PANAJI
World Goa Day 2023 was held with pomp and gaiety on November 24, 2023 at the Al Rayyan Resort Club House that went berserk in applause and burst into celebrations organised by the Goan Welfare Association (GWA), Qatar.
As much as it was a day for the guests to celebrate and take pride, the event turned out to be an enthralling day. While the event highlighted Goan art, culture, traditions, language, music and cuisine.
A jam-packed crowd had a time of their life, so much to cheer right through the afternoon till late evening. It was graced by the presence of some prominent personalities. Chief Guest for the event, Aloysius D’Souza, president, Konkani Speaking Community of Our Lady of Rosary Church, Qatar, who is also the President of Mangalore Cultural Association (MCA) spoke highly and congratulated President Simon D’Silva and the Goan Welfare Association of the good work they have been doing over the years.
D’Souza also said how GWA and Mangalorean organisations collaborated to organise different events and bring the community together.
The occasion was also graced by Guest of Honours, Deepak Shetty, vice president, Indian Cultural Benevolent Forum (ICBF) under the aegis of Embassy of India and Subramanya Hebbagelu, vice president, Indian Cultural Centre (ICC).
Deepak Shetty highlighted how D’Silva worked in collaboration with ICBF, Indian Embassy and the Government of Goa to organise the chartered flight for the Goans stranded in Qatar during pandemic.
GWA has been celebrating World Goa Day since 2001. The day was instituted to mark the anniversary of August 20, 1992, a momentous day in Goa’s history, when the Indian Parliament included Konkani in the eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution. That was the long-awaited day when Konkani got due recognition as an official language in India.
The last World Goa Day was held in 2019 in Qatar before pandemic.
One-man band Morgan Viegas (ex-Alcatraz) kept everyone’s feet tapping by a mix of popular music and was well supported by DJ Chris with his scintillating music, mesmerizing the crowd and a heart ponding sound system. DJ Flossie who recently joined her husband in Qatar from Saudi Arabia delivered on its promise of exhilarating music and spectacular performances laced with fun, frolic and excitement.
Several exciting spot and lucky prizes were given away to the guests. The lucky winners were Royston and Sarita D’Souza from Singapore, Joaquim Rodrigues, Cajetan Rodrigues, Tony and Jackson. Another notable personality present was Kevin Dias, CEO of Atlas World Services, who was very graceful with his praise and generosity in sponsoring prizes and gifts for the day.
The other star performers were duo Figo Rodrigues and Viola Pereira and Filomeno Camillo.
The Master of Ceremony was Sebastian Mascarenhas, an established award-winning toastmaster, not only impressed all by his eloquence, but also by his unique sense of humor even performing one of his stand-up comedy acts.
