Abu Dhabi: Tradition, grandeur mark World Bunts Day

Abu Dhabi: Yogish Prabhu K is the newly elected president of Abu Dhabi’s prestigious India Social & Cultural Centre (ISC) and he will serve for the period 2020-2021. ISC’s annual general body meeting and Election for 2020 were held on Thursday, February 27 and the election results of the election were announced during the early hours of Friday, February 28th morning.

In the keenly contested election, Yogish Prabhu emerged victorious. Humble origin and hailing from a small town of Karkala from Udupi district of Karnataka state has never deterred him from setting challenging goals. He belongs to a well-known Gouda Saraswat Brahmin family of K.V.Prabhu Coconut oil mill in Karkala. He is the eldest son of Late Rtn. Krishna Prabhu and Rtn. Bharati Prabhu.  His father and grandfather were freedom fighters who left a profound impression on him and their ideology “serving people is like worshiping God” (Jana seveye Janardhana seve) inspired and guided his life ever since. Prabhu has been a privilege member of ISC since 2003 and has been actively involved in ISC activities throughout. His relationship with ISC spans over 2 decades during which he has immensely contributed in many ways to ISC and the Indian community at large. A banker by profession, Yogish Prabhu is currently working as Vice President, Group Finance & Treasury, First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB).

With some new initiatives in his mind, Prabhu wants to creatively improve the quality of ISC’s services, its humanitarian impact as well as the diversity of its membership. His intentions are always to help everyone irrespective of caste, creed, religion, language or status. As a new elected President of ISC, Prabhu’s main objective is to strategically plan and implement his vision through his ABC 5 Year Plan i.e.,

A-    Accountability & Transparency,

B-    Build a Sound Financial Plan and

C-    Compassion & Affection for the needy

so that ISC is recognized not just in UAE, but worldwide as a mascot of the great Indian community.

Prabhu thinks “as individuals, we can do only so much but with the support of Elected ISC Committee members and all the ISC members together, there is no limit to what we can achieve, and in the process, we can truly transform the ISC”. He proudly says, “I have a strong treasury management experience in ISC as well as in the bank which we need now more than ever”.

With his dynamic leadership, sheer dedication and ambition, ISC will definitely be scaling new heights of glory and prestige in Abu Dhabi and beyond. His humble nature, leadership qualities coupled with his rich administrative experience will surely help boost ISC’s popularity and meet its challenging goals and can serve people in a better way and contribute to the Indian community at large.

Yogish Prabhu has been married for 28years. His wife Chethana Prabhu Kasaragod too has been equally active in ISC and continuously supporting and participating in various sports, entertainment and literary committees throughout these years. She became ISC Women’s Forum Convener in 2016-2017. Their daughter, Aarti Prabhu is an IT Engineer from NITK Suratkal, working in Bangalore. Son, Ajith Prabhu finished his Masters in Mechanical Engineering and Management in Industrial Design in Queens University, Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK and at present doing his internship there. Both Aarti and Ajith are alumni of Abu Dhabi Indian School and both have represented National level CBSE Badminton meet. Also, Aarti was a Gold medalist in the school for scoring 100 in Mathematics in SSLC.

Following are few of his contributions and achievements:

•          Hon. Asst. Treasurer of ISC for consecutive years from 2005 till 2007

•          Hon. Treasurer of ISC in 2011.

•          Member of Finance Committee of ISC new infrastructure and premises from approval till completion.

•          In 2016, initiated the participation of ISC members as officials for International Yoga Day organized by Indian Embassy

•          In 2017, initiated the participation of children as officials to help the organizers so that children could learn their social responsibility and become good citizens.

•          In 2012, initiated ladies throw ball tournament in ISC and now it is extended to men too.

•          Member of IPEF since its inception in 2014. Also served as its Governing board member in the same year.

•          Founder member of ‘UAE GSB group’ since its formation in 2004

•          Committee member of ‘Gandhi Sahitya Vedi’ Abu Dhabi

•                    Treasurer of Abu Dhabi Karnataka Sangha

•          Head of Finance and member of other committees of ‘World Tulu Convention’ held in Dubai - 2018

Election was held for other Posts too. The other office bearers elected to the present committee are:

Vice-President: George Varghese.

General Secretary: Jojo J Ambooken

Asst.Gen.Secretary: C. George Varghese

Treasurer: Shijil Kumar N K

Entertainment Secretary: Jayapradeep K P

Literary Secretary: Elias Padavetty

Sports Secretary: Freddi J. Fernandes

Secretary Southern Region: Raja Srinivasa Rao Aita

Auditor: G.N.Sasikumar

Riyadh: Cricket Lovers are all geared up for the newly launched franchise based tournament - Kingdom Premier League (KPL) 2020 under the banner of Mangaluru Cricket Association (MCA) Riyadh.

SAQCO –SAAD AL QAHTANI CONTRACTING is the Mega Sponsor for the event and PARAMOUNT is the CO Sponsor.

