Much awaited event for the Kannadigas in Kuwait affiliated to Kuwait Kannada Koota, was observed on the 22nd of March and was aptly named “Kreeda Sanchaya”. It was an outdoor picnic cum sports event conducted by the Residents in Kuwait of Karnataka (India) origin. The event also celebrated “Holi” the festival of colors.
“Kreeda Sanchaya” was held at Wafra farm house (out skirts of Kuwait city) with both outdoor sports facilities and indoor “Quiz and Antakshari” competitions. The event was publicized through a nice video invitation by the Public Relations and Media Committee lead by Smt. Jayalakshmi Karkal.
The Day began with the members gathering at two locations for commuting to the Wafra Outdoor picnic spot by Buses, one from Salmiya and the other from Mangaf. Mr. Ramesh Chandra, Mr. Jithendra Rao and Mr. Vijay Kairangala coordinated the transportation facilities.
The ever-enthusiastic Convener of the sports committee, Mr. Girish Shenoy, ably assisted by his team comprising Mr. Anil Prabhu, Mr. Harish Nayak, Mr. Karthik Gowda, Mr. Chandrashekhar, Mr. Suresh Kunder and Mr. Pramod Rao managed the day’s event. The Four Houses of the Koota led by respective captains, Dr Preethi Shetty, Smt. Shylaja Hombali, Smt. Sourabha Vikram and Dr. Jyothi Mittapalli cheered and encouraged their house teams to actively participate in the sports events and quiz.
The day’s events were formally inaugurated by the Executive Committee led by its President Dr. Shashikiran G Prabhu, Vice-president Shri. Prabhu Achar and Treasurer Shri Ramesh Nayak. The president declared the sports event open by igniting the torch which was relayed around the open ground by the house captains.
The Sports Committee was fully involved right from the day of planning for the event and conducting meticulously, every event in the sports, games, quiz and Holi celebrations. Fun Antakshari and brain power-testing Quiz Competitions were also conducted in a more professional manner. They also made it a point to visit the venue on many occasions to chalk out the various safety measures for a hassle-free day-out at Wafra. Group Games such as throw ball, dog-and-bone, football, tug of war was held for both Adults and Children and games such as sack race, balloon hitting, aiming the pot etc., were conducted for kids.
The members were welcomed with Breakfast at the venue and tea/coffee and snacks were also served during the day. The Holi celebrations and Quiz competitions were held after the sumptuous afternoon lunch. Delicious food and snacks throughout the day was served by M/s Oriental Restaurant. Playing with Holi colors was particularly impressive because it was a responsible act by the members and that they used all-natural colors and no annoying synthetics and thanks to timely requests and instructions passed on by the Executive committee.
Army of volunteers viz. Mrs. Nayana Shenoy, Mrs. Gayathri Shashikiran, Mrs. Sandhya Arunkumar, Mr. Bhaskar Kulkarni, Mr. Rameshchandra, Mr. Vinod, Mr. Ramachandran, Mr. Sunil A.K., Mr. Nagaraj Shanbhag and Mr. Ratnakar Shetty readily agreed to assist the Sports Committee in judging the various games and arranging many things for the smooth execution of the Day’s events was the trade mark gesture of Koota members.
The Technical team led by Mr. Kiran Bhat showed excellent DJ capabilities and was ably assisted by his team. The sound systems and mixing effects made the Games and events, Flash Mobs, Antakshari and Quiz interactive and kept everyone involved.
The full-day program was made very colorful and enjoyable through songs and dances (Flash Mobs) directed and choreographed by Koota ladies that enthralled everyone. Credit for these flash mobs goes to the wonderful children and ladies of the koota and their mentors Dr. Preeti Shetty, Mrs. Sandhya Arunkumar, Mrs. Spoorthy Kamat, Mrs. Nayana Shenoy and Mrs. Sourabha Vikram.
The lovely Day Out banner and the eye catching Whatsapp poster summarizing all the events of the Day was made possible by Mr. Uday Vernekar and Mr. Suresh BS. Undoubtedly, Holi celebrations was a sight to behold and a wonderful mix of vibrant colors that made the Day Out even more attractive and fun.
The Koota expressed its thanks to Mr. Gokuldas Bhat for transport facilities and M/s Oriental Restaurants for the mouth-watering dishes and snacks. The “Kreeda Sanchaya” ended with a delicious Dinner.