It was ‘Revelry Time’ for ‘Mathare and Matharis’ at Bejai Senior Citizens Welfare Assn Annual Bash
Mangaluru: The last time I witnessed a such a kind of Senior Citizens Party Time was at the Milagres Senior Citizens Welfare Association which was held on 29 November 2017 at Milagres Hall-Mangaluru, with the theme “Age Is Only A Number?”- and the get-together attracted a large crowd of seniors along with a few youngsters, either their children or grandkids, making the best use of their time, enjoying the music, dance, games and food. And for that matter, at the Bejai Senior Citizens Welfare Association (SCWA) Anniversary Celebrations held on Friday, 19 January 2018 was no exception- where nearly 300-400 young “Mathare and Matharis” (old men and old women) in their perfect attire, and dressed to thrill, showed up with great enthusiasm, spirit- and everyone in a party mood.
Looking at all these energetic and enthusiastic revelers in their “Out of Date” youthness, one could say that you are not too old to have some fun and frolic at any time of your life on this planet- and these revelers are the examples. Even though they were in their 60’s, 70;s or 80’s, they still looked like they were in their 30’s, 40’s and 50’s. That’s the beauty of getting old! Guess what kind of diet they are on to remain fit and healthy- and still rockin’! While the present young generation is very attached to the electronic world, engaging themselves all the time browsing through Internet, chatting on their smart phones or sending communication through SMS’s, but these old-timers are the living computer of the yester years. To these “Young Revelers” I say, “Don’t think you are old, always think you are young- and make the best use of your remaining years of your lives to the fullest, enjoying all the fun and frolic that come across”
Senior citizens belonging to Senior Citizens Welfare Association of Four parishes namely- Angelore Parish, with Jossie D’souza as president; Bendore Parish-Simon Pinto as President; Milagres Parish-Winston D’souza as President; and the host parish-Bejai, the lovely, bubbly and young at heart 60 plus aged Juliet Mascarenhas, the President. Other than members of these organizations, parishioners from other churches namely Bondel, Urwa, ashoknagar, Valencia, Derebail among others also joined in the fun. The celebration began with a prayer song by Rennie Fernandes and family, followed by welcome address by Juliet Mascarenhas. The guests of honor- Fr Wilson D’souza- the Parish Priest of Bejai Church, and Fr Robert D’souza- Principal of Lourdes Central School-Bejai in their speeches praised the “Young Seniors” for their determination and energy even at their golden age, and encouraged them by saying that help is always there for them from their side anytime they need in their activities or their lives.
After a photo session with the dignitaries on the dais, the formal function ended with vote of thanks by Ms Maizee D’souza- the Secretary of Bejai SCWA. The fun didn’t stop here, it was just the beginning- and to check the knowledge power of these Smart Seniors, Ronnie Fernandes- Asst VP and Ms Connie Saldanha- Asst Secretary of Bejai SCWA. together conduct a “Quiz”, where a few of the queries were related to Bible, etc- like “Which Gospel was written by a Doctor?”; When was Mangalore Diocese established?; How many ribs does a human body has?’ ; Hampankatta-Mangaluru was named after a famous member of a landlord family-what was his name? (Answer- Hampanna Poojary) Any relation to Congress leader Janardhan Poojary??. Winners in the quiz received attractive prizes, including round trip to Dubai on Jet Airways! They wish?
As part of a game, a “Creativity in Action” where the participants had to enact scenes of Life on City Bus, Market, Cricket, Class room, and Mangalorean Catholic Roce ceremony- and believe it or not, everyone performed so well, the judges namely Calestus D’souza, Cecelia Pinto and Diana Rodrigues had a tough time to give points- but the best among the rest grabbed the prizes. There was also a game, to judge which lady had the longest hair, and for men, who had the biggest Adam’s Apple? (Actually, The Adam’s apple, or laryngeal prominence, is a feature of the human neck, and is the lump or protrusion that is formed by the angle of the thyroid cartilage surrounding the larynx). But some ladies not knowing, took Adam’s Apple in a wrong direction- they were starring at Men’s pants-you know what I mean? Oh well! The Lady winners got “Hair Coloring Gift Set”, while the Men received ” Bag full of Washington Apples?”.
Then followed a short stage entertainment performed by Milagres Unit, Bendore Unit and Bejai unit- the Mangalore Catholic Wedding Ceremony enacted by Bejai members was a hit, which received loud applause. To take the crowd into a musical world, Musician F M Lobo and his band members called “The Seenagers”, belted out a few Konkani, Tulu and English songs, culminating with baila songs to get the revelers on the floor to do the baila dance. Elvis Presley impersonator “Jossie Rego” from Derebail parish also sang couple of Elvis numbers, thereby entertaining the Elvis fans in the crowd. The formal function ended with a sumptuous lunch, followed by a Housie Housie game- and winding up with more baila dance session.
