Dussehra celebrates the Hindu god Rama’s victory over the demon king Ravana and the triumph of good over evil. As a part of Dussehra celebrations, Oman Billawas organized a gala evening of Garbha/Dandia, on Friday, 12^th October 2018, at Al Maasa Hall, in Muscat, Sultanate of Oman.

The evening commenced with “lighting of the lamp” by the ladies of Oman Billawas, at 7.30 PM sharp. Our tiny tots then came up with some melodious invocations/ prayers to Goddess Durga to start the pooja activities. Mr. Umesh Jeppu performed the Mangalarathi of Goddess Durga, after which Prasad was distributed to all the members present.

The celebrations commenced with the Cultural Secretary, Mrs. Amitha Sridhar welcoming the members, their families and all the guests who had gathered in the hall. Mrs. Ashwini Rohidas then spoke about Navarathri and the nine forms of Goddess Durga. She highlighted the importance of this festival which signifies power, wealth, prosperity and knowledge.

The floor was then open for everyone in the hall to join in the Garbha dance. The enthusiasm with which our members and their families participated in the dance was contagious and soon the floor was overflowing with children, ladies, and the gentlemen, all donned in colorful attire and dancing away merrily to the melodious tunes churned out by our DJ Sandeep Suvarna, who really kept the crowd on their toes and waiting for more.

The special attraction of the day was the tiger dance which was organised or coordinated by Mr Praveen Amin and his team of nine tigers, which included three tiny tigers – Pavan Nitin Kumar, Ayush Shridhar Amin and Sannavi Nitin Kumar. With their faces beautifully painted by Mr. Vijay Kodialbail and donning the tiger suits the entire team put up a mind boggling performance which was enjoyed and appreciated by all. After the performance, a large portion of the members, including ladies and children were seen performing the “tiger dance” to the melodious beats provided by our DJ Sandy, whereby the lights and sound was provided by Mr Uttam Kotian.

After this the festivities continued with all members participating in the Dandia dance. A large portion of the crowd enthusiastically joined in the dance celebrations which continued till late in the night.

During a break in the dance activities, a promotional video of a Tulu movie, featuring one of our budding Billawa youngsters of Mangalore, Mr. Shailu Birwa, Mr. Sharath Poojary

Kapu, Ms. Lavanya Kotian and Sanket Poojary for the Movie Kambalabettu Bhatrena Magal and another movie by Mr. Sandesh Raj Bangera for the movie 2 Ekre was screened, highlighting this special achievement.

As part of the activities in the evening, a raffle draw was conducted wherein 8 lucky winners were given away high value utility gifts, which were sponsored by Mr.& Mrs. Manohar Salian, Mr & Mrs. Dinesh Poojary and Mr & Mrs. Rathan Kumar.

The highlight of the evening was the snacks boxes organized by Mr & Mrs. Uttam Kotian and home made food which was prepared by our Oman Billawa ladies, which was enjoyed and appreciated by everyone. Curtains were drawn on an eventful evening with a vote of thanks by Mr. Vijay Kodialbail, who thanked all the members who had made the evening a memorable one, with their whole hearted participation. He also thanked all the members who had helped financially as well as with sponsorship in kind, apart from the large group of youngsters who were actively volunteering in all the activities.

The dance and festivities continued till late in the night.