Media Release
Saudi Arabia, Apr 24: Mangalore Association Saudi Arabia (MASA), an association formed to serve for noble cause, launched on October 22, 2006 have celebrated its 18th Anniversary titled ‘MANORANJANE’ on Thursday, April 10 with a colorful celebration, along with warmth farewell to its one of the founder members, mentor, contributor Ravi Karkera. The enthusiastic crowd gathered at Saadi Resort Safwa to witness the gala event. Recognitions of members by giving away, academic excellence awards to students, special achievement awards, Masa Man of the year award, raffle draw, exciting and thrilling cultural events, emotional farewell to Ravi Karkera along with his family members were the main highlights of the evening.
Following events took place during the occasion:
1. Reading the Annual Report for the year 2023-2024 by general secretary, Puttaraju.
2. Academic excellence awards were given to as many as 14 students.
3. Special achievement awards were given to 6 members for their achievement in different fields.
4. Distinguished service awards were given to 4 members
5. Naveen Shetty, Yeadapadavu was declared as MASA Man of the Year 2024, the most Prestigious Award of MASA given each year to the member for the dedicated and diligent services.
6. Induction of new committee for the term 2025 and 2026 was carried out by Ravi Karkera & Narendra Shetty by installing Praveen Peter Aranha as president along with EXCOM and various other sub committees
7. Farewell Felicitation of founder member Ravi Karkera along with family members.
8. Raffle draw with as many as 14 attractive prizes
9. Thrilling and exciting cultural programme by masa children and adults was thoroughly enjoyed by the audience.
Initially, the members and guests were welcomed by Praveen Peter Aranha, vice president of Masa followed by young and energetic Prateek Poojary anchored the further proceedings.
President Gopal Shetty inaugurated the event by lighting the ceremonial lams along with advisory committee members Ravi Karkera, Sadashiv Poojary, Narendra Shetty, Naveen Bhandary, EXCOM members & Guests.
Annual Report was presented by general secretary Puttaraju which included details of various events held during the year 2024.
Addressing the gathering president Gopal Shetty expressed his wholehearted thanks to members for rendering dedicated services to MASA, Sponsors for their generous support to the association. He thanked the committee for its meticulous planning and its implementation in conducting various events successfully under the professional guidance of advisory committee and dedicated teams of EXCOM, assessment, sports, media and entertainment committees.
He thanked the sponsors and participants for their contribution and services. and appealed the members and guests to continue their generous contributions in fulfilling the objective of serving for the noble cause undertaken by MASA. He informed the audience that, since inception Masa has distributed more than 2.5 crore to needy ones which was welcomed with a thunderous round of applause by the audience,
Among the guests, Ankush Bait (Syndicate Consultants & UNIDSOL), Avinash Karnik & Prithvi Raj Hegde (DILOGUE Services), Siraj & Omarabba from DCA, Deepak Pejawara (president Patla Foundation Bahrain & Saudi Arabia Wing), Shekhar Tiwari (District 79 director, TMI), Alex Philip (District 79 Club Growth director TMI), Austin Santhosh Kumar (Ex president Kannada Sangha, Bahrain), Rajesh Shetty ( Ex president Kannada Sangha Bahrain and Ex president Patla Foundation Bahrain and KSA Wing), Girish Kadam (Maharashtra Mandal KSA), Suresh Bharati, VP Tamil Sangham, Teja – president Telugu Association, Abdul Sattar & Farooq Raja-Tamil association, Rajkumar from Jain from Jain university were present.
Recipient of academic excellence awards: Sheza Mehwish, Amay Keshava Kumar, Eashan Yashwanth Poojary, Shreya SathishKumar Bajal, Nakul Sharath Kumar, Yashmitha Yashwanth P, Winston Jacob D’Sa, Srinidhi Sathishkumar Bajal, Siddhant Sudhir Karkera, Dr Rizwin, Deeksha Naveen Bhandary, Violla Blessy D’Sa, Dr Merwin Fernandes and Manish Dhawal.
Artland winner’s Trophy of MASA Internal Cricket tournament was given to Team SKY WARRIORS, captain Ranjith Shetty & runner up trophy to team J D FRIENDS, captain J D Santhosh.
Special achievements awards: Shreya Sreekumar, Arpitha Gopal Shetty, Pranav P Kotian, Dr Ragini Bekur, Mohammed Nooman and Chitrakshi Ajith Kumar
Distinguished service awards: Rajesh Anchan Padubidri, Pushparaj G, Prashantha V K and Praveen D Shetty.
Then came the moment for which audience were eagerly waiting for; the announcement of the prestigious award, the 'MASA Man of the Year' award. Every year this award is given for the dedication, commitment, endurance and tireless service to MASA. It was a proud and emotional moment for Naveen Shetty as he humbly accepted the prestigious Man of the Year award. While addressing the gathering, he thanked MASA management and EXCOM for considering him for this honor and assured to continue his dedication and commitment towards service to humanity before putting forward valuable suggestions to MASA members on their responsibilities towards MASA EXCOM.