The 6-team tournament is being played at MCA Grounds on Exit 18 in Riyadh beginning from 14 Feb and shall end on 20 March.

The Opening ceremony took place on AL-Mas Restaurant in Riyadh. The trophy launching as well as Jersey launching took place at the same event. Guests from various companies including SAQCO were present.

All teams will play at least one league Match against every other team. Top 4 teams in the table will qualify to play for the Qualifier 1 and Eliminator. The Winner of Qualifier 1 will be heading towards the final and the 2nd finalist will be the winner Qualifier 2 (Played between loser of Qualifier 1 and Winner of Eliminator). The Finals will be played on 20th March.

Below 6 Team names with their franchise owners and respective icon players.

BANCAA WARRIORS – RANJITH (TEAM WARRIORS RIYADH) – RAJESH AND SHAFI

YAQOOB FIGHTERS – SHAHID & YAQOOB (YAQOOB CC) – SAMEER KARNAD AND MOHSIN

GROUND STAR PHOENIX – RIZWAN & SIDDIK – AYAZ & SALEEM SHIRUR

PARAMOUNT HEROES – NASIR GM – SARFARAZ AK & MUSTAFA HASAN

AL-AMAL AFRAH PANTHERS – SHAHIM & AHNAF – DAWOOD KODI & ANIS

NAJD CHALLENGERS – AFROZ NAKWA – SHADAB KARNAD & SULTHAN

Each Team gets to pick 2 icon players of their choice on a mutual understanding whereas the remaining 13 players for each squad to be picked randomly based on their rankings and ratings in bidding style from 3 categories – A, B & C. The Franchise Ownership amount stands at Sr 2,000 for Each Team. The Winner of the Tournament gets a Cash Reward of Sr 5,000. The Runner Up Gets a Cash Reward of 3,000. Many Attractive Individual prizes will be handed over at the end of the event such as below

Winners squad 16 players - Gifts

Highest Run Getter – Orange Cap – Special Gift

Highest Wicket Taker – Purple Cap – Special Gift

Player of the Series – Special Gift

Hat-trick Wicket taker – Special Gift

KPL Kamal Catch – Special Gift

Best Wicket Keeper – Special Gift

Best over in KPL – Special Gift

Fastest 50 in KPL – Special Gift

Fair Play Award – Special Gift

Performer of the Week (Every Week) – Special Gift

Century – Special Gift

Maiden Over – Special Gift

MOGAVEERS ASSOCIATION Affiliated KUWAIT, to Indian embassy Kuwait, the community welfare association of non-resident Mogaveeras, based in Kuwait Fo the fourth time MAK organised, National level Volleybal & Throw Ball Tournament under the title of “MAK Champion Trophy 2020 “on 25th February 2020. The tournament was held at American Internation Schoo Maidan Hawally,Kuwait.

The tournament coincided with the National day of Kuwait celebration The weather was pleasant, the participants & the MAK members were all geared up for the tournament. 

The day long tournament commenced at 7.30 am with a parade of all the participating Teams the MAK Managemen Committee Volunteers & th guests. The grand opening was led by talented committee member Mr.Suresh Salian.On behalf of MAK Management Committee Mrs Poonam Mendon & Mr.Nishanth Salian, the host for the day welcomed the gathering. This was followed by Kuwait & Indian National Anthem.

The chief Guests of the day were Mr.Anant Kapadia who is the chairman o Indian Bussiness & professionl Counil Kuwait & Mr.P.K Venkat De Chief operating Office of Art of livingTheother guest for the day was Mr.Suresh Shyam Raowho is a Freelance Press reporter fo web new portals & print media. The guests were presented with a flore Bouquet Mr.Ramesh Kidiyoor Convenor & Founder President of MAK was honou for his excellent service & contribution towards MAK Mrs Monika Cornelio Co-ordinator of Kuwait Konkan (Throw Ball)& Mr Noel Cutniha Manage of Boubyan Stikers(Volle Ba were honoured for their excellent contribution towards sports in Kuwait & also for their outstanding support for MAK.

Mr.Chennara MK Senior member of MAK was honoured with a momemto bouquet for his excellent service & contribution towards MAK ,as he was leaving Kuwait for good.

Mr.Rajesh Mendon, President of MAK in his speech welcomed the gathering and stressed the importance of playing with true sportsman spirit and thanked all the teams for their support as this event is done for MAK welfare projects. The guests in their speech encouraged the players & conveyed their best wishes and good luck to the participating teams and organizers.

The president of MAK Mr.Rajesh Mendon ,Convenor Mr.Ramesh Kidiyoor along with the chief guest inaugurated the Volley Ball & Throw Ball tournament by cutting the ribbon .The Medals & trophies of the tournament were unveiled by sports Secretary Mr.Arun Mendon and PRO & Welfare officer Mr.Jaya Kotian.

