Daijiworld Media Network - Doha
Doha, Nov 19: Bunts Qatar, a united forum of all the Bunts working and living in Qatar celebrated its 5th annual day with great fanfare and cultural extravaganza in the Giwana Ballroom hall of the Hotel Radission Blu here on Friday November 18.
The event was graced by Bollywood star and entrepreneur Suniel Shetty and his wife Mana, Puttur MLA and Parliament secretary Shakuntala Shetty and Indian Ambassador to Qatar P Kumaran. Bunts Qatar is known for throwing out a delicious cultural extravaganza with judicious blend of music and dance every year and this year was no exception as artistes flown in from Mangaluru and Bunts Qatar’s in-house talents dished out a superlative cultural evening that had everyone glued to their seats till the end.
The evening programme began with the keynote address by Bunts Qatar cultural secretary Chaithali Uday Shetty. Thereafter, Qatar’s renowned and able compere Padmashree Shetty took over the reins of the evening proceedings. After the prayer hymn was sung by visiting singers Shilpa Venkatesh and Nishan Rai, guest of honour of the day Shakuntala Shetty, Bunts Qatar founding president Ravi Shetty, Bunts Qatar president Navneet Shetty, vice-president Ramachandra Shetty, general secretary Roshan Shetty, and Uday Shetty, MD of Vibrant Trading, one of the main sponsors of the day, gave a formal opening to the programme by lighting the lamp. This was followed by the performance of Sapta Devi Darshana dance.
The cultural programme began with the presentation of Hindi and Kannada songs by young Shilpa Venkatesh and Nishan Rai. Both these talented singers mesmerized the audience with their melodious singing and youthful exuberance. Bunts Qatar members' children presented a beautiful dance followed by an equally eye-catching dance by Bunts ladies. But the highlight of the first session was a fusion dance conceptualized and presented by Bunts Qatar talents, which depicted the Navras of dance and art in a non-stop display of spectacular choreography. It was a power-packed performance that won a standing ovation from the audience.
The formal stage programme was held after the guests of the honour of the evening Suniel Shetty and Shakuntala Shetty and chief guest P Kumaran, Indian Ambassador to Qatar, Event Sponsor of the evening Ravi Shetty of ATS Qatar and Main Sponsor Uday Shetty of Vibrant Trading were escorted to the dais by Bunts Qatar president Navneet Shetty, vice-president Ramachandra Shetty, general secretary Roshan Shetty and cultural secretary Chaithali Uday Shetty. Welcoming the gathering president Navneet Shetty expressed his gratitude to the guests of the evening for accepting Bunts Qatar’s invitation and gracing the annual day despite their busy schedule. He made a special mention of the charismatic leader the late Prakashchandra Ajila who had passed away last year while he was the president of Bunts Qatar. He informed that beginning this year, Bunts Qatar had renamed its annual 'Seva Sampada' award as 'Prakashchandra Ajila Seva Sampada Award' in memory of Ajila who had not just been a prominent Bunt but a great human being as well.
Bunts Qatar founder president Ravi Shetty in his address said that an organization’s role is not just hosting and presenting cultural programmes, get-togethers, picnics etc. "An organization should have social responsibility. It should recognize the people and their work and should bring forth those who are unsung despite their stellar contribution to various causes. I was impressed the way Karnataka Muslim Welfare Association (KMCA) Qatar recently honoured a humble man who has been rendering yeoman’s service to expat Indian community in Qatar for the last 15 years and more and who has always stayed away from glare and publicity. This is the role of an organization that we recognize those persons who contribute to the society in their own way, those talents who relentlessly put in hard strides and yet remain on the background due to lack of proper support and guidance etc. Let’s recognize such people and highlight their achievements," he said.
Chief guest of the evening P Kumaran, the Indian Ambassador to Qatar hailed the efforts of Bunts Qatar in uniting the community and recognizing various talents and exhorted them to continue their good work.
