The Indian Telugu community in Oman celebrated the festival of Ugadi with a mega event at Al Falaj Hotel on March 23rd, 2012.

Dr A B K Prasad, hailed as the doyen of vernacular journalism of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, was among a number of well-known personalities felicitated on the occasion. In addition to his contribution to journalism, the stalwart was also recognised for his lifelong work in promoting Telugu culture. Speaking on the occasion, Dr ABK highlighted the significance of Telugu and dwelt on the traditions of the ancient Telugu people. “Brotherhood continues to be essence of life; only strong relations will enable people to live harmoniously,” he noted.

The programme began with a classical kuchipudi dance performance by Koka Vijaya Lashmi depicting several thematic mythological illustrations. This was followed by a magic show by Altaf Ali, who is popularly known as Magic Ali.

Prominent Telugu ghazal maestro Dr Srinivas enthralled the audience with his powerful renditions focusing on family and love. A legendary Indian classical vocalist who pioneered the art of Telugu ghazal singing, Dr Srinivas has set three Guinness World records and a Limca Record by singing ghazals on Gandhism in 125 world languages.

The artistes were felicitated by an organising committee comprising Dr Rangaiah, Dr Keshav and Ramdas. Another dignitary feted on the occasion was fertility specialist Dr Rama Devi.

The programme was co-ordinated by Prasanna Kumar, Rajendra Prasad, Guna Saida, Ramesh Babu, P V Srinivas, Bapi Raju, Madhusudhan, Naidu, Anil Kumar, Raja, Ganga Prasad, Padma Srinivas, Palepu Srinivas and Haribabu. Ramdas and Asma Khan were the emcees. The evening ended with the distribution of prizes to the winners of the rangoli, cooking, sports and elocution competitions. The entire programme was presented by Al Wiqayah Trading exclusively for members of the Telugu community residing in Oman.