Mrs Geetha Suvarna Committee member of MAK Along with Mrs Monika Cornelio inaugurated the Throw ball Court & Mr.Sachidananda Suvarna Vice president of MAK along with Guests ianugrated the Volley ball Court by servicing the ball.

The other guests for the day Mr.Wilson Dsouza-Expresident Tulukoota, Mr.Tharendra Shettigar Expresident Tulukoota, Mr.Vijay Wilson Gen Secretary Tulukoota, Mr.Roshan Quadras Sports Secretary Tulukoota ,Mr.Lional Mascarenhas Welfare Officer Tulukoota , Mr.Manoj Bangera-Advisor Billava Sangha, Mrs Sushma Manoj Vice President of Billava Sangha, Mr.Lawrence Pinto,Mr.Ganesh Hegde, Mr.Vakas Khan & Mr.Sudakar Shetty Convenor of Tulukoota. All of them were honoured with a bouquet.

The participating Volley Ball Teams were as below

Bayan Salmiya, Boubyan Strikers, Riggae Volley, Kunjal Friends,Salmiya Spikers, KSAC, MKV stikers

The participating Throw Ball Teams were as below

Canara Eleven, Dragon Sorpions Queens,Warriors, Kuwait Konkans A,Alfa, Kuwait Konkans B & Scorpions

The volleyball inaugural first round match started between Bayan Salmiya & Salmiya Spikers & the first round of throw ball inaugural match was between Canara Eleven & Warriors. The teams played with full enthusiasm and viewers enjoyed and experienced the spectacular show. As the day progressed matches kept rolling one after another.

The Event Sponsors were TVS Travels & Cargo Co. WLL
Gold Sponsor were Oriental Restaurant Kuwait,Silver Sponsor Badar Al Samah Medical center 

Bestwishes from Vision Direct logistics, Mr.Wilson D'Souza & family & Mrs Monika Cornelia 

Printing of Raffle was sponsored By Turmeric Restaurant

The referees for Volley Ball were Mr.Alexander Mathew & Mr.Sajan Samuel

The referees for Throw Ball were Mr.Ivan Dsouza & Mr.Arun Mendon.

The scorers for Throw Ball Team were Mrs.Geetha Suvarna, Mr.Rakshith Suvarna & Mr.Ganesh Hegde

The scorers for Volley ball team were Mr.Kishore Kotian, Mr.Nithin Suvarna & Mr.Santhosh Kunder

The announcements was done by Mr.Girish Mehta & Mr.Kishore Kotian

Sumptuous Breakfast, Lunch & snacks was provided by Bollywood Restaurant

Beautiful moments of the day was captured by the Mr.Rajesh Devadiga

Design of Brochure & Banner by Mr.Sachidanada Suvarna.

Wonderful Back ground Music By DJ Mr.Ronald D'Souza Mulky

Sound System was provided by Anand Sounds

Winners

The Volley Ball ended with a finale of Final matches between MKV Strikers & Team Boubyan Strikers After a tough Battle between the two strong teams, Team Boubyan Strikers bagged the Winners Trophy & Team MKV Strikers were declared the First Runner up.The second runners up trophy was won by Reggai Volley. MAK Player of the tournament for Volley Ball was secured by Mr.Rahul of Team Boubyan Strikers.

On the other hand, throw ball tournament ended with League matches. Team Dragon Scorpion Queens defeated the opponents and became the winners for the Fourth Consecutive year. 1st Runners up was won by Kuwait Konkans A and Team Alfa stood up as the 2nd Runners. MAK Player of the tournament for throw ball was secured by Ms. Hancil Pinto of Team Dragon Scorpion Queens. 

Prize distribution ceremony

Mr.Firoz Manager of TVS Cargo & Travels Co,Mr.Sathischandra Shetty Owner of Oriental restaurant, Mr.Chandrahas Shetty- PRO & Expresident Tulukoota Graced the prize distribution ceremony As a token of respect they were presented with a floret Bouquet

President Mr.Rajesh Mendon, Convenor Mr. Ramesh Kidiyoor along with the guest awarded the trophies and medals to winners, whereas the MAK members gave away the trophies & medals to runners up team & the individual achievers. 

A Raffle Draw was conducted by MAK & the winners are as below

1st Prize : Mr.Muruganathan
2nd Prize : Mrs.Lancy Fernandes
3rd Prize : Mr.Ganesh Kotian 

The 10 consolation prize winners were Yadav Reggai, Athaulla, Imtiyaz, Irin Dsouza, Arif, Prakash Poojary, Pranavi Laksh, Ajith Kumar & Sudesh

In her vote of Thanks Mrs.Poonam Mendon thanked each and everyone who were responsible for the success of the tournament, Participants,sponsor's, organisers, MAK Vounteers, MAK management Committee & Executive Committee. Finally a special thanks was given to the Management & Staff of American International School Maidan Hawally for the awesome venue.