel. Without forgetting the importance of the informational posters that have been deployed and displayed in public places of the city of Lucknow which had a role in the media coverage of the festival , in addition to the participation of deans and scholars of Hawzas and religious schools to urge their students to take advantage of this festival and its different cultural activities, in particular the session of distribution of religious books and publications, as delegations of Karbala's Holy Shrines have visited these schools and hawzas before the start of the festival in order to call on teachers and students to attend and participate in it .

Eventually the head of the Preparatory Committee for the festival, Mr. Jassam as-Saidi concluded saying: "All the Thanks from the Al-Abbas's (p) holy shrine to all who contributed and made an effort for the success of this festival, which have seen a quantum leap compared to the previous edition, thanks to the participation of the Iraqi Holy Shrines and the General Secretary of the Shiite Holy Shrines which had an important impact, and also to the different activities held during the five days of this festival; conference, Quranic evenings, exhibitions and competitions. "