Traditional Karvali games come alive at KWAR annual premium sports event

Riyadh: The Karavali Welfare Association (KWAR), Riyadh unit, conducted its annual premium sports event on February 6, 2015. For a change, this year KWAR conducted traditional Karavali games such as Lagori, Kabaddi, coconut game, Kutti-Donne, Breaking the Pot, Bicycle Tyre relay, Tug of War, along with Shot Put, and other fun games.

The event gathered momentum as soon as KWAR President Rajesh Kumarset the opened the game with his Inaugural Speech. Teams were divided in to four groups to compete in all the games. They are 1) The Yellow Saffron Lead by Mr. Deepak Shetty 2) The Red Chilies Lead by Muzaffer Ali 3) The Green Brigade Lead by Mr. Ramesh Shetty 4) The Blue Berries Lead by Mr. Yathiraj Malpe.

Each team fought with great team spirit in all the events. It was a treat to watch the traditional coconut game in which a total number of 40 members participated. The ultimate winner of this game was The Green Brigade and The Yellow Saffron managed to sneak the 2nd position.

The real attraction was the Bicycle tyre Relay which really brought back everyone’s childhood memory to the fore. The hard fought competition won by the Aggressive “Red Chilies” and the Green Brigades were not too far behind as they managed toget the runners up spot.

The game of Lagori was a thrilling event fought between all the four Rival teams but the ultimate gold winners were undoubtedly the Green Brigade with the ever Enthusiastic Red Chilies bagging the silver crown.

The crowd was at its feet when the game of Kabaddi played between the two strong Teams the Red Chillies & the Green Brigade, Both fought with great spirit, and it was a tough task for Referee Mr. Chandra to control the aggressiveness of both the teams in this keenly contested game. The Team crown was won by The Green Brigade and The Red Chilies were the second best.

Another Crowd enthralling game of Tug of war was the master stroke of the day. It was a game which was fought until last breath as the crowds got their times worth. Even though the Blue Berries tried all the tricks in the book, the ultimate winners were the seven strong men from The Green Brigade.

In the final team event The Blue berries managed to win the Fun game of Circling the Cone with The Red chilies managing to overcome a few lapses to win the second position.

Individual Games for the Team members were well participated by all the teams with the major attraction of these individual game were the Kutti-Donne, Breaking the Pot and Shot-Putt.

In the Kutti-Donne Event Mr. Jagdish Shetty won the first Prize breaking the heart ofmany a contestants but surely the second placed Mr. Deepak Shetty. It was a real Thrillerfor the Cheering Crowds and supporters of all the four teams.

In the Shot-putt event, Mr. Ashraf of The green Brigade won the Gold, Mr. Suraj Shetty of The green Brigade won the 2nd and third position won by Mr. Nagaraj Bajal.

The Last of Individual event, and one of the Major attraction of the Traditional Sports Daywas the Pot Breaking Competition. Mr. Aziz Ahmed of Red Chillies won the Gold and Mr. Suraj Shetty of The Green Brigade won the Silver.

Over all Champions were well deserved “The GREEN BRIGADE” lead by Mr Ramesh Shetty and the Runners Up who fought neck and neck were The Red Chillies.The Man of the Sports Day was Mr. Ashraf of The Green Brigades and the Runner up Mr. Nagaraj Bajal , Both were the Key players in their respective Teams.

All the winners were Felicitatedwith medals and Trophies, by KWAR President Mr. Rajesh Kumar, Vice President Mr. Santhosh Shetty, Gen. Secretary Mr. Nazeer Ahmed, and other members ofKWAR managing Committee. Also honored were the members of KWAR FOOD STALL led by Mr. Bhaskar Salian who did a commendable job.

KWAR Cultural Secretary Mr. P.M.Bhasker thanked Sponsors “C2K Springs”, Mazola, Shoe Mart, Individual donors and all the members who worked overnight for the success of this Premium KWAR SportsEvent. He also thanked all the members who were responsible for the grand success of KWAR sporting Event, specially the Sports Secretaries, Mr. Sathish Amin, Mr. Umesh Shetty & Mr. Prashanth Shetty, and their team of volunteers.The Daylong event ended by 7 pm with the recitation of National Anthem.

Meanwhile, Karavali Ladies Wing held it’s Sports Day exclusively for women and children.Mrs. Anita Eric Dsa, Sports Secretary, welcomed the members and guests to the event. Vice President, Mrs. Amitha Prabhu, along with office bearers Mrs. Anita Eric Dsa-Sports Secretary, Mrs. Nazia Nazeer-Gen. Secretary, Mrs. Rajeshwari Yathiraj-Treasurer, Mrs. Rithika Rajeev Kamath-Cultural Secretary, Mrs. Shaguftha Nauman, Cultural Secretary and Mrs. Smitha Shashidar Haridas-Coordinator, lit the traditional lamp and spoke a few words.

After the formal ceremony it was time for fun in the Sun and the cool breeze energized the day’s proceedings. Children were on their toes with plenty of games such as Lemon and Spoon race, Kangaroo race, Aiming the ball into the bucket, Fetching the balls, Balloon chasing and many more.

After lunch it was Ladies afternoon. 4 color teams were formed and respective teams grouped and marched ‘Olympic Style’, with their color flags as part of the inaugural ceremony led by their Captain. Games were conducted by Amitha Prabhu and Anita Eric Dsa. Teams competed with each other with burst of energy and enthusiasm. It was a spirited display of team work and talent. Besides the 1st, 2nd and 3rd winners, consolation prizes were awarded to the 4th team as well. Many indoor and spot games were also organized for all the children and ladies. The day ended well past sunset and it could be seen from the smiling and cheerful faces that this day will be remembered for a long time.

The Ladies wing is grateful to Mr. & Mrs. Rajeshwari Yathiraj Malpe and family for their kind and generous contribution towards prizes and gifts for Ladies and Children. Special thanks to McDonalds for sponsoring meal coupons and Mr. Eric Dsa and team for setting up the venue.