Al-Falah Premier League cricket tourney gets underway in Jubail

Kuwait: The Covid-19 pandemic has pushed the whole world into a difficult situation and the situation of Indians in Kuwait is not any different. Many people have lost their jobs, have no salary, are deprived of food and are not able to pay rent. The appalling conditions of labourers, domestic workers, taxi drivers and low waged earners don’t seem to end in Kuwait. 

At this trying situation when many people were even afraid of leaving their houses because of coronavirus, Suresh S. Rao Neramballi, volunteer of the Food Kit Distribution at the ICSG (Indian Community Support Group) has helped many tremendously. He was ready to go around delivering food kits at any time possible by his car. However, after Kuwait imposed a full curfew from 11th May 2020, no one could take out their vehicles unless they had a curfew pass. 

This did not stop Mr. Suresh Neramballi, who then borrowed a bicycle from a friend and ended up going around in the cycle delivering the food kits in curfew break time (4:30pm to 6:30pm) to all those who registered in the ICSG website. This selfless service surely commands appreciation and applause. Mr. Suresh Neramballi has been a light for many families and bachelors in Kuwait and will surely garner the blessings of them who have been able to eat at this time.

He was also the one who could deliver the food kits to many Indian Muslim maids, bachelors, laborers and families previous day and right on the day of EID, as they were not able to go shopping for their groceries for EID, due to the curfew. They blessed him in EID dua. 

Mr. Suresh Neramballi hails from Mangaluru, India and is an Engineer in the Oil sector company in Kuwait. He has been dedicated to social service, achieved 'Aryabhata International Award' for his Kannada Service and Social service, served in many Associations and Distributor of Kannada and Tulu Movies in Kuwait. He wholeheartedly thanks the people and government of Kuwait for his bread and butter.

Kuwait: State of Karnataka is enriched with Daasa culture, which had contributed immensely to its literature, culture, art & philosophy. Daasa tradition in Karnataka was part of the Bhakti movement which flourished from around 15th century and it extended considerable spiritual influence over the masses. Kuwait Kannada Koota, a socio-cultural association for the people of Karnataka in Kuwait, organized its annual Daasotsava on 14th February 2020 in remembrance of these saints, thereby displaying the rich cultural heritage of the state. 

The program started with a warm welcome address by Mrs. Spoorthy Kamath, convener of cultural committee. Divine invocation prayer by Mrs. Vasantha Ashok and Mrs. Sandhya Arun set the trend for the event. This was followed by lighting of the traditional lamp by the 2020 executive committee, comprising of President Mr. Rajesh Vittal, Vice President Mr. Sandeep Chabba, General Secretary Mr. Praveen Kumar Shetty and Treasurer Mr. Pradeep Rao. President, while welcoming the gathering, spoke about the importance of Daasas in Kannada literature & history and briefed about the series of upcoming programs. Cultural programs started with fancy dress competition by Koota children comprising of all age group starting from infants to elder kids. This program stole the show as the efforts & time invested by children and their parents were clearly visible. 

2019 executive committee was felicitated by the current committee for wonderfully managing Koota affairs & programs. This was followed by the release of Koota magazine “Marala Mallige", comprising of informative articles, drawings, poems etc., entirely contributed by the association members. Event’s main attraction “Vrindavana Leelavarana", a colorful dance drama spectacularly portrayed by 54 Koota children, was very well appreciated & received by the attendees. Association children who successfully completed 10th and 12th were felicitated as a token of encouragement. Executive committee gave away prizes to Kids who excelled in the stage competitions held earlier. Audience was treated to a divine and melodious Bhajan program conducted astutely by the ladies & men. Koota women performed Bhajan Kolata, along with ladies bhajan, in a well-coordinated manner. Vote of thanks was proposed by the secretary of Koota, thanking those who contributed for the success of the event. Another attraction was a quiz competition “Rasa Prashne", conducted efficiently between the programs, by Mr. Mahesh Shiramgond. 

