Media Release
Sohar, Nov 16: Mangalore Balaga, Sohar, an association formed to bring all the coastal Karnataka expatriates living around Batinah region, celebrated its seventh anniversary with a programme of ‘family get together’ and entertainment recently at the Liwa club, Liwa Sohar.
The event turned out to be a grand success, as a large gathering of 450 participated in this event. The gathering included guests from across the country and also from India, Bahrain and UAE. The event began at 9 am with a delicious breakfast of Mangalorean Puri Baaji with Sheera. Soon after the breakfast, Sudhir Kumar, vice-president of the organization, welcomed the guests and all the members of Mangalore Balaga. He gave a brief on some of the achievements of the guests. Among the guests who attended the programme were Ashok Suvarna, executive director of NPA Oman, Naveen Chandra D Suvarna, president, Akhila Bharat Billawara Union, Mangalore, Ivan D’Souza, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee secretary, Prof Tukaram Poojary, head of History department, SVS College, Bantwal, Rajyotsava Award - 2011 winner, and Dr Ganesh Amin Sankamar, Professor at St Aloysius College, Mangalore. All of them were appreciative of Mangalore Balaga’s activities
The function was inaugurated by lighting the lamp by the committee members and the guests. This was followed by the singing of the national anthem by the women members of Mangalore Balaga. Krishnaprasad presented the annual report, duly highlighting various charity and donations made through Mangalore Balaga during the years. Richard Alwyn D’Souza, Balaga’s president, speaking on the occasion, expressed his gratitude for the support given to him by the Balaga members during his stint since the last two years.
The cultural programme included a variety of entertainment programmes, fancy dress by children, solo dance by Rani Devdas, Bollywood Salsa by Delicia Vaz and Sahil Vinayak, group dance by Shaila Prabhu and group, Suprabha Rao and group, as well as Harish Kumar and group. A short skit titled, ‘Kanakadasa’, which was performed by Liwa members and a short tulu drama ‘Titanic Att Tight Tonic’, presented performed by Sanaya friends, proved to be highly entertaining. All the cultural programmes were well-conducted under the guidance of Balaga entertainment team. The duo of Umesh Poojary and Gadafan, apart from Vittal Poojary and Shinas enthralled the audience with the Tulunadu art Pili Vesha performances.
In the evening, Balaga conducted fashion show for the couples. The members exhibited their skills in cat walk, costumes and coordination. Suprabha and Manjunath Rao won the first place and Dr Sanskrithi and Dr Ganesh Shenoy bagged the second spot.
Founder members of Mangalore Balaga, Vishwanath Shetty, Kamalaksha. Nagesh Achar, and Dinesh, were honoured by the Balaga honorary president, Frank Lobo. They were instrumental in forming Mangalore Balaga in 2005.
Lunch and evening tea were served to every participant. The day ended with the prize distribution programme, Tambola game and raffle draw. Narayan Kotian, while proposing vote of thanks, expressed his gratitude to all the members and thanked each and every sponsor for supporting the event.
The whole programme was compered by Ashok Shetty, who used humorous Tulu proverbs to entertain the audience and won appreciation for the same.
Overall, it was a memorable day for each and every Mangalorean residing in Sohar.
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