Jeddah: Expatriates from Karnataka celebrated their state formation day as Karnataka Rajyotsava day which was organized by Karnataka Non- Resident of Indian (KNRI) Forum Jeddah recently held at the Indian Consulate Jeddah.
Mohammed Noor Rahman Sheikh, Consul General of India attended function as Chief Guest, Anand Kumar, Consul for Consul Affairs as guest of honor and a large number of Kannadigas along with other community leaders attended the event.
General Secretary of the Forum Yashwant Amin delivered a power point presentation on the Mission, Vision, Objective and achievements of the forum with a message to the audience MISSION 2020 set by the forum to bring at least 5,000 families of Karnataka from below poverty line to above poverty line. He also urged everyone to support the Swaach Bharat mission of Prime Minister and said that as a part of this mission KNRI Forum has already constructed hygienic toilets in 4 districts and has an aim to build 100 toilets in different parts of Karnataka by 2020.
KNRI Forum president Roshan Rodrigues in his speech welcomed all the dignitaries, guests and all the attendees to celebrate the Rajyotsava day. The President thanked Indian Consul General and consulate staff for giving KNRI forum opportunity to help the Indian laborers in the camps with help of other organizations in Jeddah under the supervision of Indian Consulate. The audience offered a standing ovation for the services rendered by the Consul General at a difficult time for the Indian expatriates.
Roshan further said, “It is his pleasure to lead a highly qualified and dedicated team where we have Doctors, Engineers, Principals, Chartered Accountants, Office Managers and other professionals. It is a great honor and opportunity for me to be a part and leading such a result oriented team. Team work is very important to achieve the goals of the Forum and the way we are working can together deliver a lot”.
Addressing the audience Chief Guest Consul General Mohammed Noor Rahman Sheikh said that the efforts of the Forum are recognized and highly appreciated in helping the needy & under privileged sections of the society back home in Karnataka. He elaborated and said, Karnataka is one of the progressive states of India and people are well educated and active in social services and willing to come forward to work for the betterment of the society. Bengaluru is one of the best IT hubs in the world. He commented that on the basis of Forum’s previous performance we believe and have much hope that the forum can do much more to relieve the misery and can transform 10,000 families of Kannadigas instead of 5,000 which is feasible and achievable. Noor Sheikh assured to the forum that he and his consulate team is ready and will extend their support to the Forum in nursing and solving Indian labor grievances from time to time in Jeddah.
Vishwanath Hegde, chief patron of KNRI Forum, a well-known businessman along with Dr. Mohammed Hussain Maniyar, ENT Surgeon who is a prominent social activist both from Karnataka were felicitated during the function by presenting shawls and mementoes of appreciation for their services to Indian community.
President Roshan was felicitated by the executive committee presenting memento as token of appreciation for his services towards Indian community in Jeddah.
Vishwanath Hegde and Dr. Maniyar thanked KNRI Forum for recognizing their services, while speaking Hegde said he feels happy in helping poor and needy people. While speaking to audience Dr. Maniyar said that teachers play a very important role in building individual, society and nation, therefore we should have huge respect for our teachers. He remembered his few teachers who are no more in this world, but still their memories are in his heart.
Famous Bollywood singer who was available in Jeddah on a business visit attended the event and entertained the audience by singing famous old and new Hindi songs. Other Jeddah’s prominent singers Mohammed Saif, Mohammed Kaleem, Mohammed Nawaz, Asha, Altaf Almelkar and Afifa Mahboob entertained the audience by singing songs. Dances were presented by the children from Indian schools which were choreographed by Priyanka Jagadish, Madhuri Manju, Pushpa Suresh and Reena Rego. A short comedy skit was presented by a group which was scripted by president Roshan.
Karnataka students of 10th standard, studying in different schools in Jeddah namely Mohammed Iqbal Maniyar, Afra Ashfaq, Chinmayi Marakala, Hibba Hanif, Aliya Parveen, Anchal Jain, Sahana Manjappa, Samiksha Bhushan, Mithil Rajashekhar, Rayyan Mohammed Rafikh were felicitated on the occasion for obtaining 10 CGPA.
On behalf of KNRI Forum, Sabu Chandran conducted a raffle draw and 10 gifts were presented to the lucky winners. Jet Airways conducted a raffle draw and the winner got ticket to Jeddah-Singapore-Jeddah. The lucky winner was SP Singh.
Role of master of ceremony was played by Niaz Ahmed who also conducted a quiz on Karnataka which was enjoyed by the audience. The anchoring was done by Sulaiman khan.
The program started with the Kannada all-time favorite song from Gandhada Gudi by Mohammed Kaleem while the Vote of thanks was delivered by Yashwant Amin. He thanked all the audience who spared their time from their busy schedule to attend this event and remained focused till the end of the function. On behalf of KNRI Forum he appreciated with sincere gratitude to all the sponsors of the event, like Intermodal Services of SA, RF Developers, Viswanathan Karkera, Joyalukkas, Jamaiyyatul Falah, Dukan, Sanbula Group, AB Industrial supplies, Village Restaurant, Jeddah, Premier Food Corporation, 21 Castel Services Limited, Gandour products, Shadab Restaurant and Al Kabeer Food products, for their support. The grand event was not possible without their support and he is looking for their more support in the coming days, he said.
Snacks and dinner was served to all the attendees and the function concluded with the National Anthem.
