Abu Dhabi :The Kannadigas living in Abu Dhabi had a day of fun and relaxation at Al Wathba Park on 7th February 2014. It was an opportunity for the Kannadigas to take a break from their hectic work life, meet and greet people and make new friends. The annual winter picnic was organized by Abu Dhabi Karnataka Sangha the premier associations of Kannadigas in the capital city Abu Dhabi. Nearly 300 Kannadiga’s from Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Al Ain participated in the Picnic along with their family, children & friends. The pleasant weather kept all the participants in good mood from morning till evening.
Three buses carried Kannadigas from the city to the Al Wathba Park where the picnic began with a breakfast arranged by Subhiksah Restaurant. Many made their own travel arrangements to reach the park. After taking group photograph of the entire crowd, Abu Dhabi Karnataka Sangha President Mr. Sarvotahm Shetty welcomed everyone and announced various activities of the day that kept the entire crowd in full of action.
A warm up game of dodging the ball was held between women and men. The crowd was divided into 8 groups namely Blue, Red, Yellow, Green, Dark Purple, Light Purple, Black and Pink. Each group was assigned a captain. The group captains were given the task of organizing and maintaining their respective groups and support the members of their group.
To begin with, a game of Passing the Ball, Passing the Rope, Passing the Vest were conducted to the much enthusiasm of the public followed by Treasure Hunt game was held.
Before the lunch break, as an element of surprise the committee members of Abu Dhabi Karnataka Sangha celebrated the 30th wedding anniversary of Mrs. & Mr. Sarvothama Shetty. They made them to wear the traditional dress and garland each other. A bouquet was presented. Mr. Sarvothama Shetty thanked everyone for this pleasant surprise.
A sumptuous lunch was served at about 1:30pm by Maharaja Resturant of Ramee Group Hotels ( Al Falah Street )
After the lunch a variety of fun filled team games like Folk dance on Kannada film song, Advertisement game, Miming or Dum Sharad (Give us a clue), Weighing Watermelon, Guessing chocolates, Measuring the rope, Bingo and queen’s demand kept the gathering engaged from the morning until evening. Each and every one took active participation the games
Kannada quiz was prepared by Mangala Shetty on Naadu Nudi, Kannada Ogatu and places of Karnataka State. That was a good way to remind Kannadigas of the rich heritage, literature and history of Karnataka State.
Dog & Bone game was conducted for the children.
Mr. Sarvotham Shetty proposed the vote of thanks. He thanked the members of organizing committee of Karnataka Sangha including Yogish Prabhu, Shiraj Ahmed, Umesh Rao, Loyola Pinto, Pradeep Kirodian, Sudhir Shetty, Altaf M S, Praveen Rao, Vijay Rao.
He thanked everyone for attending the Picnic. He requested everyone attend all the future programs conducted by Abu Dhabi Karnataka Sangha. He requested the ladies to come forward to join the ladies throw ball team.
All games were thoroughly enjoyed by all with full participation and all had a memorable picnic. The competition was very tough even then all teams performed very well.
Judges were: Mr. Jai Ram Rai, Noel Fernandes, Manmohan Rai, & Thomas Muller
Final winners of the games which were held throughout the day were Black Team (First place), Light Purple Team (Second place) and Purple Team (Third place).
The prizes were sponsored by Mr. Jai Ram Rai, Group Finance Manager, Bin Fardhan Group.
The sound system was arranged by Broadway Event Management.
The entire picnic was well organized and conducted by Mr. Sarvotham Shetty along with all committee members. All young and old participated in all the games held and enjoyed thoroughly. People went back in a cheerful and happy mood, and they would definitely look forward for more and more recreational events like these in future.
