Saudi Arabia Telugu Association holds day-long glittering event in Riyadh

A day-long glittering event held by SATA, a social organisation comprising people from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, in Riyadh on Friday witnessed a large congregation of people from the Telugu States.

Jeddah: A day-long glittering event held by SATA (Saudi Arabia Telugu Association), a social organisation comprising people from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, in Riyadh on Friday witnessed a large congregation of people from the Telugu States.

After staying away from social and leisure life for two years following the pandemic, the Telugu speaking expatriate community in Saudi Arabia came out to join social life as part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav concluding celebrations. It was sheer festive buzz that drew hundreds of Telugu NRIs including a significant number of women and children hailing from far-flung areas such as Manthani that border Maharashtra to Tekkali in Srikakulam bordering Odisha and Chittoor district that are adjacent to Tamil Nadu.

It was amazing to find such a large number of Telugu families in the Saudi capital, said Loke Sudha of Manthani of Telangana, echoing similar views expressed by Tati Sridevi of Nellore and Chandana of Srikakulam district in AP.

“We came from over 950 kilometers from Abha to Riyadh to attend the event”, said Prof. Mazhar along with his friends.

Addressing the gathering, Anil Raturi, second secretary of Indian Embassy said affection of language by the Telugu NRI community was impressive. Prominent Indian Community leader Gulam Mohammed of Rajasthan hailed the Telugu community and said that “though I don’t know the language, the jubilant mood of the audience indicates the love for their language”.

Telangana NRI Association President Mohammed Abdul Jabbar said that Telugu language binds people between both states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Commending efforts of SATA to strengthen the Telugu community in the Kingdom, prominent Telugu NRI Maddineni Jayarao opined that reaching out to the community was vital for organisations. Irrespective of caste, creed, colour or religion, language promotes harmony between all people regardless of their faith, said journalist Mohammed Irfan.

Veteran photojournalist KM Wasif said he was hearing Telugu Thalli, official song of AP, after a gap of 32 years. The last time he heard it was while covering an event of former Chief Minister NT Rama Rao, he said.

Malleshan, president of SATA, said the Telugu language day was celebrated as part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav. He hailed instant support of the Indian Embassy for destitute Telugu stranded workers.

A colourful evening with a scintillating performance displaying the vibrancy of Indian culture, along with classical dances by children thrilled the audience. The performance of Hanisha, Manasvini, Neha, Tekshana, Aleykya, Caitra, Ashrita, Geetika and Deepanshi evoked overwhelming response from the audience. The various dance performances by Vaidehi Nurtya Vidyala of Reshmi Pillai and Polestar Academy also mesmerised the audience.

These were followed by an energetic performance by playback singer Amjad Hussain with a number of hit Telugu and Hindi movie songs.