Cairo, Nov 1 (IANS): An exhibition by the Egyptian Caricature Society depicting prominent Indian figures from the field of politics, art and literature, and cinema, alongside leading Egyptians was inaugurated at the Maulana Azad Centre for Indian Culture (MACIC) here.

The exhibition entitled 'Faces and Features: Caricatures of Indian and Egyptian personalities' was inaugurated jointly by Camelia Sobhi, first undersecretary in the ministry of culture, noted Egyptian caricaturist Ahmed Toghan and Indian Ambassador Navdeep Suri Wednesday, an Indian embassy release said.

Sobhi said that such cultural and artistic events "contribute in further enhancing our interaction with the Indian civilization, which is a very unique one".

Ambassador Suri stressed on the bonds between India and Egypt, saying that even while the current exhibition was under way Egyptian school children were participating in the Glimpses of India Competition.

Toghan quoted lines by poet Ahmed Shawky written when Mahatma Gandhi passed through the Suez Canal.

Toghan had drawn a sketch of the Jawaharlal Nehru and Gamal Abdel Nasser at the famous Bandung conference in 1955, which was the first work on display at the exhibition.

Indian personalities that are depicted include Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Amitabh Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai while Egyptians include Naguib Mahfouz, Youssef Chahine and Omar Sharief.

The Egyptian Caricature Society has worked closely with the Maulana Azad Centre recently with an exhibition of caricatures of Mahatma Gandhi inaugurated Oct 2 to mark his 144th birth anniversary and the International Day of Non-Violence.

The exhibition will remain open till Nov 14.