Vamanjooreans UAE celebrate ‘Monthi Fest’
Dubai,UAE: Vamanjooreans UAE, a profound community residing in Dubai, celebrated the birthday of the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, on the occasion of the family feast, ‘Monthi fest’.
As a family, the community members gathered on September 17 at Biryani 2020 restaurant, Oud Metha.
On this memorable day, Vamanjooreans celebrated the occasion honouring Mother Mary by praying, praising, singing hymns, offering flowers, and then consuming Novem (blessed new corn) in a traditional way. It was a fantastic opportunity for all to meet with our fellow parishioners. The program was initiated by praising Mother Mary with the traditional hymn “Sakkad Sangatha Melyan” along with the offering of flowers in a procession.
The prayer service was started by Sr. Hildaguard and led by Joyline Pinto and team members Lavita, Preema, Elvira, and Renisha.
Emcee Joel Pinto did a fantastic job keeping the audience engaged in various games and other cultural activities.
The chief guest of the event, Sr. Hildaguard, who came all the way from India to be a part of the event, made the occasion more special. Many of her students were asked to speak a few words about her, which made her overwhelmed with joy amidst tears of happiness. She gave an inspirational speech that brought joy to the crowd. Sr. Hildaguard was felicitated on the occasion along with Mr. James Mendonca by our president, Johnson Monteiro, Joseph Mathias, Ronald Martis, Manoj Vas, and Jacintha Mendonca (on behalf of Lawrence Mendonca).
All were fascinated by a solo dance performance from Rea Sequeira. Multiple songs sung by Joel Pinto, Sheethal D’Souza, and Monica Walder smoothed the minds with their euphonious voices in the listeners’ ears. A few jokes cracked by Lynal, Elvira, Joel, and Rathan made the crowd laugh out loud.
DJ AshKing and Errol on the key board filled all the gaps without keeping the room quiet.
The occasion dates to the culture of having lunch with a variety of food on a banana leaf. Vamanjooreans, UAE, had this wonderful lunch served on banana leaves, and the food was prepared by Das Prakash Restaurant Karama, Dubai.
The best traditional outfit award was claimed by Joel Pinto in the male category and Eveline Monteiro in the female category.
A quiz on the topic of Vamanjoor and history was conducted. The winner was David.
The popular game Housie Housie was conducted at the end of the programme, and prizes were distributed to the winners.
Finally, the baila dance session was held for all the crowds gathered to cherish the beautiful memories. The whole event was captured by Rohil.
The entire event was formulated under the leadership of Johnson Monteiro, Stephan Menezes, and other committee members.
The event was a splendid success, as many Vamanjooreans were present, and they left the venue with memories to last a lifetime.
Report by Joyline Pinto
