Report : Gladson Dalmeida
Pics: Alexis Castelino
Daijiworld Media Network - Doha
Doha, Nov 26: Mangalore Cricket Club (MCC), the premier forum of Mangalorean expats living in Qatar has been trendsetter when it comes to organizing cultural programmes with difference. Each programme it organizes is unique in the sense that audiences are often taken aback with the variety and creativity. Mangalorean Day, which has been in MCC’s annual programme list for the last four years is one such example of this. Each edition of annual Mangalorean Day has been unique and one-of-its-kind that has been received with great appreciation by the audience.
The fourth successive Mangalorean Day held on Friday November 25, 2011 was no exception to this. It was a total package of games, food, music, dance and fun for the audience that had gathered in big numbers with great anticipation at the New Ideal School here.
The evening began with stall games and request numbers at 4 pm. The young and adults enjoyed the games with great enthusiasm and zeal. Some traditional yet creative games saw great participation, Konkani love numbers as request numbers thus giving a rousing start to the fourth Mangalorean Day of MCC.
The much-awaited cultural bash began with an introduction from the hosts of the evening Santosh Fernandes and Emilia Castelino, the welcome song composed by Eddie Sequeira. After MCC president Richard D’Souza had formally welcomed the gathering, youngest participants of the evening presented ‘Boogie Woogie’ action song. The little angels all within the age of four were just impressive and took audience by surprise by their superlative performance. A Konkani duet ‘Band Vaazta’ by Alwyn D’Souza and Sony Rodrigues had the audience asking for more.
But again it was the children who stole the limelight as the next dance to the tunes of Konkani song Ýa Ya Maya ya’”was approved with thunderous applause by full-house audience. The dance was choreographed by Lavina Savitha D’Souza and Sony Rodrigues. Joyce Mascarenhas then presented a super duper Goan Konkani number ‘Tuzo Mog’ in her melodious voice much to the delight of the audience. Super duper Bollywood song ‘Zoobie Doobie’ from the record-breaking Hindi move ‘3 Idiots’ has been a rage with the masses for long. However, at Mangalorean Day this song took the backstage as children who performed dance for the tunes of ‘Zoobie Doobie’ mesmerized all with the elegant dance and picture perfect expressions.
The hosts of the evening Santosh and Emilia with their fluent Konkani and enthusiasm kept the audience engaged with the happenings on the stage.
Fr Anand Castelino, the spiritual head of Konkani speaking community of Qatar has been a great supporter Konkani language and programmes. It was evident again as he exhorted the gathering to pass on the Konkani language and its rich traditions to the ‘GenX’ through programmes such as Mangalorean Day. In his short address he appreciated MCC’s efforts in organizing various programmes that promote Konkani and also showcase the talents of the Mangalorean community based in Qatar.
‘Kuzner Charlie’the, a short play written by Glany Fernandes and directed by Gladson DÁlmeida was the icing on the cake. The play highlighted importance of respecting and being considerate to people who ease our domestic chores. Everyone in this world looks for peace of mind and happiness both in personal and professional life and when he/she fails to find them in the day-to-day life, tends to get desperate. While Sandeep Noronha was absolutely centre of attraction in the play in the role of ‘Kuzner Charlie’, veteran actors Della Rego and Bonaventure (Bonu) D’Souza were again at their usual best. Naveen Permannur as Roshan and Jyothi Noronha as Charlotte put up impressive performance with their usual flamboyant acting skills. Playwright Glany showed that he’s much more than just writer and his performance as commission agent Hubba too was well appreciated. Qatar’s up and coming talent Elreena Maria Pinto scored background music for the play.
Any Mangalorean Konkani programme without the contribution of the late Wilfy Rebimbus in one way or the other is incomplete. This time around it was Wilfy’s evergreen number ‘Sobit Sundar Gaanv’ that depicts the beauty of Mangalore was sung melodiously by Eva Wilma Pinto and Sunitha Tellis of Gulf Voice of Mangalore fame. Sana Britto surely possesses most elegant feet among Mangaloreans based in Qatar. She again proved as to why she is considered to be one of the best dancers with her ballet dance to the tunes of immortal number ‘From this Moment’. Later singing couple Patrick and Thelma D’Souza entertained the audience with Konkani duet ‘Sargachea Bukacher’, one of the best compositions of Wilson Olivera Padukone. Remy and Namitha D’Souza then presented the Konkani duet “Naka Naka Mulleari’ composed by Remy himself. Both Remy and Namitha are wonderfully talented and abundantly blessed in musical field and their singing was no less than any professional performance.
This duet performance was followed by a group dance to the tunes of Melwyn Peris’ hit number…the dance was choreographed by Sherry. Fusion dance that followed the sequence was surely one of the best items of the evening. The dance choreographed by Jyothi Noronha received the loudest applause of the evening from the gathering. Remy again showcased his abundant talent both in composing and singing with his solo number Bus stand sundari’. The late Wilfy Rebimbus’ immortal number ‘Kuru Kuru Mama’ was presented in the dance form by young dancers. The dance was choreographed by Dorothy Kemmannu.
Fashion and fashionable trends have affected all in recent times. MCC is no exception for this and fashion show and fashion parade have been integral part of Mangalorean Day for the last couple of years. Fashion a trend and a symbol of status, has a great impact on our young generation. Accordingly yet again Qatar’s talented Mangaloreans presented fashion parade to the tunes of Jalwa song from the hit Hindi movie Fashion. It was a great performance and was creatively coordinated and choreographed by Shalini Monteiro.
A Konkani Manddo by Dony Lobob and group was the last programme of the evening. It was just not coincidence but apt that Mangalorean Day concluded with the traditional Mangalorean manddo.
The food stalls with some tradition Mangalorean and non-Mangalorean items such as patrades, goli baje, biriyani etc had many takers. The tasty food items were prepared by generous members of MCC and others.
The prize winners of the raffle draw won gift items, gift vouchers, lunch vouchers from Sheraton and Ramada and the Mega prize which was DOH-BOM ticket from Jet Airways.
All in all it was again a memorable Mangalorean Day and going by the current trend, it seems that MCC is set to organize many more Mangalorean Days in the coming years showcasing and promoting native culture and also supporting modern trends.