‘Uswas – Darbar’ at Shirva – Unique Event Full of Entertainment and Fun
Pics by Dayananda Kukkaje
Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi (SP)
Udupi, Jan 2: ‘Uswas’, an association of Shirva parishioners living in Dubai presented ‘Uswas Darbar – 2010’ a six-hour event that had entertainment in profusion, on the evening of the New Year Day, 2010 at Shirva. The people of the region could not have asked for more to celebrate the New Year.
The uniqueness of the event, organized at the open grounds of Don Bosco English Medium High School, with over 3,500 audiences from all around Shirva and surrounding places, ensured that the viewers remained unmoved in their seats until the programme, which started at around 6.30 am on Friday, concluded in the early hours on Saturday January 2.
A team of over 18 ‘Uswas’ members from Dubai had arrived in Shirva parish, exclusively for participating in the event and to show their solidarity with the people of their native place. Uswas has been instrumental in promoting Konkani language and culture, besides helping the needy back home, since last more than seven years.
Though black clouds hovered in the sky and thunder threatened to spoil the spirit of the show initially, the entire event went on without any hiccups or interruptions, carrying the entire audiences to a different world of fun and entertainment. Innovative ideas and the fact that the programme was professionally organized, made the people go home with the memories of the event lingering in their minds, that are sure be remembered for long.
Uttam Menezes, a native of Bendore in Mangalore, came all the way from Dubai to host the entire event. His exceptional and captivating style of compering the function with a fluent flow of Konkani, fortified with his rich vocabulary and the complete control he exercised over the proceedings with élan for six long hours, contributed immensely to the success of the event. He began the event by seeking blessings from the Almighty, to the accompaniment of a prayer rendered by Uswas comittee members.
Karnataka's noted musician, a lead guitatist par-excellence, TV artiste and music director, Rajgopal, led the music team with the help of his fellow professional artistes. Ravindra Prabhu, a vastly popular singer backed by the experience of having participated in over 6000 shows, supported by Nayana Rajgopal, Abbas Raukumar, Jyotsna, Robin and Srinivas, presented some of the most memorable Tulu, Kannada, Tamil and Hindi numbers.
The section of Konkani musical entertainment was led by Maxim Pereira, a popular, young artiste from Angelore, who has seven albums to his credit, along with Zeena Pereira and Shirva's own 'Sangeeth Kuvar' Canute Mathias from Dubai. They played some foot-tapping numbers, with members of Excellencey dance troupe performing dances to their numbers.
Kalladka Gombe - Centre of Attraction:
A five-member team, known for their unique talent of providing entertainment with their ‘dancing dolls’ had arrived from Kalladka. The dolls amused the crowd as they danced to the tunes of the music. They received lot of cheers from the audiences, especially from the children who had come to the event in hundreds.
Event sans police protection:
Now-a-days, very few entertainment events take place in the twin-districts, without any police protection. But 'Uswas Darbar - 2010' was a totally different event that did not need even a single police personnel for security.
The unity in diversity, which has become a way of life of the people living in Shirva, became evident again at the programme, as the people gathered for the event, sinking differences in their caste, creed and language affiliations.
One of the chief guests for the event, Fr Baptist Menezes, episcopal vicar of Udupi region, rightly said, "the show is taking place without any police protection; this shows that the people of Shirva and surrounding people are peace-loving. The church premises are meant for practising peace and tranquility, and it has been proved," he said.
During the brief stage programme held on the occasion, Fr Denis Moras Prabhu, chancellor of Mangalore Diocese, was the chief guest. Fr Baptist Menezes, Fr Richard Coelho, parish priest of Shirva, Fr Fredrick Monteiro, assistant parish priest of Shirva, Walter Nandalike , editor-in-chief of Daijiworld.com, Joseph Mathias, main sponsor of the event and Uswas patron and Gilbert Machado, vice-president of Shirva parish were the guests of honour.
Vincent Corda, Uswas president, and secretary, Oscar Rego, were also present along with Salvador Fernandes, retired teacher from Shirva, who has won national, state and several other awards for his meritorious services in the education field. Fernandes was honoured on this occasion, by Uswas.
Speaking on the occassion, Walter Nandalike recalled the initial days when 'USWAS' had been started with the support and initiatives of Frank D’Souza of Shezan Restaurant, Dubai and how thereafter, USWAS progressed with the help of dedicated contributions from its presidents during the past five years. He appreciated Vincent Corda for thinking of organizing a unique event on behalf of Uswas at their native place.
Fr Denis Moras recalled his association with Shirva parish during the time he was here as the assistant parish priest, and his association with the award-winning teacher, Salvador.
Joseph Mathias, one of the patrons USWAS, who had arrived from Abu Dhabi exclusively to attend the event, was also honoured by Uswas for his contributions and support to the organization.
'Savud Sandesh', a special issue of the church bulletin brought out on the occasion, was released during the event.
'Bogna; release and arrival of ‘Arabs’:
There was another reason for the crowd to cheer, as seven USWAS members, clad in Arab attire, arrived through the main entrance, with two camels brought from Malpe. The music, and the deafening cheers from the crowd added some glorious moments to the show, as every one among the crowd was seen enjoying the scene. They brought with them a big replica of the CD album to the stage for release.
Fr Richard Coelho and Walter Nandalike jointly released the album. Album producer, Maxim Pereira, co-producer, Canute Mathias, lyrist Anil Fernandes and family members of Maxim and Canute were on the dais during the CD release ceremony.
Voice of Shirva - Male & Female:
To promote the local singing talents, Uswas had organized singing competition for both male and female contestants.
On December 12 and 13, 2009, preliminary rounds were held and the best three contestants from both the groups were given an opportunity to sing with music during the event. Fr Valerian Mendonca of ‘Sandesha’, Maxim Pereira, and Ravindra Prabhu were the judges for the final round.
Manoj D'Souza won the ‘best male voice of Shirva’ awad and with Mural D'sa winning the ‘best female voice of Shirva’ award. Both won Rs 5000/- each as cash prize along with mementos.
'Boskamegar' on the Rock !
The music and dance entertainment gala was ably supported by the comedy skits from Dubai's 'Boskamegar' troupe, led by Manoj Menezes, Sharon D’Souza, Claud D'Lima, Denis Gomes and others. 'The Gabbar Singh' skit was the most appreciated among all, and the new acting talent discovered during the event was lead role, 'Gabbar Singh', wonderfully played by Claud D'Lima, who entertained the crowd with his superb action and voice modulation.
Felicitation:
Prize distribution function was held for various games and sports conducted by Uswas at the parish level. The sponsors and supporters of the event were felicitated. A snack box each, sponsored by Frank D’Souza of Shezan Restaurant, Dubai, was supplied to all the audiences. At the end, the audience went home with sweet memories of Uswas, which exhibited exceptional organizational skills, duly supported by the local parishioners, especially the parish priest, assistant parish priest and other office bearers of the parish.
Uttam Menezes - a compere with maturity:
Young compere from Dubai, Uttam Menezes, has been improving his anchoring skills from programme to programme, and proved to be among the key members, who contributed for the success of the event, as it is not easy for a single compere to handle six non-stop hours of an event. But Uttam, who has abundant maturity and skills in handling such events, both entertainment and stage programmes, excelled in discharging his duties with aplomb. Undoubtedly, he has emerged as one among the best contemporary comperes of Konkani world today.