Guests of the honour Shakuntala Shetty and Suniel Shetty were honoured on the occasion by the Bunts Qatar for their contribution to society through their work and service. Both were draped with a shawl and were presented with fruits and flowers, citation and memento. Both were also felicitated on the occasion by heads of other Karnataka-based associations in Qatar such as Mangalore Cricket Club (MCC), Karnataka Muslim Welfare Association (KMCA), Karnataka Sangha Qatar (KSQ) and South Kanara Muslim Welfare Association (SKMWA). Before the presentation of the honour, Shakuntala Shetty was introduced to the gathering by Seetharam Shetty while Suniel Shetty was introduced by Deepak Shetty.
Accepting the honour bestowed on her Shakuntala Shetty, who is known for her oratory skills delivered a meaningful message to the audience. "I thank Bunts Qatar for inviting me all the way from India and honouring me for whatever little work that I have done through social work and political power in the last few years. Whatever I am today, this credit goes to my roots in the Bunts community and in Karnataka. Today we are talking about women’s empowerment but Bunts community always gave the power in the hands of the women in their household as well as community. That’s why women are considered driving force and leaders in the Bunts community which has enabled us to scale greater heights in all spheres of life," she added. She also urged the parents to inculcate humane values in their children and teach them to nurture love for their homeland, culture and traditions so that when these children grow up in the years, they pass on these values, culture and traditions to the next generations.
Suniel Shetty in his speech remembered the late Prakashchandra Ajila who had been inviting him to grace Bunts Qatar annual day in Qatar. "He kept on inviting me whenever we met. But due to my tight schedule I could not come. But the last time I met him, I assured him that I would make it in the year 2016. But sadly he is no more with us and I am sad that I could not come to Qatar when he was still around," he said. He had special word of praise for young visiting artistes Shilpa Venkatesh and Nishan Rai. “Both of you have been superb today and I am truly happy to see such talent in our community. Your performance is not short of any professional artistes. You should get more opportunities and bigger platform to exhibit your extraordinary talents. Please be assured that I will see to it that both of you get opportunities in bigger stages in the future. I will do my best to see to it that you scale greater heights in the coming years," he assured them. Later Suniel Shetty had an interaction session with the audience wherein audience was given an opportunity to ask questions to him on any topic.
Two prominent expats in Qatar V S Mannangi, former president of Karnataka Sangha and Niyaz Ahmed, president of Karnataka Muslim Welfare Association were conferred with Prakashchandra Ajila Seva Sampada Award-2016’ for their service to community.
Ravi Shetty, president of Tulu Koota Qatar and founder president of Bunts Qatar was also felicitated on the occasion by Bunts Puttur. Ravi Shetty has been the backbone behind all Bunts Qatar’s initiatives and programmes ever since its inception. Fondly known as Raviyanna, his guidance and services are sought-after by almost all Karnataka-based associations and Qatar and he generously makes himself available for these causes. Recognizing his efforts Bunts Puttur felicitated. He was also felicitated along with Uday Shetty of Vibrant Trading for being the main sponsors of the event.
General secretary Roshan Shetty read out the annual report while Chaithali Uday Shetty proposed the vote of thanks.
After the stage programme, the cultural programmes continued with a medley, a mix of Suniel Shetty's most popular songs as a dedication to the Bollywood actor, followed by a comedy skit 'Anchila ath inchila ath' by the Bunts ladies team. Young sensations Nishan Rai and Shilpa Venkatesh’s scintillating performance was the highlight. As they belted out hit Hindi and Kannada numbers one after the other, the audience hit the dance floor asking for more. It was a spellbinding performances by these young talents among whom Nishan Rai was making his first foreign tour. Along with this the Bunts in-house talents set the stage on fire with their elegant dances. All in all it was a well-organized, mega annual day that entertained everyone to the maximum.
Padmashree Shetty and Nityanand Shetty’s compering too came in for special praise as their exhibited masterly command over the proceedings wit and humour.
The event was sponsored by ATS while the main sponsor was Vibrant Trading.