Report from Bert Naik
Daijiworld Media Network - Melbourne (SP)

Melbourne, Dec 25: The Mangalorean Catholic community of Melbourne celebrated a family Christmas at the heritage listed Mechanics Institute hall at the weekend prior to Christmas, hosted by the Mangalorean Catholic Association of Victoria, Inc (MCAV).

The members of the MCAV had invited many of their friends as well. It was a pleasure to see a large number of kids eagerly looking forward to receive their presents from Santa.

Wilson Castelino (vice-president) and Nigel Furtado (secretary) jointly compered the programme organized in the evening. Jason Mendonsa (treasurer) led the carols and the many games that were held. Children took a very active part in the games. An aim of the Association has been to build the self-confidence of the young members of the community, and the games organized by the MCAV at the event went a long away in building that confidence among the youngsters in the community.

Bert Naik (president) welcomed the audience and reminded them of the importance of being part of an Association. He explained that every organization of Mangalorean Catholics from around the world had  expressed their anguish at the recent disturbances  in Mangalore, and that the governments in India - both at the state and centre,  have paid heed to the voices of these organizations  in providing necessary aid to  the members of the community in Mangalore.

Santa ensured that the kids received all the wonderful presents they were waiting for. Of course, many of the parents had made sure to extract promises from their kids of disciplined behaviour for months to come in exchange of the presents. Will the promises be kept once the kids have played with the toys for a couple of days? It is likely that the parents know that all promises are made to be broken sooner rather than later.

Santa, though, appeared to be struggling with his appearance for the evening. The beard and the belt appeared to have a mind of their own. With some help from the concerned members of the audience, Santa and his costume held together for a while. But the kids had no special interest in the appearance of Santa once they received their presents.

MCAV had organized food to the gathering.. The main attraction of the evening, however, was the great music provided by the DJ which catered to many diverse tastes. The dances varied from the rock-n-roll to bollywood to kerchief-waving Mangalorean baila. 

Some youngsters provided grand entertainment by showcasing their dancing skills in front of the audience.

The evening concluded with one and all committing to enjoying many more events in the future on similar lines.