Media Release
Abu Dhabi, May 29: The Konkan community of St Paul’s Catholic Church Mussafah, celebrated Konkan Day on May 26, for all Konkani lovers of UAE for the first time. All the Catholic churches in UAE namely Mussafah, Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Dubai, Jebel Ali, Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah got together and partook of this mega event under the spiritual guidance of Fr Ashok Gonsalves, spiritual directors of the Konkani community of Mussafah. The main purpose of this event was to bring the entire Konkani speaking community of UAE under one umbrella to display their unity and oneness among all sections of the people and to also portray the rich Konkani culture and heritage to the children for the future generation to continue in the same spirit.
The celebration began at 9 am with breakfast served to all the attendees from the various parishes as well as for Mussafah parishioners.The guests were requested to then proceed to the main St Francis of Assisi Hall where they were warmly welcomed in traditional style by the Apex team secretary Veeda D’Lima and treasurer John D’Lima in their traditional costume who offered them paan pod udak and goud ani udak (traditional beetle leaves with arecanut and jaggrey with water to drink). All the people were thrilled and appreciated the welcome they were extended. The guests were escorted by the volunteers to their seats.
Once seated, the programme commenced as per schedule around 10 am by carrying of vojen (a traditional culture to help families by providing them help in kind). Vojen
was led by the Apex committee main co-ordinator Robert Pinto. It was remarkable to witness the different kinds of vojen like rice mudo, tender coconut, banana leaves, and different kinds of vegetables along with kelacho godai. It was an eye catching scene for all the people gathered – especially the adults. It was a refreshing experience for the grown ups to relive and for the children it was a totally novel experience to witness, remember and cherish. The vojen was followed by a flag procession ceremony where the UAE flag was carried first followed by the Indian flag and then the flags of all the other churches of UAE.
After the procession, a prayer dance was performed by the kids of St Paul’s Church Mussafah. Robert Pinto welcomed all the priests and dignitaries onto the dais for the formal inauguration of the function. Fr Paul Koenig OFM Cap, Custos of Southern Arabia began the prayer and wished the function all the best. The emcee announced the lighting of lamps by all the priests and guests and members of Apex Team along with other members. A huge cake was cut in commemoration of the event. Fr Ani Xavier OFM Cap, parish priest of St Paul’s Church Mussafah apprised the Konkani community of Mussafah for their contribution not to the church alone, but to the community and their active participation in all the other church events. He wished the function every success. The emcee requested the priests and dignitaries to take their seats to begin the cultural event.
The cultural programme commenced by an introductory song by M Ashwin and his teams. St Mary’s Church Al Ain was the first to perform with their Konkani comedy skit followed by a group dance and ending with a Baila dance. A lot of effort went into preparation for their dance and the crowd accorded them a standing ovation for their performance.
The community of St Francis of Assisi Church, Jebel Ali was next. They began with a Konkani medley followed by a skit and a thrilling dance performance. People responded with a rising ovation for the final dance. The community members of the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Health presented a melodious Gumta song which was appreciated by the crowd. It was a well-coordinated effort by the team which was also appreciated by the spectators.
The long awaited team of St Michaels Church Sharjah performed a Konkani medley by the kids. An enchanting team dance will be remembered for a long time. The spectators gave them a standing ovation. The parishioners of Abu Dhabi Konkans (Konkani motea) expressed their artistic performance with a traditional Mando followed by a witty group dance. Their group dance kept the audience on their toes and it was quite an enchanting performance by Abu Dhabi Konkans. The participants of St Mary’s Church Dubai put in a lot of effort to entertain the audience. The song of 'ami doga sezara vethav kazarak' could not prevent the audience from coming onto the floor to dance. It was a tantalizing performance. Their comedy skit 'Kanndgi' (sweet potato) and the performance of the artistes were commendable. Their Baila dance was appreciated by all. Lastly was the performance of the host church, St Paul’s Church, Mussafah. The initial skit conveyed the message of love for Konkani and encouraged all the Konkani lovers to be proud with their old Konkani language and its rich heritage and not to be ashamed of speaking Konkani in the family. In conclusion of the programme, was a mind boggling surprise from Mussafah Konkani community which was appreciated and applauded by all. In short, all the teams provided their best possible performance.
During the programme, lots of spot prizes were distributed. Fr Robert Lasrado said a small prayer before food was served. Pork Bafat a specialty of the Konkans was served along with other delicacies. In all, over 800 people attended the mega event and approximately 140 participants participated in the programme. The programme was compered by Annu Bantwal who kept the crowd in good humour with his witty jokes. Natkash Borkar kept the crowd on their toes. 12 priests from different parishes attended the programme to grace the occasion.
A Konkani Eucharistic service was celebrated around 3 pm and the main celebrant was Fr Valerian Fernandes OFM Cap and chancellor along with Fr Ashok Gonsalves OFM. Cap; Fr Maxim Cardoza OFM Cap; and Fr Robert Lasrado OFM Cap. Immediately after the mass, a vote of thanks was delivered by Fr Ashok Gonsalves who thanked everyone who helped make the event a great success. He appreciated the work of the ushers. In his final speech, he requested this mettle to continue and grow and requested the Konkani community to come forward and arrange these events once a year to further the growth of Konkani, its identity and to benefit the community.
Cultural secretary Lawrence Rudolf D’Souza requested all the priests and dignitaries came onto the dais for the final felicitation and distribution of mementoes to all the co-ordinators of the different churches, priests, donors and well-wishers. All the priests appreciated the efforts made by the Konkani community Mussafah especially Fr Ashok Gonsalves for his incessant support in staging the event.
Prior to the end of the function, a Baila dance was performed by the Mussafah community along with other parishes and the programme came to a cheery close around 5.30 pm. Tea/coffee and cake were served to all.It was indeed a memorable day in the history of the Konkani community of UAE.