Abu Dhabi: Wilfred Fernandes first president of Konkan Pearls
Media Release
Abu Dhabi, Nov 30: The first gathering of Konkan Pearls, which was known as Pearls of Mangalore previously, was held at Arab Udupi Party Hall, Abu Dhabi recently.
Wilfred Fernandes, a dynamic leader who was unanimously elected the first president of the new musical and cultural organization titled the group as Konkan Pearls (Konkan Mothiyan).
The first get-together began with prayers and thanksgiving to the almighty led by Wilfred followed by the self-introduction by all members.
On the occasion Wilfy launched the new logo of Konkan Pearls – Abu Dhabi, UAE which was designed jointly by Paul and Wilfy, followed by the announcement of all new office-bearers. He wished them all success in their work.
The new committee members are:
President: Wilfred Fernandes (Wilfy)
Vice President: Anil Pinto
General Secretary: NandithaSaldanha
Treasurer: Ronald Lobo
Cultural secretaries: PrashanthSequeira, Joshal Lobo, AnnuBantwal and Maxim D’cunha
Design and Media head: Paul Pereira
Media Secretaries: Melrick Dsouza and Precilla Pereira
Event coordinators: Ronald Dsouza and Melvin Fernandes
In his inaugural speech Wilfred explained the importance of forming the Konkan Pearls group and how to keep it lively with joint effort from all the members in the future. He also explained the reason to rename it - so that it could accommodate all people from the entire belt of Konkan region, regardless of place. He stressed that the group would strive to keep the rich Konkan culture alive by speaking in Konkani and promoting it among younger generation through various activities.
Elaborating on the objectives of Konkan Pearls, he said, "Konkan Mothiyan is a group dedicated to enhance the local Konkan talents, to keep our culture live, to promote Konkani among children and to get together in a true Konkan spirit in the capital city Abu Dhabi.
"We welcome every Konkani lover to our group to act, dance and to sing in Konkan glory during our monthly get-together.
Explaining the Konkan Pearls Logo, he said, "The logo tells about our rich Konkan culture, Baila dance, Gumta music, Pan Pod Udhak, Mogre kale, and shows that we are from the green belt of Konkan shore in India. The yellow color represents the Gulf, which is our current place and the rays from the rising sun reminds us to keep our culture and talents shining and to spread them to the world. It also tells the variety of talents we have in our group like dance, music, acting etc."
Some of the plans he suggested and which were approved by all members were:
- There will be a get-together every fourth Friday at 6 pm. Venue will be decided later and informed. All members to attend without fail
- A fee of 50 AED per adult and 25 AED per child will be collected to make the programme a success.
- The cultural event for each month will be based on different activities such as singing, dancing, poetry, acting etc.
- Each gathering will have a special topic discussion in Konkani, a learning session, and talk by 2 adults.
- Each gathering will have elocution by 2 children on a given topic purely in Konkani. As a start for the next gathering the topic was decided as “Nathalan Festh”. Mclean and Aurelle were chosen for it..
It was also decided unanimously to organize a fund raising event for which date will be announced soon, in support of the construction of the new church building in Abu Dhabi.
On this occasion there was a surprise cake cutting ceremony for all the Scorpion Club members who were celebrating their birthdays and marriage anniversaries in the month of November.
There was a felicitation for an elderly couple celebrating their 49th wedding anniversary. Wilfred congratulated and honored them with a memento on behalf of Konkan Pearls.
The event was marked by a variety of entertainment such as singing, dancing, short drama followed by spot games. Prizes were distributed to all the winners. Delicious dinner was also served at the same time. All members who are already known singers participated actively. They were Prashant Sequeira, Joshal D’Souza, Melrick D’Souza, Ronald D’Souza, Ronald Lobo, Felix D’Souza, Wilfred Fernandes, Lolita Pinto, NanditaSaldhanaMaxim Pereira, Mclean, Ishney, Monal, Adelle, Melwin and Ida Fernandes.
There were dances from Monisha and Monal and short skit from Wilfy, Claudy and Ashlyn.
The programme concluded with the vote of thanks by Anil Pinto. The gathering fostered unity among the Konkan Pearls members. All committee members extended their maximum cooperation and support for the success of Konkan Pearls.
For details and suggestions please contact konkanpearls@gmail.com.