Kuwait, Bahrain Gear-up for 'Gulf Voice of Mangalore' Semi-final
Report & Pics by Wilson Saldanha, Shirthady/Kuwait

Kuwait, Sep 19: ‘GULF VOICE OF MANGALORE’  organizers under the banner ‘Youth Recreation Club’ , organized a workshop for a briefing on the Contest Rules and Regulations on forth coming semifinals and grand finale.  The workshop was arranged for all 12 contestants on Friday 19th September 2008 at Don Bosco School at 10.30 am.

The “Gulf Voice of Mangalore” Reality Konkani Singing Contest, Kuwait semifinals is scheduled to take place on Wednesday 15th October, 2008, at the Carmel School auditorium at 6.30pm with entry to all (Free entry).  The selected 2 contestants will take part in Grand finale along with 8 other finalists from other Middle East countries (Oman, UAE, Bahrain and Qatar) which will take place on 17th October 2008 at 4.30pm at American International school auditorium, Maidan Hawalli.

The program began with introduction of the speakers of the day by Roshan D’silva followed by a Welcome speech by Organizer Lawrence Pinto.  Prominent personalities in Music field Manohar Pais, Francis D’souza, Roney Rodrigues and Joe D’Souza were present for the program.  Manohar Pais started the campaigning of ‘GULF VOICE OF MANGALORE’ symbolically by inaugurating the flyer.

Francis D’Souza briefed the contestants about the selection of songs, singing style etc.  Roney Rodrigues gave the tips on how to maintain the health during the competition and food diets for better results.  Manohar Pais stressed on the practice and explained about the scale, range and singing styles.  He also explained the Rules and Regulations of the Contest.  There was a question & answer session at the end.

Organizer Louis Rodrigues informed the contestants on the rehearsal of the program which is scheduled a day previous to the semifinals, as well as grand finale  where each Contestant will be given 15 minutes of quality time to practice with the musical troupe arriving from Mangalore.  The program came to an end with distribution of flyers to the gathering and light chitchat.

Bahrain: Ambassador Releases Entrance Ticket

Media Release

Bahrain, Sep 19: The President of Karavali Konkans Association, Ronald D. F. D’Souza, briefed the Indian Ambassador to Bahrain, H.E. Balakrishna Shetty, at the Indian Embassy premises on the upcoming ‘GULF VOICE OF MANGALORE’ Semi-finals Konkani Reality Singing Competition to be held at the Ramada Palace Hotel Auditorium on 9th October, 2008, soliciting his kind presence.   Balakrishna Shetty, was delighted that the show was being staged in Bahrain for the first time for Konkani singing enthusiasts and expressed his keenness in attending the program.    

He was keen to note that amateur talent was being tapped and brought to the foray by way of the Contest and appreciated the efforts of the members of the Association.

Ronald D. F. D’Souza presented the first entrance “ticket” of the 
show, to The Ambassador, as a symbolic kick-off and warm invite to be in the midst of budding talents of the program.     Present at this auspicious moment were Joe Andrade, General Secretary and Cyril Pereira, Treasurer of the Association.

The “Gulf Voice of Mangalore” Reality Konkani Singing Contest, Bahrain leg,  is scheduled to take place on the 9th October, 2008, at the Ramada Palace Hotel, from 8.00 p.m. onwards,  and will bring to Bahrain  a veteran ten-member musicians’ troupe and famous singers from the Konkani world from Mangalore and show-case a nostalgic Konkani Singing Fiesta for their fans after the Contest.     

Two of the best selected from the 11 contestants by a panel of musician judges flown in from Mangalore, would be proceeding to Kuwait for the grand finale on 17th October, 2008, where attractive prizes for the winners are at stake.

The Contest and Show is expected to have a wide section of the audience from the Konkani speaking world who will get a unique taste of difference in the conduct of the Singing Contest program to the likes of Sa-Re-Ga-Ma and even beyond!      All the participants of the Contest will be felicitated and Balakrishna Shetty has kindly consented to be the Guest of Honour.

A number of Sponsors have come forward to assist in the conduct of the program and for further details, Ronald D. F. D’Souza can be contacted on Mobile Tel: 39278607.

It is noteworthy that the Gulf Voices of Mangalore will reverberate on the 9th of October, 2008, in full throttle, all over the shores of Bahrain!    Let us Konkani enthusiasts listen and enjoy a unique taste of this amateur contest melody!  

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