News: Shodhan Prasad
Daijiworld Media Network
Pics: Ashok Belman (GK)

Dubai, Mar 12: Shri Satyanarayana Pooja Samithi concluded 'Samoohika Shri Satyanarayana Pooja' recently at JSS School, Al Safa, here. This is the fifth consecutive year they are conducting this pooja in the city and attended by around 1000 devotees from all around UAE and abroad.

Purohit Ratnakar Bhat, Kaup and his assistant were flown in from India to conduct the Pooja formalities with Kalasha Prathistapana on the beautifully decorated mantap on the stage. On behalf of the Samithi and all those participated, Jagannath Kotian and Latha Kotian sat on the pedestal to receive the pooja. The formalities continued with Bhajan singing by various community groups specially children.

With Anand Shanbhague in the harmonica and Ganesh Kudva in Tabla the participants were Narayan Seva Samithi's Neharika Shanbhague, Meghna Bhat, Hamsika, Vishwakarma Seva Samithi's Mythili Acharya, Prajwal and group, Padmashaali's Anusha Ashok, Shresta Srikant Shettigar, Rajarajeshwari Bhajana Mandali's Rakshita Shetty, Amisha Shetty and Mogaveer's Riya Salian, Pratham Bala Salian. This was followed by recitation of 'Shree Satyanarayana Katha' by purohit Ratnakar Bhat.

Special devotional singing was presented by devotional singer Shankar Shanubhogue and his troupe who arrived from India specially for this Pooja. Other than exponent Shanubhougue himself there were Shanker Shenoy Padubidri in Harmonica and Sathya Vijay Bhat Katpadi
in Tabla.

Shanbhogue, a diploma holder in mechanical engineering is one of the finest young Hindustani classical singers today in Khayal. He sings in both Agra and Gwalior Gharana styles. He has earlier performed at the Babylon Festival in Iraq in the year 1997, at Symphony Hall, Birmingham UK in 1993 and at other international events. He presented a soulful 'Bhajan Sandhya' in Dubai June last year which
was arranged by UAE Amchigele Samaj.

The visiting devotional singing group were specially felicitated by the Samithi. Prabhakar Shenoy one of the dynamic personality who served in UAE for two decades and who had solely initiated teaching and developing various bhajan teams in UAE and now settled down in Mangalore was invited by the Samithi and honoured for his great contirbution.

Later in the evening was the Maha Pooja and Mangalaarathi and all the devotees queued up to attain the darshan of Lord Shri Satyanarayana and seek blessings with Prasada. A huge number of people offered special pooja and accepted prasada distributed by the lady volunteers of Varalakshmi Pooja Samithi.

Delicious Mahaprasada (dinner) was served, arranged by Divesh Alva, Woodland Restaurant, Sharjah and volunteered by people of various communities in distribution in the open light lit ground.