Award ceremony was conducted by Prateek Poojary and Ravi Karkera. Induction ceremony was conducted by advisory committee members Ravi Karkera and Narendra Shetty. Praveen Peter Aranha was installed as new president along with his team of EXCOM and various other committees.
The emotional moment of the evening began while Farewell ceremony of our founder, mentor and guide, Ravi Karkera together with his family members, he was warmly felicitated by president Gopal Shetty, along with EXOCM Team and esteemed guests from various associations and organizations.
During his farewell speech filled with full of emotions, Ravi Karkera thanked president, Gopal Shetty and EXCOM for this grand arrangement. He quoted that:
“MASA has always been a dream close to my heart. For me, social service was never a duty—it has been, and will always remain, a true passion. The seed of MASA was sown by my dear colleagues and friends—Madhav Amin, Karunakar Salian, and Santhosh Shetty—who inspired and encouraged me to give shape to this vision. With their constant support, and the backing of several like-minded well-wishers, seventeen of us came together, driven by a shared purpose. MASA was born. It was the acceptance of the social values I embraced during my formative years—and the vision and dedication of our founding members—that laid the foundation for what MASA is today. With a collective dream to support the needy and nurture the hidden potential of our children and youth, we embarked on a journey that has now completed 18 meaningful and impactful years. Thanks to my Sasihithlu ex-students Association where I learned and earned the knowledge of working for a social service organization where I am still a proud member and could use my knowledge to shape MASA to be an prominent association working for the upliftment of downtrodden people and providing platform for enhancing hidden talents among our children.
To see children who began their journey with MASA now become doctors, engineers, and respected professionals is a moment of immense pride and joy. MASA has not only been a platform for social service but also a space that has fostered talent in arts, culture, sports, leadership, and communication.
Today, MASA stands tall as a truly inclusive organization—welcoming all, regardless of caste, creed, or religion. It is not just an association; it is an institution where values are nurtured, leaders are shaped, and bonds are built for life.
This incredible journey would not have been possible without you—your encouragement, your trust, your time, and your selfless contributions. Every step I took in this journey was powered by your unwavering support. I bow to each of you with sincere gratitude.
A special note of thanks to our generous and philanthropic donors, whose belief in our mission has been a cornerstone of MASA’s success. Our heartfelt appreciation goes out to major contributors like:
Joey Fernandes (Artland Transport), Vishwanath Hegde, Sadashiv Poojary (Intermodal Global), Yogeesh Poojary (SASPP), Ibrahim (Al Raqwani), Madhav Amin, and Dayanand Shriyan, along with all our regular donors, members, and well-wishers.
Thanks to your consistent support, MASA has been able to extend its services to countless noble causes—and we look forward to your continued support in the years to come.
Let us carry forward the MASA spirit and our timeless motto:
“Service to humanity is service to God.”
Help others, expecting nothing in return—for as a beautiful Chinese proverb reminds us:
If you want happiness for an hour – take a nap.
If you want happiness for a day – go fishing.
If you want happiness for a year – inherit wealth.
But if you want happiness for a lifetime – help others.
To all my dear colleagues, friends, and extended MASA family—you have not just been part of this journey, you are this journey. You’ve been my strength, my support, and my inspiration. I will miss you deeply.
As the saying goes:
“To meet and part is a part of life.
To part and meet again is the hope of life.”
Though I may be leaving Dammam for now, I carry each of you in my heart. I look forward to returning someday, to reunite in good health and great spirit. Causes”
He promised the members; he will be in touch with Masa though he is leaving the Kingdom and will lend his advice and support as needed in the future too. All members were emotional and touched by his sincere words and gave him standing ovation and saluted for his dedication & willingness to serve the humanity.
After a break. For the dinner, thrilling and mesmerizing cultural events were anchored showcased.
Raffle committee head Puttaraju and team of young children were recognized with special gift for the excellent marketing of raffle tickets before the draw of Raffle. Fun filled, raffle draw was conducted by Naveen Bhandary, Ravi Karkera and Puttaraju. As many as 14 attractive prizes were drawn and collected by the lucky winners. Before conducting of raffle draw, vote of thanks were submitted by Roopesh Suvarna.
Event Manoranjane was powered by: Sadashiv Poojary, Intermodal Global Co, Joey Fernendes & Naveen Shetty of ARTLAND Transport Services Co, Dinesh Holla & Avinash Karnik from DILOGUE Services Co.
Supported by: Ravi Karkera, Narendra Shetty (Najib Al Hajri), Ramesh Mendon, Gopal Shetty, Khobar Friends, Sathish Kumar Baja (Garnish Restaurant), Vidya & Santosh Shetty Dubai, Praveen Peter Aranha, Ameer Hussain, Naveen Bhandary, Sudarshan Sanil, Ankush-Syndicate Consultants & UNISOL, Puttaraju, Vishwanath Suvarna, Roshan Kotian, Harishkumar Poojary, Niranjan Karkera & Balakrishna Shetty.
It was a memorable evening, the entertaining and emotional gathering of 18th year Annual Day ‘Manoranane’ concluded with lots of sweet memories to carry. The event concluded by singing of National Anthem.