JEDDAH — Expatriates from the south Indian state of Karnataka recently celebrated Karnataka Rajyotsava Day to commemorate the birth of their state on Nov. 1, 1956. The event was organized by Karnataka Non-Resident of Indian (KNRI) Forum Jeddah on Nov. 18 on the premises of the Indian Consulate. Consul General Mohammed Noor Rahman Sheikh was the chief guest while Anand Kumar, consul for consular affairs, was the guest of honor. A large number of Kannadigas along with other community leaders attended the event. Forum General Secretary Yashwant Amin made a power point presentation on the mission, vision and achievements of the forum. He sent a message to the audience about the KNRI's Mission 2020 program to lift 5,000 families of Karnataka from abject poverty and support the Swaach Bharat mission of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. As part of this mission KNRI Forum has already constructed hygienic toilets in four districts and it aims to build 100 more toilets in different parts of Karnataka by 2020. Forum President Roshan Rodrigues in his speech welcomed all the dignitaries, guests and attendees to the Rajyotsava Day. He thanked the consul general and the consulate staff for giving the forum the opportunity to help stranded Indian workers with other community organizations in Jeddah. The audience gave a standing ovation for the services rendered by the consul general to the Indian community at difficult times. Rodrigues said it was his pleasure to lead a highly qualified and dedicated team, which included doctors, engineers, academics, chartered accountants, managers and other professionals. "It is a great honor and opportunity for me to be a part of and leading such a result-oriented team. Teamwork is very important to achieve the goals of the forum and the way we work we can together deliver a lot," he said. Addressing the audience Consul General Sheikh said the efforts of the forum in helping the needy and underprivileged sections of society back home in Karnataka were recognized and highly appreciated. He said Karnataka is one of the progressive states in India and its people are well educated and active in social services and are willing to come forward to work for the betterment of society. The state's capital Bangalore is one of the thriving IT hubs in the world, he added. "On the basis of forum's previous performance I tend to believe and have much hope that forum can do more to relieve the misery of 10,000 Kannadiga families, instead of 5,000. It is feasible and achievable," Sheikh said. He assured that he and the consulate team will extend their full support to the forum in nursing and solving the grievances of Indian workers in Jeddah. Vishwanath Hegde, chief patron of KNRI Forum and a well-known businessman along with Dr. Mohammed Hussain Maniyar, an ENT surgeon and prominent social activist, were felicitated during the function with honor shawls and mementoes of appreciation for their services to the Indian community. Rodrigues was felicitated by the executive committee by presenting him with a memento as a token of appreciation for his services. Hegde and Dr. Maniyar thanked the forum for recognizing their services. Hegde expressed his pleasure and feeling of satisfaction while helping the poor and needy. "I render my support to KNRI Forum as they are always carrying out this task," he said. Dr. Maniyar said, "Teachers play a very important role in building individual, society and nation and therefore we should have a huge respect for our teachers." Remembering a few of his teachers, he said though they are no more in this world, still their memories are in his heart. A famous Bollywood singer who was in Jeddah on a business visit enthralled the audience by performing some of all-time Hindi hits as well as new songs. Prominent Jeddah singers Mohammed Saif, Mohammed Kaleem, Mohammed Nawaz, Asha, Altaf Almelkar and Afifa Mahboob also entertained the audience with old and new Hindi and Kannada songs. Dances were presented by the children of Indian schools and were choreographed by Priyanka Jagadish, Madhuri Manju, Pushpa Suresh and Reena Rego. A short comedy skit scripted by Rodrigues was presented by a group. Tenth graders from Karnataka studying in different schools of Jeddah, and obtained 10 CGPA Mohammed Iqbal Maniyar, Afra Ashfaq, Chinmayi Marakala, Hibba Hanif, Aliya Parveen, Anchal Jain, Sahana Manjappa, Samiksha Bhushan, Mithil Rajashekhar and Rayyan Mohammed Rafikh, Karnataka students from Indian schools in Jeddah who had obtained 10 CGPA points in Class X examinations were felicitated on the occasion. On behalf of KNRI Forum Sabu Chandran conducted a raffle draw and 10 gifts were given away to lucky winners. Jet Airways conducted a raffle draw and the lucky winner, S.P. Singh, got a Jeddah-Singapore-Jeddah air ticket. The master of ceremony was Niaz Ahmed who also conducted a quiz program on Karnataka while the anchoring was done by Sulaiman Khan. The program started with all-time Kannada hit from Gandhada Gudi by Mohammed Kaleem. Delivering the vote of thanks, Yashwant Amin expressed his appreciation to all members of the audience who spared time from their busy schedule to attend the event and remained focused till the end of the function. On behalf of KNRI Forum, he expressed his sincere gratitude to all sponsors of the event, such as Intermodal Services of SA, RF Developers, Viswanathan Karkera, Joy Alukkas, 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. Snacks and dinner were served to all attendees and the function concluded with playing of the national anthem.
