Media Release
Bahrain, Sep 19: Hundreds of Goans and individuals from different walks of life showed their support by joining in the festivities of World Goa Day and Bandra Fair which was organized by the Young Goans Club at the Baan Saeng Thai Restaurant Auditorium in Adliya on September 11.
The event, with a variety of food and games stalls commenced at 11 am and the revelry continued past midnight with the youngsters enjoying the dance sessions by DJ’s Lucio and DJ Bosco. The colorful event reflecting the culture and traditions of Goa was in line with several celebrations by Goan Associations across the globe to commemorate the inclusion of the Konkani language in the eighth schedule of the Indian Constitution on August 20, 1992, thus making it the official language of the State of Goa.
The event with the international theme ‘Goa - a land united by beautiful villages’ had several programs lined up throughout the day to keep the crowd informed about Goa while at the same time providing entertainment for the young and not-so-young. These programs consisted of quizzes on Goa, a Goan Mando, other cultural dance performances and a short Konkani tiatro by comedian Jr Luis Anthony. The evening was made livelier with performances by a talented group of Goans from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia who entertained all present with dances, konkani songs and a tiatro skit. Emphasis was made on the need to sustain the legacy of Konkani - Goa’s native language, it’s heritage and culture for future generations of Goans.
With Noel Fernandes at the helm as president, the Young Goans Club strives to foster and maintain the Goan fraternal identity by welcoming, involving and uniting all the Goan community in Bahrain with its all inclusive approach, thus helping to make its activities and events much fun and joy and its programs that much more meaningful. Anil Batra, the attaché at the Indian Embassy, Bahrain, was the chief guest at the event and joined the organizing committee in cutting the WGD cake. Servio Dias, a long-time Goan resident in Bahrain was honored by the club for his social services among the Goan community. The event culminated with all the participants joining in to form a carnival parade.