A week-long festival of India in Kuwait will open in Kuwait city tonight , offering a taste of India's rich and diverse cultural heritage. The festival is being co-hosted by India's Ministry of Culture and the National Council of Culture, Arts and Letters (NCCAL), Kuwait, which comes under the ambit of the Kuwait-India Cultural Exchange Program 2009-2011 that was signed in April this year during Vice-President Mr. Hamid Ansari's visit to Kuwait. The inaugural show of the festival will be held under the patronage of Kuwait’s Minister of Oil and Minister of Information Sheikh Ahmad Al-Abdullah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah.Such a 'Festival of India' is being organised for the very first time in Kuwait. The festival will provide a glimpse of performing arts and visual arts from various parts of India. About 130 top-notch artistes and artisans will be coming to Kuwait from different parts of India to participate in the festival. Many of them are the foremost exponents in the world of their particular art form. Visual arts on display include an exhibition of Arabic calligraphy and an exhibition of Indian Muslim religious posters and calendar art brought from the famous Salar Jung Museum in Hyderabad. An exhibition of Indian woven textiles will also be held on the occasion. It will also include displays brought from India of contemporary art, folk art, textiles, photographs, calligraphy, dolls as well as puppet shows.