Oman: Cultural extravaganza marks Mangalore Balaga annual event
Report: Samskrati Gulvady Shenoy
Pics: Deepak Pereira
Sohar (Oman) Nov 10: The stage at the Sports Complex, Liwa near Sohar, Oman came alive on Friday November 9 when all Mangaloreans of Al Batinah region got together for the Annual programme of Mangaluru Balaga. This is an event which is eagerly awaited by the Mangalorean community – be it Tulu, Kannada or Konkani speaking people. Members of all age groups – young and old have been enthusiastically taking part in this annual fare ever since its inception in 2004.
The day-long programme began with a ceremonious inauguration by lighting the lamp. Richard D’Souza, Shivaprakash Rai, Shaju Achar, Narayan Kotian, Flacid Lobo and Sudhir Kumar were present on this occasion.
This was followed by a welcome song in Kannada which gave a kaleidoscopic description of the rich heritage of Karnataka. When Deepika Krishnaprasad, Krishnaprasad, Ashok Naik, Shilpa Naik, and Samskrati Shenoy sang, ‘Ide naadu, ide bhaashe, endendu nammadagirali. Elle irali, hege irali, Kannadave namma usiralli’ the audience was virtually transferred to the land of sandalwood and Yakshagana.
Shivaprakash Rai welcomed the audience. Richard D’Souza, president of the Balaga welcomed the gathering and appreciated the enthusiasm and support shown by all the Mangalorean members and patrons.
The audience was amazed when the little boys and girls clad in checked shirts and lungis, along with sun glasses gyrated to the tune of ‘Lungi dance’. Kushi Ravikant, Ashvi Shetty, Sanvi Shetty, Tejasvi Shetty, Niliya D’souza, Neil D’souza, Trisha Rajendra, Karthik Kamath, Athriya Mallya, Ranen Goveas, Royden Goveas, Shaun Andrade, Shalom Andrade, Nikhilesh Kulal, Manith Rao, and Sanjeeth Achar had the audience swaying to the beats of the movie ‘Chennai Express’.
Suha Rehma, Sakshi Shetty, Manasvi Shetty, Sharon Sujan and Suhera Rayyantook the audience on a trip to ‘Dillivia Agra’ with their captivating performance.Sanusha Achar and Tripthi Ratnakar mesmerized the audience with their movements too.
Balaga boasts of many talented singers like Deepika Krishnaprasad, Uday Achar, Ashok Naik, and Frankie Monis who kept the audience entertained with some popular Kannada, Tulu and Hindi numbers.
Mangaloreans are known to have global connections fromeons. Japan is one such country, which has impressed the coastal community. Shaila Prabhu, Swetha Kamath, Samskrati Shenoy, Dipti Baliga, Smitha Mallya, Swathi Kamath, Nikitha Shanbhag, Nidhi Shanbhag and Vridhi Baleri of Sohar adorned in beautiful Japanese kimonos and headdress carrying the traditional fan swayed harmoniously to the tune of ‘Sayonara….sayonara’.
Suprabha Rao, Priya Shaju, Smrithi Kulal, Bhavya Shetty, Anitha Ravikanth, and Saideep Arware danced to the rhythmic beats of ‘Nagaara’ in their vibrant ghagra cholis and silver jewellery.
Prithvi Krishnaprasad, Manjunath Rao, Prateek Prabhu, Saideep Arware and Sanusha Achar danced to the tune of ‘Ramji ki chaal’ from the forthcoming Bollywood movie ‘Ramleela’.
Performers of the ‘Chenna-Chinni’ group came all the way from Muscat to participate in this event and presented two performances in desi costumes which were liked by all.
A Kannada-Tulu comedy skit ‘Picnic Pandu’ made the audience burst out into laughter. Manjunath Rao, Kiran Kamath, Shaju Achar, Roshan Andrade and Amar Mallya were hilarious in their comic roles as Pandu, Pandit, Acharanna, Insurance agent and Maachu Teacher respectively. This was ably scripted by Shivaprakash Rai and music directed by Naveen Shetty.
Another attraction was a group dance based on a song ‘Doddavarella jaanaralla’ from the popular Kannada film of yesteryears ‘Guru shishyaru’.Nitin Raj, Harish Suvarna, Anil Suvarna, Prashanth Suvarna, Jitendra Kotian, Chandra Poojary, Ganesh Shetty and Charan Kumarmimicked the ‘foolish disciples’ as in the original song, with matching costumes and facial expressions. The ‘teacher’ made a grand entry at the end of the song, only to make the disciples dance as Psy in Gangnam style, much to the surprise of the audience.
A guitarist, a singer and an accordion player mimicking as dwarfs sang the popular Kannada number ‘kaanadante maayavadanu’, when a group of young boys danced to their tunes in ‘Rasamanjari’.
The ‘Kids’ Fashion Show’ proved to be the grand finale of the annual event. Tiny tots from the age of one year till teenagers walked the ramp innocently yet confident.
There were several spot prizes peppered in between the stage programmes which kept the audience involved throughout. The raffle draw brought smiles on many faces, when they walked away with dinner coupons of Crowne Plaza-Sohar and Pizza Palace.
The aroma of poori-bhaji-sheera for breakfast set the mood for the day’s programme. A sumptuous lunch with pulao-dal fry, gobi manchurian, butter chicken and gulab jamun was relished by all.
The next programme on the anvil is to conduct a Yakshagana performance by inviting performers from India. This is going to add another feather of success to the cap of Mangalore Balaga. The committee members have been working relentlessly throughout the year to make the annual event a memorable one. The smile and look of satisfaction on the faces of the audience makes the organisers feel that their efforts are worthwhile.
Sudhir Kumar wholeheartedly thanked all the members and patrons of Managalore Balaga who supported the event in various capacities. Founder President of the Balaga Frank Lobo graced the occasion.
Deepak Pereira froze the precious moments in his camera, etching them in the memories of all the participants. Photography is his passion, and now Deepak’s photos are a talk of the town. Eye Magic Studio of Sohar did the videography. Ashok Shetty compered the event.