Media Release

Kuwait, March 13: The pleasant climate of the second month of the year drew large crowds to the Tulu Koota Family Picnic, which was held on February 27 at the Mishref Garden, Kuwait.

The event was inaugurated with the anthem of 'Swachh Bharat Abhiyan' flagged off by the honourable prime minister of India. All the committee members followed the theme by demonstrating to clean up the ground in unity. The torch of the picnic was first lit up by the members of the advisory committee and handed over to the sports secretary, Faustine Pinto, which was then carried forward to all the managing committee members and finally to the president, Tharendra Shettigar.

The president then lit the big torch and declared the event open. Children with pom-poms looked vibrant with the colours of the Kuwait and Indian flag. The national anthem of both the countries was then sung after which the traditional breaking of the coconut was carried on by the president and the sports secretary. It was then followed by an effective presentation of yoga postures by Alka Rao and her team to emphasize the importance of a healthy mind and healthy body. Suresh Salian conceptualized the inauguration idea and well executed by Ronald D'souza , Vishwanath Shetty and Purander Manchi.

The picnic was very well coordinated by the sports secretary, Faustine Pinto started off immediately and then continued in rapid rotation all through the day. Children of 0-4 years old played passing the hat and picking the ball and putting in the basket with ease, while 4-6 year olds competed in the ball race and ring in the wicket. Little bigger boys and girls played sack race and ring race, while children above 10 raced in slow cycling, skipping and hitting the wicket.

Ladies and gents enjoyed shot put and breaking the pot, while the couples enjoyed the ball race and the three-legged race. In addition, the game of musical chairs for the seniors was a feast to the eye.

There were team games of throwball, volleyball, kabbadi, govinda and tug of war played. Men and women came to register in large numbers for the teams as they kept the audience fascinated and engrossed for an extensive length of time. The throwball tournament for ladies was won by Rolce Joyce and the runners up were Jaguar Friends. Kabbadi tournament was won by Billava Sangha Kuwait while the runners up were navachetna. volleyball tournament was won by Sara Friends and the runners up were Kunjal Friends.

A game of housie housie was played while the audience settled after the games and quiz conducted in between the games. The grand raffle draw that was held at the conclusion of the event continued to interest one and all with the exciting prizes after which the general secretary, Wilson D'souza gave vote of thanks.

The event was beautifully hosted by Preeti Shetty, Purander Manchi, Sanath Shetty, Prithvi Shetty, Yadunath Alva and Harish Bhandary. Scrumptious lunch was served by Avanti Palace, while the lighting and sound was arranged by Anand Illuminations. The success of the event is owed to the wholehearted support of all the committee members, who toiled day and night to achieve their target.