BEYOND the fanfare of the ubiquitous stalls, publicity literature, friendly reunions, and the 17,000 strong crowd at the International Indian School, Jeddah's (IISJ) ‘India Fete 09' on Thursday and Friday last week, there was a common feel in the air, a feel that you might experience after having contributed to a good cause. And indeed every person present at the festival was doing his bit, by purchasing raffle coupons and entry tickets in order to contribute to the estimated SR300,000 fund that the school managing committee hopes to raise to help financially support orphans and other deserving students. Stall owners, which included large commercial businesses, social organizations, educational institutions, schoolteachers and housewives, said they had decided to participate to contribute to the noble cause and that profit and loss was the last thing that they had considered. Mohammed Saleem, sales manager of Dunlop, Binzagr Co. which put up its stall, said the fete provides a global platform and that his company is not looking at it from a business point of view. “When the school informed that such a program was being organized for orphan students, we immediately gave them a check of the required amount, and it was left up to us to decide if we wanted a stall, or simply, to distribute pamphlets or a display a banner,” he said, adding that since the stall wasn't selling anything, they received many enquiries about the company's location, promotional offers, discounts, sales and for requests for technical assistance. Alungal Mohamed, chairman and managing director of Al-Abeer Medical Co. Ltd. and winner of the grand prize, a Tata car, said that he would donate back to the school the amount that the managing committee had paid to buy the car. “Al-Abeer won the car, but we want to make the community the winner by donating it back to the school itself, living up to our vision of attaining perfection, excellence and values in all our services,” he said. The fete was inaugurated on Thursday by Dr. Abdullah Al-Barghi, adviser to the editor-in-chief of Saudi Gazette. “The Indians here are a happy and prosperous community. Just as King Abdullah Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, said that India was a second home to him, Indians should also feel at home here in the Kingdom. It gives me great pleasure to be part of a program which is for a noble cause,” Dr. Al-Barghi said. He was accompanied by Saudi Gazette senior editor Athar Rizvi. Indian Consul General Saeed Ahmed Baba, who attended the fete on Friday, described the event as a “wonderful experience for the community. It's very much like India itself with so many people and stalls,” he said. Commenting on the Indian consulate's role in organizing the fete, Baba said, “The consulate has provided moral support, help in logistics and planning and the very presence of the Consul General here is an indication of our support to the school's managing committee.” A day before the fete, there were indications of a possible postponement of the event due to the demise of the former president of India R. Venkataraman on Jan. 27. “We are in a week long mourning period due to the sad demise of the former president, but there were no doubts about the fete not being held as scheduled,” he said. Baba said he had bought a raffle draw coupon. “I hope that I get the car,” he joked. Consul Commercial and HOC, Cyril Tigga, called the fete “a good event for a good cause.” “During the two days, insignificant incidents did take place here and there, but there weren't any fire hazards because cooking in food stalls was prohibited, allowing only certain kind of heating,” said Akbar Basha, chairman of IISJ managing committee and fete committee. Basha said non-uniformed marshals were patrolling the school ground to watch for acts of indiscipline. Underscoring the students' contribution in the fete, Syed Masood Ahmed, principal of IISJ, said around 80 percent of the raffle coupons were sold by the students. “Over SR100,000 has been collected from the sale of the coupons alone. Due to some logistic difficulties, we hadn't been able to organize the fete in the last few years, but these problems have now been sorted out with the consulate's help in securing the ministry's permission and in other aspects. I hope that the fete becomes an annual event,” he said. Many stall owners in the fete told Saudi Gazette that they hadn't considered commercial aspects before participating, either by putting up a stall, banner displays or by sponsoring gifts. Tanveer Khushtar, corporate sales manager of Giordano, listed three reasons for participating in the fete. “First, it's an opportunity to be with the Indian community. Such a large gathering cannot be found anywhere in Saudi Arabia. Second, it's for a noble cause, and third, there is the commercial aspect. However, the company's point of view may be different from my personal opinion,” he said. Hashim M. Moosa, area manager of Baby Shop, Centrepoint, said they weren't expecting any business initially and had participated only for the purpose of raising the public's awareness of their business and for the welfare of the Indian community. “We don't usually get this opportunity to serve poor and needy students. The sales have been much better than what we expected,” he said. Qamar Anwar from Pakistan, incharge of Leena Boutique and Parlour, who was retailing clothes, shoes, and jewelry from India and Pakistan, said that although it may be difficult to make a profit, the large scale publicity one can get from such events is of great value. Abdul Hameed from Sikkim Manipal University said he hoped to get more admissions to the university. “Over 30 students have registered their contact details with us. This is a good platform to cover all expatriates so that awareness about the university reaches the public,” he said. Dr. M. Iqbal Musani, professor at Ibn Sina Medical College, said the college is participating not for advertising in terms of getting students, but to spread awareness as, “many people were not aware that expatriates can enrol in our college. They are very inquisitive,” he added.
