Dubai: The UAE Amchigele Samaj (UAEAS) kick started the first of its many activities for 2013, with a Picnic at the Wimpy Park near the Shaikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Abu Dhabi, on Friday, the 15th Feb 2013.
The event was attended by over 200 Samaj Bandhavas from the UAE. The Managing Committee had organised for 2 buses to commute from Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman & other emirates along with many cars which also accompanied the buses with additional members. The members from Abu Dhabi came to the park in cars.
All members met with their families and registered themselves at the reporting point which was Dnata in Dubai and Spinneys in Sharjah. Breakfast was served in the buses, en-route to Abudhabi. The families enjoyed the drive and had fun playing antakshari, dumb charades and singing songs on the way. The entire group settled down at the Park where members were served with tea to refresh themselves.
The day started with games for toddlers. The Kids below 5 years of age enjoyed “Passing the Ball” and “Chocolate Collection” conducted by Pragati Shenoy and Sonia Pai. The tweens thoroughly enjoyed “Tailing the elephant” and playing a game of “Dodge Ball” conducted by Geetha Nayak, Anjana Kamath and Pragati Shenoy. “Breaking the Pot” which was conducted by Mrs.Geetha Nayak was thoroughly enjoyed by kids above 12 and some enthusiastic elders as well. After the games for the children were done, everyone was served with a refreshing sherbet.
It was then time for the games for adults. The “Three Legged Race” saw a whole lot of enthusiastic couples of all ages participate. The participants were cheered by all, as they ran towards the finish line.
Amidst high spirits, lunch was served. A delicious spread of food comprising of Tasty Biryani, Salad, Rotis, Curry, Masala Buttermilk, Dessert and Fruits was greatly relished by all. Everyone ate to their fill and dashed back for more games.
The afternoon session saw adults take part in full swing. The “Bindi” game conducted by Harish Shenoy was a hit with all male members who queued up to participate in it. “Standing Kho” was then conducted by Ganesh Bhat which was contested with a lot of Gusto and enjoyed by all. The show-stopper of the day was a game of “tug of war” which was enjoyed not only by the samaj members but also had many others who were present in the park cheering the contestants.
The entire day’s proceedings were anchored by Keshav Mallya. Anil Kamath gave away goody bags, sponsored by him, to all children below the age of five. The Vice President Dr.Sandeep Mallya, Sunil Shenoy, Gopal Prabhu and Kailash Prabhu along with many volunteers provided excellent support for the conduct of the various activities. The logistics for the event and all arrangements at the venue, including the lunch, was coordinated by Chandrakant Kini, Yogish Prabhu, Ganesh Nayak, Rajendra Shanbhag, Prashant Shenoy, Rajesh Kamath and Chetan Kini.
The President of the Samaj, Shailesh Shenoy, addressed the gathering and briefed them on the calendar of events for 2013. He introduced the new committee members and briefed the members on the various sub-committees and their scope of activities and also introduced the heads of the various sub-committees.
The winners of the various games were felicitated by Shailesh Shenoy, Yogish Prabhu, Chandrakant Kini, Sudarshan Hegde, Ajit Nayak, Padmanabh Hegde and Mrs. & Mr. Panduranga Prabhu.
After the prize distribution, the next stopover was the Shaikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Abudhabi. All members boarded the buses and headed to this magnificent mosque. The buses left from Abudhabi after spending some time at the Mosque.
The journey back home was equally enthralling with enthusiastic participants playing dumb charades. All in all it was a day well spent with family and friends.
