President Patil chief guest at Tajikistan I-Day celebrations

In a rare honour, President Pratibha Patil today witnessed as chief guest the Independence Day celebrations of Tajikistan marked by a colourful cultural programme, including dance performances by school children on Bollywood numbers.

Patil, who is on a three-day visit to this country, took part in the function along with her Tajikistan counterpart Emomali Rahmon, Prime Minister Akil Akilov and other top dignitaries. Apart from traditional dances, children performed to the tunes of Hindi movies's songs, which received a huge applause from the audience.

Patil witnessed the function organised on the occasion of the 19th Independence Day of Tajikistan as the chief guest, a rare honour bestowed on a foreign dignitary. Patil, who spoke in Hindi on the occasion, recalled the traditional ties between the two countries and lauded the progress achieved by Tajikistan. She hoped that the bilateral ties would grow even stronger in the days to come.

Before wrapping up her visit to Tajikistan, the President visited the Mausoleum of Mir Said Ali Hamadoni, a poet and prominent scholar who brought Islam to Kashmir in the 14th century.

Popularly known as Shah-e Hamdhan, he was credited with revival of Kashmiri handicrafts, an industry that was then on the decline. Even today, shawl-making in Kashmir is often called 'kar-e amiri', the work of a King, referring to Hamadoni who earned a living by making caps with his own hands.

Although he stayed for a year in the valley, his visit was viewed as a major event in the history of Islam in Kashmir. Patil also visited a park named after Mahatma Gandhi here before her departure for India.