By Blaise Fernandes

Photo Credits: Iral P Noronha and Glanson Serrao

Adelaide, Oct 1: After weeks of preparation, a grand celebration of Monthi Fest, Adelaide was held on Saturday, September 9. The change of venue, to the bigger hall at Holy Family Catholic School, Parafield Gardens was an indication of the growing popularity of this feast. This year, the numbers of the faithful swelled to around 200. This feast which is held to celebrate the nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is celebrated as Monthi Fest by Mangloreans, as Mount Mary Feast in Bombay and as Vailankanni Feast in South India. In Goa where it originated in 1513, it is known as “Monte Saibinnichem Festa.” The feast which also marks the Harvest Festival in Mangalore and other parts of Karnataka was popularized by Fr Joachim Miranda, a Goan Catholic priest, at the Monte Mariano Church in Farangipet, Mangalore in 1763.

L to R: Fr Santosh Pereira, Fr Lancy D'Silva, Fr Santhosh Nazareth

"Prijdent" Melvin and Asha, Drs Malcom and Darren

The celebrations began with prayers and a shower of flowers on the statue of Baby Mary by the children and adults to the singing of “Sakkad Sangatha Melya” and “Moriyek Hogolsiya”. For first time at the celebrations, the statue was carried under a ceremonial Chattri or Muthukuda umbrella to the church/mass hall to commence the Holy Mass. The solemn Mass was concelebrated by Fr Lancy D’Silva CSC, Fr Santhosh Nazareth CSC and Fr Santosh Pereira MSFS. Fr Santhosh Nazareth CSC preached the homily and emphasized the sense of family among all the faithful and the role of the Blessed Virgin Mary as mother. He extolled the virtues of Mother Mary and how comparatively we are so weighed down with sin and that we need to strive to be holy and pure. He pointed to how traditionally in Mangalore and overall in India, a mother is held is high esteem, where even captions like “Avoi Sarvanga Mogachi” can be found painted on vehicles. He cautioned about modern day trends of relegating elderly parents to old-age homes. Fr Santhosh reiterated the need to be “nirmal” like Mother Mary with God’s help. He rounded the homily with “Konkani divo, karya jivo!” The choir’s recital of mainly Mangalorean Konkani hymns brought about a sentiment of the homeland to the celebration.

Towards the end of the mass, community coordinators Juliet Goveas and Blaise Fernandes of the Mangalorean and Goan communities respectively, thanked the priests and the members of the community who worked hard to make the event a success. This year, the Mangalorean youth played a major role in both the mass and the function which followed. After mass, all the faithful were served with the special “Novem” drink made of crushed paddy (representing the first crop) in flavoured milk. Kobu (sugarcane stubs) were also provided to every member of the congregation. Fr Lancy D’Silva CSC thanked all the various helpers and the congregation for their efforts in putting together this wonderful celebration. Special thanks were offered to Mr Melwin Rebello, his wife Asha and his two sons Malcolm and Darren for sponsoring the whole event and thus becoming the “Prijdent” of the feast. The Rebello family took on the role as an act of thanksgiving to God for special blessings on their two sons, both who have become doctors. While Dr Malcolm has three degrees, a Doctor Of Medicine with Honours and Bachelor Of Pharmacy with Honours and Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Science, Darren holds a Doctor Of Medicine with Honours and a Bachelor of Pharmacy with Honours. Dr Malcolm practices at the Concord Hospital, Sydney and Dr Darren at the Charles Gardner Hospital, Perth.

Melwin was born in Malpe and did his primary education in Udupi followed by his engineering degree in Bangalore. Asha was born and brought up in Bombay and worked in IT. After his studies, Melwin joined his siblings in Muscat, Oman and then married Asha who joined him there. They were soon blessed with their two sons. This put the pressure on Asha for whom family was priority to change her IT job in Muscat to kindergarten teaching. On migrating to Adelaide, Australia, in 2005, Asha joined an early learning centre and Melwin, an electronics company. Their close attention to their two boys resulted in them both completing their schooling with a score of 99.7. They attribute their success to their faith and their daily evening family prayers. They even took the boys to the Holy Land to visit Jesus’s birth place, His tomb and Mother Mary’s house as a token of thanksgiving for all the graces they received in every walk of their lives. Yet, they still request the prayers and good thoughts of all their well-wishers.

After Mass, Melwin and Asha were accompanied by the priests to the dais and Fr Lancy presented each of them with a ceremonial shawl, another first at the Monthi Fest in Adelaide. The medico sons of Melwin and Asha were unable to be present, but Melwin spoke on their behalf also and thanked the Lord and Mother Mary for all their blessings. He also thanked the priests and the whole community for the opportunity to be the sponsor of this year’s Monthi Fest. He particularly lauded Juliet Goveas for her role in organizing the feast this year and in previous years. Later, during the cultural programme, Melwin along with Joanita D’Souza wonderfully sang the classic Wilfy-Meena Rebimbus duet song ‘Suryacha kirnani’.

The cultural program began with enthusiastic and talented children presenting their items. Thereafter, the gathering headed to have a pure vegetarian lunch which was particularly well-made and tasty. The cultural program continued after the hearty lunch with mainly adult participants and vivacious dance performances by two groups of ladies. While one was a lively dance in Hawaii-reminiscent costumes, the other in dark tops and floral skirts with oriental umbrellas seemed like a Western-Oriental-Konkan fusion. Fr Lancy D’Silva CSC surprised the audience with a rib-tickling but outstanding performance of the Konkani song Lilly. The highlight of the entertainment program was the Kichileo Group’s, Ubba ani Gibba comedy drama. The hilarious acting had the crowd in splits with bouts of giggles and laughter coming on even before the previous one was expended.

MCs Sandeep D’Silva and Ancilla Dias did a fine job of making it a well-oiled event and DJ Nick’s music made the audience rush to the floor for the Baila. The photography of the even was well-covered by Glanson Serrao and Iral Noronha. There was a very pleased look on the faces of the people as they left the venue. Many commented that the feast was getting better every year. There was also an air of anticipation for the next Konkani event, the feast of St Francis Xavier– Patron saint of Goa and Australia, which will be held on Saturday, 2nd December 2023.