Dubai: ‘Vishwa Tulu Sammelana 2018’, the biggest convention of Tulu language will be held on November 23 and 24 in Dubai. The logo of the Sammelana was unveiled by Sudhir Kumar Shetty, President of UAE Exchange at a special meeting held at Marco Polo Hotel in Deira, Dubai on Friday, July 28. The logo which was unveiled was designed by well known artist Ganesh Rai, who explained the concept and design.

There was a special meeting arranged by the core committee members for the purpose, which began with a prayer and an introduction of the committee. Shodhan Prasad conducted the meeting while chief convener Sarvotham Shetty briefed the attendees about the programme and the development so far. Core Committee members comprising of Dev Kumar Kambli, Satish Poojary, Yogesh Prabhu, Ajmal Sayyed, M E Muloor, Alwyn Pinto, Afroz Assadi, Noel Almeida, Jyothika Shetty, Smitha Bhat, Suvarna Satish and Shashi Shetty were present.

‘Vishwa Tulu Aisiri’ Special Souvenir

A special souvenir is being planned to be released at the Sammelana. The name of the souvenir is ‘Vishwa Tulu Aisiri’ as suggested by Ganesh Rai, who is also the editor and designer of the souvenir and was finalized after receiving over 166 title suggestions. Ganesh Rai explained, in detail, the meaning of the title and the contents which will be featured in the souvenir.

Presentation of Sammelana

Shodhan Prasad prepared and presented an informative power point presentation depicting the whole scheduled programme which gave the members and the audience an insight into the proposed ‘Vishwa Tulu Sammelana 2018’.

The day-long programme is scheduled to be held on November 23 and 24 at the Ice Rink, Al Nasr Liesureland, Dubai and more than 4,000 Tuluvas from around the world are expected to witness this grand mega event, which will be the first such event to be held internationally. In the past, Vishwa Tulu Sammelanas were held at various Indian venues.

Shree Kshetra Dharmasthala Dharmadhikari Dr D Veerendra Heggade will inaugurate the programme, while Dr B R Shetty, patron of Tuluvas in Dubai will preside over it. The whole event will be arranged through an Event Management Company which is licensed to do so, and the licensing procedure is on with the formalities.

The target audience will comprise of ‘Sarva Dharma’ (all caste, creed and religion) hailing from Tulu Nadu and the main focus is on the Tuluva’s folk, art, literature, language and art of living. There will be a Tuluva Exhibition to exhibit the various artefacts, antiques and foods of the ancient Tuluvas for people to know.

Overseas Tulu Association presidents and members will also be arriving to witness this mega event. They are mainly from Mumbai, Delhi, Baroda, Nasik, Sangli, Pune, Chennai, Hubballi, Dharwad, Belagavi and other parts of India. There will also be guests arriving from all over the Gulf, the USA, Australia, UK who are all part of the Tulu organisation in their respective countries.

The entire event will be jointly presented by Gulf Tuluvas, Akhila Bharatha Tulu Okkoota, Karnataka Tulu Sahitya Academy and Overseas Tuluvas. Along with Dr D Veerendra Heggade, the Bishop of Mangaluru Catholic community, religious heads of the Muslim community and other well-known preachers, community leaders, ministers, actors, actresses, dramatists, writers, poets, singers, stand-up comedians, folk dancers, Yakshagana artistes and many well-known performers and presenters from Tulu Nadu will be arriving to grace the occasion.

Tulu Janapada Nrithya competition and Tulu Janapada singing competition will be held for Tulu groups within the Gulf countries comprising of Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the UAE and any number of entries are permitted provided the theme should be in pure Tulu language.

Tuluvas pride will be the main theme and the presentations will include Tala Maddale, Yakshagana Natya Vaibhava, Tulu Rasamanjari, Tulu Sahitya Ghosti (kode, ini, yelle), Daivaradhane, Bhootaradane, Tulu Maadhyama Ghosti, Tulu Hasya Sanje, Tulu Kavana Vachana, Tulu Chutuku Ghosti, Tulu Ranga Bhoomi and Chalana Chitra Ghosti and Anivasi (Overseas) Tuluvara Ghosti. Importantly all these presentations will be quick, smart and strictly humorous to keep the audience entertained throughout. Well-known scholars, literatures, writers, poets and artistes will be the main presenters.

Shodhan Prasad has requested every member to take care and conduct the programme with due respect to all communities without harming their religious sentiments and honouring the law of the land in the UAE in all respects.

There was a question and answer session after the presentation and many suggestions were inspected and implemented wherever necessary.

Satish Poojary rendered a vote of thanks and requested every member to cooperate in the upcoming mega event.