Pics by Rakesh Pinto Paladka
Dubai, Oct 7, 2014 : Under the leadership of Noel Almeida, Sangama Kalavidaru, Sharjah presented an entertaining programme as a tribute to the late Tulu activist and artiste Umesh Nantoor at the Shiekh Rashid Auditorium, Dubai on Friday, October 3.
The event comprised songs by UAE’s talented artistes, dance by students, and comedy skits by well-known artistes of UAE.
Member of legislative council of Karnataka Ivan D’Souza and well-known cine actor and MLC Tara graced the event as special guests.
After a prayer dance by Joshita D’Souza and team choreographed by Arun Lobo of Feat Beat troupe, a brief stage programme was held to pay tribute to Umesh Nantoor. Walter Nandalike, founder of Daijiworld recalled Umesh Nantoor’s contribution to Tulu langiage and culture and also appreciated the support of UAE Kannadigas to Nantoor’s family after his sudden death in 2004.
Vijay Kumar Kodialbail congratulated the members of Sangama Kalavidaru led by Noel Almeida, who put every effort to remember Nantoor after 10 years. Speaking in Tulu, Kodiabail said that his latest movie ’Madime’ is all ready for release and sought the support of Tulu cine lovers to make it a huge success.
aveen Shetty of Fortune Group for inviting her to the memorable event where the auditorium was packed with Kannadigas.
MLC Ivan D’Souza was felicitated for his contribution to the Karnataka coastal region as a political leader. A citation was read out, and shawl, memento and fruits were presented.
Ivan D’Souza in his address thanked the organisers for inviting him all the way from Mangalore, and assured his support to the cause of NRIs who currently face various problems. "We are planning to open an NRI cell in Mangalore through the Karnataka government. The coastal region has a large number of NRIs residing in the Gulf, Europe, the USA and Canada. MLC Tara and I will jointly raise this issue in the next legislative council session to be held in Belgaum next month," he said.
He also informed that through his efforts, passport issuance in Mangalore office has now risen to 400 passports per day from 200 per day earlier. He also assured to address any NRI related issues to the government.
Air India regional manager for Gulf, Middle East and Africa Melwin D’Silva, Harish Sherigar, Manu Michael D’Souza, Francis Fernandes Cascia, Praveen Shetty of Fortune Group of Hotels, organiser Noel Almeida and the late Umesh Nantoor’s wife Shaila Umesh Nantoor were present on the dais.
The stage programme was followed by an entertainment programme, wherein more than 20 talented artistes rendered about 50 Tulu, Kannada, Hindi and Konkani songs. Pradeep Barboza, Chidananda Poojary, Deepak D’Silva, Alphonse D’Souza presented hilarious Tulu skits.
Feat Beat group performed spectacular dances that enthralled the gathering.
Naveen Koppa, popular compere and singer from Mangalore, who was flown in for hosting the programme, also entertained the audience with some super hit Kannada songs.
Vincent Rodrigues, Joshal D’Souza, Ganesh Prasad, Raviraj Tanry, Rosald Sequeira, Harish Sherigar, Melvyn D’Souza, Sharath Ram, Shiva Kumar, Jamil, Dony Correa, Asha Correa, Akshata Rao, Mallika Bekal, Jamil, Nikita Menezes, Bluma Pinto, Divyashree, Binil Thyagarajan, Sameer, Roshan Carolo, Gopi Kamath and Ashwath Samuel contributed to the success of the event.