The one and only Mega Community Event - IIK Diwali Mela 2018 - turned out to be the largest gathering of Indian community in Kuwait at Al Zumurda Hall, Salwa on Friday 2nd November.
More than 5000 family crowd witnessed the mega celebration organized by the popular community portal Indiansinkuwait.com for the consecutive seventh year in Kuwait. The full day event flawlessly conducted by IIK was well received by the community and appreciated by the entire people gathered there.
The Mega event was inaugurated by the Deputy Chief of Mission at Indian Embassy, Mr Raj Gopal Singh by lighting the lamp in presence of IIK officials Mr. Sunoj Nambiar, Mr. Wilson DSouza and Mr. George Mathew. Mr Raj Gopal Singh appreciated the efforts of IndiansinKuwait.com to bring the whole Indian community together in a single platform and organize such a mega event for the benefit of the community. The event was attended by number of prominent personalities including the Ambassador of Guyana Dr. Shameer Ally, Political Head at British Embassy Mr Adam Radcliffe, and many other prominent Indians.
Mr. Rafik Boghdady, Vice President Sales, Mr Andrew Ward, VP Marketing and Mr. Ishan Badurdeen, Regional Sales Manager of Jazeera Airways represented the Platinum sponsor of the Diwali Mela, Mr. Sujo Francis,Brand Manager of American Tourister and Mr Hussein Saad, Marketing and Corporate Sales Manager from Al Muzaini Exchange Company represented as Gold sponsors, Mrs. Zhana Yordanova, Asst. Marketing Manager from Kuwait Motoring Company, Mr.Tanmoy Sarakar ,Sales Manager of High Sierra and Mr. Pradeep Menon, Finance Manager of Al-Rashed International Shipping Co as Associate Sponsors were felicitated for sponsoring the event.
One of the person who reached the IIK Diwali Mela venue before 9:45 AM was lucky to win the Early Bird Draw and he received a Tissot Watch from Mr Rajshekhar, Brand Manager of Tissot in presence of DCM and IIK Officials.
The cultural celebrations began with a welcome dance by Malavika Krishna followed by a patriotic dance by the Dancing Divas group and then one of the top 10 finalist Sai Kathya Katari with her Hola Hoop Dance on Vande Matharam.
Variety of cultural programs were performed by participating associations including Rajasthan Darpan Associaition, Kuwait Odisha Association, Samarpan Gujarat Association, Friends of Kannur Expats Association (FOKE), Mogaveers Association Kuwait (MAK), Kuwait Gorkhali Samaj and Telangana Chaitanya Sravanthi.
Selected Top 10 performers from Indians In Kuwait Got Talent also showcased their talent at Diwali Mela. Various Dance performances by Dance Groups Kalabhavan, Fitness with Urvi, Aartshala , Dancing Divas, Jhankaar and Shaan – E – Punjab mesmerized the audience.
Games stalls, Special kids’ corner, Stalls of various traditional dresses and artifacts, Dandya Dance etc gave a fun filled entertainment day for the whole family.
People were really surprised by valuable spot prizes and the regular raffles every hour though out the day. The valuable prizes were sponsored by Jazeera Airways. Muzaini also had surprising gifts at regular intervals. This kept the event entertaining.
The day began with a number of competitions such as Rangoli, Diwali Mithai and Namkeen contest. Large number of people participated in these competitions. Diwali Mithai and Namkeen contest were sponsored by Tipu Sulthan Restaurant. Rangoli Contest was sponsored by Al Muzaini Exchange. The display of Diwali Lanterns made by the students of various Indian schools added colors to the Diwali Mela Venue Ambiance. Diwali Lanterns competition was sponsored by Al-Rashed International Shipping Co. There was also Dandiya Dance contest in between which was sponsored by Jazeera Airways.
Celebrity Kuwaiti Singer Mubarak Al Rasheed, with the Bollywood hits, made the audience to dance on their feet. Mubarak surprised the audience with latest Hindi Songs and sang among the audience.
Prize distribution of all the competitions which was held throughout the day at the Mela was done at the end of the program. Rajasthan Darpan Association bagged prize for the Best Participating Association at IIK Diwali Mela. Mr Wilson D’Souza proposed vote of thanks.
The event was well anchored by Mr Surya Prakash, Dr Navniit Gandhi and Ms Rachana.
The spontaneous flash mob by the Dillusions groups was an added attraction for the crowd. Large number of crowd participated in the Open Dandiya. All together, the day was a great entertainment for the whole Indian community and made them feel back at home, in India for Diwali. With great ambiance, IIK Diwali Mela 2018 was a magical moment for the families.