Rons Bantwal

Mumbai, March 6: The Shri Ayyappa Yakshakala Pratishthana will celebrate its 13th anniversary on March 14 with a blend of philanthropy and culture, including the distribution of educational assistance to underprivileged students and a traditional Yakshagana performance.

The event will be held on Saturday, March 14, at 3.30 pm at the Leva Bhavan auditorium in Dombivli East, in association with the Shri Durgaparameshwari Ayyappa Trust.

The programme will be presided over by Raju Mendan Vandse, honorary president of the Pratishthana. It will be inaugurated by Ratnakar Shetty, proprietor of Hotel Taste of Bites.

The chief guest will be Avinash Putran, executive president of the Thane local committee of the Mogaveera Mahajana Seva Sangha.

Among those attending as guests of honour are Mumbai-based entrepreneurs and patrons of the arts Sadarama Shetty Nandrolly, Narayana Chandran, Ramesh Shetty (Civil), Satish Shetty Nandrolly, proprietor of Hotel Ego, Dombivli, Jayaram Shetty Idoor, president of Shri Ayyappa Yakshakala Pratishthana, Ganesh Shetty Nandrolly, proprietor of Hotel Anand, Shahad, C Ashok Marattur, proprietor of Shri Foods, Ashok Mendan of Pradhanya Hospitality Services, Raghuram Mendan, proprietor of Shri Vitthal Textiles, and Ashok Shetty Guruswamy, president of the Shri Durgaparameshwari Ayyappa Trust.

As part of the celebrations, Pratibha Puraskar (talent awards) will be presented to Disha Devadiga, Nidhi Prabhu and Yukti Devadiga in recognition of their achievements.

The cultural highlight of the evening will be a Yakshagana presentation titled ‘Kashi Teertha’, written by Narayan Shetty Nandrolly with verses composed by Suresh Shetty Nandrolly.

In a statement, the organisers said, “Art lovers and Kannada-speaking residents of Mumbai are requested to attend the programme in large numbers and at the scheduled time to make the event a grand success.”