Report: Victor Nobby Sequiera, Puttaraju and Ravi Karkera
Dammam, Dec 5: Mangalore Association Saudi Arabia (MASA) yet again celebrated one of the most awaited gala events - 'Authana 2014' food festival - on Friday, November 28 in a grand style at Aziziyah Farm House. Apart from Mangaloreans, a large number of people from other parts of India as well as guests from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Lebanon also gathered and witnessed a splendid display of colourful food stalls with delicious Indian delights. The erection of stalls was coordinated by Gopal Shetty with the support of Abdul Azeez Bellairu, Keshav Moolya and their team.
The heavy downpour of rainfall just before the inauguration did not stop the enthusiastic MASA excom, volunteers and members in carrying on with the festival by opting the ‘Action Plan B’. Quickly all the stalls were shifted from the courtyard to inside the Farm House halls. Within 30 minutes, all food stalls were ready for kick off for the memorable event.
Ravi Karkera from the advisory committee welcomed the gathering with greetings and invited president Dayanand Shriyan, head of advisory committee Madhav Amin and all excom members on dais. All the stall owners were introduced by Ravi Karkera and Naveen Bhandary one by one with their stall names and the delicious dishes. The volunteers, M/s Nagaraj Bajal, Bharat Kumar Mukka, Naveen Salian Sasihithlu, Naveen Vijay and Vidyadhar Shetty were invited to the dais and recognized for their dedicated services throughout the night until morning in putting up the colorful and attractive stalls. Ravi Karkera also mentioned about the absence of Architect of MASA Food Festival, Santhosh Shetty and everyone cheered with thunderous applause by hearing that despite of being away he was coordinating the installation of stalls. The inauguration took place with greetings and cutting the ribbon by the President.
In spite of heavy rain, members and guests started pouring in slowly and steadily. The venue was fully packed by the time of inauguration of the event.
Main Food Stalls:
• Coastal Bite
• Namma Kudla
• Mumabi Chat And Food Court 1 And 2
• Royal Darbar
• Tammana
• Mbbs (Mathias Bros. Bbq Stall)
• Grillss And Kababzz
Other Stalls:
• Sheethal Pan Stall
• Red Chilly Egg Stall
• Namma Kudla Toys
• Masa Rings Corner
• Glitzz Apparel (Boutique)
• Masa Music Corner
The some of the mouthwatering dishes on sale in the stalls included: Main dishes - kori rotti, veg combo, varieties of biriyanis, grills, kababs, tikkas, jenji sukka, pundi marvai, fried rice, pasta, fish masala fry, bangude puli munchi, boothai puli munchi, prawns, chicken drumsticks, etc. etc.
Side dishes: Moode, neerdosa, idlee, turmeric leaves gatti, bhel puri, paani puri, dahi batata puri, sev puri, pathrodde, egg omlet, boiled eggs, kadle manoli and many more.
Snack items: Biscuit rotti, golibaje (s. k. pakoda), mangalore buns, sweet potato podi, banana podi, naiyappa and so on.
Other than the above, number of sweet items like payasa, bundi laddu, soft drinks, falooda, juices, tea, coffee and many kinds of beverages were on sale.
Besides the food stalls, the boutique was the center of attraction for female members and guests. Children enjoyed a lot, buying funny toys from Namma Kudla Toy stall.
After a while it was bright and sunny day again. Most of the stalls moved out to their well decorated original stalls for serving snacks items. By then the stage was set with an electrifying atmosphere at the courtyard where all decorated stalls were set for the crowded gathering to enjoy under the lovely weather.
The Rings Corner attracted people of all age group where they could throw rings on the prizes and gifts displayed on the table. People enjoyed a lot at the rings corner and generously contributed as the collections were allotted for a noble cause.
Loudspeakers magnified the exotic infusion of Indian mixed songs. At the Music Box Corner, ‘Pay and Sing’ again for noble cause concept attracted many professional and amateur singers.
The judges were Madhav Amin, Ravi Karkera, Ahmed Gulam Beary, Nayana Sagar, Sumitra Pradeep, Jyothi Yogesh Poojary and Shameema Nooman.
As the evening progressed, a game of cracking coconuts by opponents (Tarai da Katta) attracted curious spectators. Special attraction of the events were the Tulu Folk song and dance led by Nagaraj Bajal and Team and surprise entry of Shrikant Hejamadi (Karavali Association Riyadh) in and as Bapuji was a special attraction. Bhaskar, Entertainment Secretary of Karavali Association Riyadh attracted the crowd with a melodious Tulu song.
Young volunteers encouraged members and guests in buying MASA raffle tickets under the supervision of Puttaraju. Two winners claimed attractive prizes – Toshiba 32’’ LED TV and Lenova Smart Phone
Winners of the Food Festival:
Most Hygienic Stall
1st place: Coastal Bite
2nd place: Grillss and Kababss
3rd place: Royal Darbar
Best Snacks Stall
1st place: Mumbai Chat And Food Court 2
2nd place: Grillss and Kababss and Tammana
3rd place: MBBS – Mathias Bros. BBQ Stall
Best Food Stall
1st place: Namma Kudla
2nd place: Tammana
3rd place: Mumbai Chat And Food Court 1
A lively and thrilling ‘Authana 2014’ concluded with lots of exciting experiences for MASA excom and its members. It was indeed a memorable evening for all those who attended.