Zenifer Khaleel
Abu Dhabi, Mar 19: The Indian community here came together to celebrate the festival of colours with much spirit and fervour on Friday March 17.
The extravagant celebration of Holi, titled 'Colours of Friendship Holi', was hosted at Khalifa Park by the Indian Business and Professional Group in association with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and the Indian Ladies Association.
Sudhir Shetty, president of IBPG and Ganpat Singhvi board member of IBPG inaugurated the event which witnessed a crowd of 3,000 plus.
Colour cannons burst into all hues into the open skies. People danced away in the rain dance area. Indian drum, the dhol was the special highlight of the event. Children played at the bouncy castle and with waterguns.
Dr B R Shetty, chairman of IBPG said, "Festivals like Holi promote the spirit of friendship and are crucial for creating social bonds amongst families. The community members come closer to one another to forge family like ties of a home away from the native country, encouraging the spirit of sharing in all our hearts. Celebrating such festivals creates long lasting memories of happiness in UAE. We are proud to be associated with ICAI and ILA for this event. We hope for many more collaborations in the future for partnerships of various events."
Excited about the first Holi after recently taking over as the chairman of ICAI, Suresh Panwar said, "Holi is not only a festival of colors and sweets. It reminds one of divine and eternal love. It also represents truth and humanity and the colors of Holi spread the message of peace and happiness around the globe.
"Holi has just become more colourful with this union of friendly associations. The special ties of friendship between UAE and India have made this festival even more eventful. Colours of friendship gives the opportunity to celebrate intercultural friendship," said Sunita Wagle, president of ILA.
RJ Ved from 105.4 Radio Spice entertained the crowd with his powerpacked anchoring and witty impersonations of Bollywood heroes. There was scintillating music by the Abu Dhabi’s reputable DJ Rudy, DJ Mac and DJ Otzy, which led the crowd to dance till the end and beyond. Dance troupe Strikers set the dance floor on fire.
The title sponsor of the programme was NMC Group. Khaleej Times was the official media partner for the event.
A bevy of food outlets put up their stalls and were sold out by the end of the day. Foodlands Chappan Bhog, Bloomsburys, Indian By Nature, India Palace and Biryani Pot served the crowd with the best dishes from their restaurants.
Exciting raffles were given away for free by sponsors which included dinner vouchers from Royal Orchid Group, India Palace, Biryani Pot and Zari Zardosi, coupons from Lulu Hypermarket and Bloom Box, a gold coin from Ajanta Jewellers and other prizes from the NMC Group.
Associate sponsors of the event were UAE Exchange and Berns Brett Masood.
In line with UAE's 2017 vision of 'The Year of Giving', the winning tickets were asked to pick out complete strangers from the crowd who were given prizes of equal value as well.