By Ghadeer Ghloum

KUWAIT: Writer Taleb Al-Refai hosted a gathering to commemorate Kuwaiti singer Abdulkarim Abdulqadir at his home on Sunday, as part of the 11th season of his cultural gathering.

The event was attended by composer Anwar Abdullah and poet Khaled Al-Bathaal, in addition to other artistes and literati. Refai began the meeting with a moment of silence to express his sadness on the loss of singer Abdulqadir, and read Surat Al-Fatiha for his soul, as Muslims do for their deceased.

Refai then welcomed his guests to the cultural gathering and expressed his wish that Abdulqadir should have been among the attendees. He also spoke about his days with Abdulqadir and his friendly relationship with him. Like Refai, Bathaal, who was a close colleague of Abdulqadir, spoke about his memories with him. He said they were not only work colleagues, but also brothers and friends. He also spoke of Abdulqadir’s high morals and good behavior with his friends and family, as he has a high level of kindness and compassion, along with romantic and gentle qualities.

In addition, Bathaal mentioned Abdulqadir’s interaction with his poetry, where he could feel and react to every word that he sang. He also said Abdulqadir’s influence is not limited to his time and generation, but has spanned six generations, having an impact on both the older and younger generations.

Abdullah expressed his condolences on the loss of Abdulqadir, speaking about his generosity, kindness and humanity while dealing with people and especially himself, as Abdullah narrated his experiences and interactions with Abdulqadir. Abdullah also spoke of Abdulqadir’s artistic and musical works and showed some of Abdulqadir’s written works to the attendees.

Najm Al-Ghareeb, author of a book on Abdulqadir, believes writing this book was a deserving project for someone like Abdulqadir due to the quality of his artistic works and for being a good person. Despite the fact that Abdulqadir did not encourage Ghareeb to write the book, Ghareeb insisted on writing it, as he saw that Abdulqadir’s works must not be forgotten.

Refai noted that Abdulqadir was not a musician or a person who had studied music, but instead developed a musical taste. He agreed with Bathaal that Abdulqadir is loved by younger generations too, and not