Jeddah – Pongal Festival in Saudi Arabia at the Consulate of India in Jeddah with much fanfare. Organized by Jeddah Tamil Sangam (JTS) the celebration was inaugurated by H.E Mohd Shahid Alam, Consul General of India. Mr. Murthy welcomed him to the stage by presenting a bouquet. In his speech the Consul General appreciated the humanitarian services rendered by JTS.
The ceremony started with Indian and Saudi national anthems and Tamil Thai greetings. After the welcome address by Mr. Kaja Mohideen, Mr. Siraj briefed the social services of Jeddah Tamil Sangam during the previous years. The audience was enthralled by the children’s spectacular Tamil Traditional dances coordinated by Mr. Parthiban and Mr. Perarasu, choreographed by Mrs. Pushpa Suresh, Lakshmi Guru, Mahalakshmi Koteswaran, Indumati Jayakumar, Dhanya Kishore and Deepika Sasikumar.
The mini creation of a village house hand-made by Jeddah Tamil Sangam members and a mini creation on Pongal celebrations really impressed the audience and Mr. Murali, briefed H.E. Consul General about Pongal and the manner in which it is celebrated. The CG highly appreciated the beautifully designed Pongal festival model. Children exhibited the importance and the specialties of various districts of Tamil Nadu with their dance performances. Tamil Nadu famous orator cum TV celebrity Mr. Raja greatly impressed the audience with spontaneous humorous speech in the debate organized by Mr. Murali and his Pattimantram (Debate) Team.
Both Mr. Sameer and Siraj controlled the crowd through an innovative bar code system.
The program was hosted by Mrs. Rafath Siraj, Mr. Jaishankar and Mr. Ezhil Maran. Mr. Fayaz delivered vote of thanks. JTS members including Siraj, Murali, Kaja Mohideen, Murthy, Parthiban, Perarasu. Siva, Sameer and Prem organized the event in the most admiring manner.