Culture & Education | Wednesday 6 April, 2016 1:18 pm |

Organised and produced by Hamdan bin Mohammad Heritage Center, the 14th episode of the El Beit Show has announced Mohammed Al Mutairi and Mohammed Al Moghairfi as the two semi-final winners for the Nabd Al Soura (Imagery Pulse) Competition, along with Turki Al Qahtani and Samel Al Shareef as the two semi-final winners of the Chater competition. 

Now in its third season, the show’s weekly episodes have garnered widespread popularity in the region and have served as a platform to inspire and motivate talented young poets to display their work in an innovative public setting. The show is aired live every Monday at 10:30pm on Dubai TV with total prizes valued at almost half a million AED per episode. It consists of two competitions including the Nabd Al Soura “Imagery Pulse” competition and the Chater competition. 

The Nabd Al Soura competition requires viewers to write a verse that sums up the best interpretation of an image that is displayed on a weekly basis on the show. Participants have until Friday of the same weekend to submit their creative prose to El Beit’s official Twitter account (@el_Beit) or its official website www.elbeit.ae.  Three winners are then chosen, with the two runners-up being awarded AED 50,000 each and the first winner being awarded AED100, 000 and the chance to qualify for the semifinals and then the finals for the 1 million AED prize. 

Mohammed Al Mutairi said of his victory, “It’s an incredible feeling, knowing that my work has been recognised on such a high-standing, public platform. It sets the tone for the rest of my career as a writer and poet, and I am thankful to all the producers and participants of the show for making it such an enjoyable and inspiring experience.” Co-winner Mohammed Al Moghairfi said, “The show really served to highlight the importance of Dubai’s long history in poetry and art. As an artist and creative wordsmith, I highly encourage local poets to continue supporting these kinds of initiatives in the region. It’s hard to believe that the final episode is almost here; I am terrified, nervous and excited at the same time!”

The Chater competition requires viewers to complete the first part of the verse announced at 5:00pm on the day of the show and send it to El Beit’s official Twitter account (@el_Beit) or its official website www.elbeit.ae. The winner gets AED 100,000 while each of the 12 winners whose verses managed to reach on the golden screen is awarded AED 10,000. The awarding segment of winners of the previous episode is aired at 5:00pm, which is also when the Chater (the first part of the verse) is revealed.

The two lucky winners of the Chater competition were Turki Al Qahtani and Samel Al Shareef. Turki said of his win, “I can’t believe that all of my hard work has finally paid off. I have always loved the eloquence and grace of Arabic poetry, and this show has given me the ideal platform on which to showcase my passion for writing.”  Samel said, “I was really inspired by the talented poets who participated in this competition. Even though we were all competing for the prizes, I learned a remarkable amount of skills and creativity from them. It was amazing being surrounded by so many great artists; I’m excited to have won, but I’ve also made friends for life thanks to the show.”

The screening committee carefully selects verses from amongst thousands of entries for the Nabd Al Soura and for the Chater competition. In addition, a weekly guest of honor joins the show as the pioneer of the Shalla, a unique style of recital used in the literary performance of poetry. He is allowed to select a winner in the Chater competition who will be awarded with AED100, 000 but doesn’t qualify for the finals. 

The show, which celebrates the top wordsmiths of the region’s rhythmic Nabaty Poetry, highlights the linguistic culture and traditions of the Gulf countries and the wider Middle East.  During the final episode due to air next week, winners from the two semifinal stages will compete head-to-head for the grand prize.