Muscat: Spandana Group Goes on Musical Voyage

Report: Shivani Prakash Naik   
Pics: Zubair Hameed (D’ziner)

Muscat, Jun 4: A musical voyage was embarked upon by a group of sixty individuals ranging from ages 3 to 62 years, largely consisting of members of the socially and culturally active group, Spandana, Muscat. 

Spandana team comprises Koni Prakash Naik (convenor), Riyaz Ahmed Basrur (co-convenor), Ramesh Shettigar, Nagesh Shetty, Karunakar Rao, Ramanand Kunder, Zubair Hameed, Jaya Shettigar and Yoganand Holalkere.

Anticipation for the night to come was thick in the air and a gentle breeze embraced the revelers as they stepped onto the dock. All equipment was set up within a minimal amount of time while other passengers explored the two decks of the boat.

With a warm introduction, captain Abdul Kareem was introduced who in turn spoke on what to expect from the journey ahead and wished everyone a joyous evening. With the sky slowly being blotted out by the inky black of the night, the boat set sail at 7 pm. Soon the festivities began.

The evening took off with a performance of the song 'Chale the saath milke, chalenge saath milkar' by Prakash Naik, organizer of the event and the `onvenor of Spandana Muscat, the song being symbolic of the unity and friendship that bound one and all present on the boat that day.

The evening also saw some brilliant song performances in various Indian languages like Hindi, Kannada and Tulu by Raju Sanil, Sumana Shashidhar, Anita Chandrakant, Vijaykumar, Kishen Aharya, Srish, Veena and Sreenivas, Priya Pai, Sakshi Bhagawat, Divya Kotian and Ashok Kotian.

Songs presented comprised golden oldies like 'Teri Bindiyare', 'Doni Saagali Munde Hogali', 'Mang Ke Saath Tumara', 'Yeh Raatein Yeh Mausam Nadi Ka Kinara', 'Ha Paheli Baar', 'Ohre Taal Mile', 'Teri Pyari Pyari Soorat Ko' to 'Kaisi Paheli', 'Barsat Ke Mausam Me', 'Jawani Janeman Haseen Dilruba' to foot tapping fast numbers like 'Ooo Lala Ooo Lala', 'Sonio', 'Tondare Illa Pankaja', 'Chikni Chameli'.

Jaya Shettigar carried herself graciously as the hostess while Zubair Hameed occupied the position of the photographer for the event.

Throughout the musical journey a variety of mouth watering chats and juices were served and at the end of the journey a delicious Mangalorean cuisine was served which was enjoyed by one and all. All the members seemed overwhelmingly happy with this unique musical voyage and looked forward to meeting again sooner than later.