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Abu Dhabi: Friendly hues of colour

Abu Dhabi, March 18, 2016: In the true spirit of solidarity, major Indian social organizations joined hands to conduct the most extravagant celebration of the Indian festival of colors, Holi, on 17th March at Khalifa Park. The event was conducted by the Indian Business and Professional Group (IBPG) in partnership with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) and the Indian Ladies Association (ILA). The event began at 10pm and went on till 5pm.

Aptly titled Colours of Friendship Holi, it was the most awaited event of the season. Mr Sudheer Shetty (President of IBPG) and Mr Ganpat Singhvi (Board Member of IBPG) inaugurated the event which witnessed a crowd of 3000 plus people.  Colour cannons shot bursts of colour into the open skies. People danced their way to glory in the rain dance area. Indian dhol (drum) was a special highlight. Kids enjoyed the bouncy castle and the waterguns.

The title sponsor of the program was NMC Group. Dr. B.R. Shetty, Chairman of IBPG said, “Festivals like Holi promote the spirit of friendship and are crucial for creating social bonds amongst families. The community members come closer to one another to forge family like ties of a home away from the native country, encouraging the spirit of sharing in all our hearts. Celebrating such festivals creates long lasting memories of happiness in UAE. We are proud to be associated with ICAI & ILA for this event. We hope for many more collaborations in the future for partnerships of various events.’’

Mr Suresh Panwar is very excited about the event as it is his first Holi after recently taking over as the Chairman of ICAI "Holi is not only a festival of colors and sweets. It reminds of divine and eternal love. It also represents Truth and Humanity and the colors of Holi spread the message of peace and happiness around the globe” he said

“Holi has just become more colourful with this union of friendly associations. The special ties of friendship between UAE and India have made this festival even more eventful. Colours of Friendship gives the opportunity to celebrate intercultural friendship.” said Sunita Wagle, President of ILA.

Associate sponsors were UAE Exchange and Berns Brett Masood

Rj Ved from 105.4 Radio Spice entertained the crowd with his powerpacked anchoring and witty impersonations of Bollywood heroes. There was scintillating music by the Abu Dhabi’s reputed DJ Rudy, DJ Mac and Dj Otzy, which led the crowd to dance even beyond the closing time of the program. The dance troupe Strikers set the dance floor on fire. Khaleej Times was the official media partner for the event

A bevy of food outlets put up their stalls and were sold out by the end of the day. Foodlands Chappan Bhog, Bloomsburys, Indian By Nature, India Palace and Biryani Pot served the hungry crowd with the best dishes from their restaurants.

Exciting raffles were given away for free by the generous sponsors. They included dinner vouchers from Royal Orchid Group, India Palace, Biryani Pot and Zari Zardosi, coupons from Lulu Hypermarket and Bloom Box, a gold coin from Ajanta Jewellers and lots of other prizes from the NMC Group.

In leui with UAE’s 2017 vision of ‘The Year of Giving’, the winning tickets were asked to pick out complete strangers from the crowd and they were given prizes of equal value as well.

Everybody unanimously agreed that this was one of the best holi programs they had ever attended