The whole event was planned and executed astutely by the cultural committee under the leadership of Convener, Mrs. Spoorthy Kamath. Public Relations Committee, led by Mrs. Suparna Dambal, welcomed the members in a vibrant & colorful way, showcasing a beautifully erected divine mantap. The event was sponsored by Unimoni, LIC HFL, VSPL, Geetherb, Kotak Life Insurance, Joy Alukkas, Lulu Hypermarket & Total Environment. The program ended with a sumptuous satvik lunch, sponsored by the senior Koota member, Mr. Ramachandran Seetharaman.

In a humanitarian gesture to help fellow citizens in distress, the first in the series of chartered 
flights arranged by Thumbay Group, UAE and the Bearys Cultural Forum (BCF) Trust, 
Mangalore to repatriate stranded Kannadigas in the UAE took off from Ras Al Khaimah 
International Airport in the wee hours of 21st July 2020. The flight was fully occupied, with 186 passengers, all of them desperate to fly back to India for various reasons.

The initiative was conceived and implemented under the leadership of Dr. Thumbay Moideen - Founder President of Thumbay Group & Founder Patron of BCF and Dr. B K Yusuf, the 
President of BCF. The flight was organized on a purely charitable basis, with all necessary 
steps and precautions in place to ensure the safety and comfort of passengers. Thumbay Group assigned its fleet of buses to transport the passengers free of charge from their residences in Dubai, Sharjah and Ajman to the airport. The organizers also provided free meals and refreshments to the passengers, in addition to PPE kits and face-shields distributed free of 
charges.

The passengers on the first flight included many elderly individuals, people with serious 
illnesses like heart-related health issues and diabetes, pregnant ladies and little children as well as people who had lost their jobs and those with expired visas. Dr. B K Yusuf – BCF President, Dr. Kaup Mohammed - BCF General Secretary, other office bearers of BCF, as well as Thumbay Group’s representatives Mr. Farhad C – Director of the Hospitality Division of 
Thumbay Group and Engr. Farwaz P. C. – COO of the Construction Division were present at 
the airport to see off the first group of passengers.

Commenting on the initiative, Dr. Thumbay Moideen said, “This joint initiative of Thumbay 
Group and BCF is to support our fellow Kannadigas desperate to fly back home. We are happy that we have been able to reach out to many of them, to help them fly home to their families. We thank the Governments of the UAE and India, and the Indian Consulate, Dubai, for their support in making this happen. In the coming days, many more stranded Kannadigas would be repatriated under this joint initiative.”
Dr. B K Yusuf thanked Dr. Thumbay Moideen and the office-bearers and members of BCF for 
their efforts to make the initiative a success.

“We are proud that this initiative has brought relief to many Kannadigas and their families today. BCF is grateful to Thumbay Group for its support and partnership for all our humanitarian programs for the support of the needy.”

Dr. Kaup Mohammed said that it was a matter of pride that the much-awaited Thumbay-BCF 
repatriation flight had been carried out successfully. “Measures have been taken to ensure the safety of the flight and its passengers throughout the journey,” he said. He also thanked all the social organizations including Bhatkal Jamath, BCCI, BWF, KCF, DKSC, Kodagu Kannadigas, 
Kannadiga Help Line, Dubai Konkans and KSS, for their support. He specially thanked Mr. 
Syed Hassan Razeen, the owner of ARISTOCRAT Travels for his support in the ticketing, 
boarding and related processes. On behalf of Milano Optics Group and Maxcare, free gift 
hampers were distributed to selected passengers.

The passengers were received at Mangalore airport under the leadership of Mr. Mumtaz Ali - patron of BCF and other distinguished personalities of Mangalore including Mr. Moidin Bava - former MLA, Mr U. T. Ifthikhar, Mr. S. M. R Rashid - President of BCCI central committee and many others. The passengers were transferred to the hotels where they had registered for the mandatory quarantine.

The second flight under this joint initiative is scheduled to take-off from Ras Al Khaimah airport to Mangalore on 24th July 2020. A few more similar repatriation flights are to soon follow, in the coming weeks.