By TCN News,
Mississauga, Canada: The 4th Annual Mehfil-e-Hyderabad, the trend-setting cultural festival of Hyderabadis in North America, was held on November 10, 2012 at the Versailles Convention Centre in Mississauga. As in the past the event, organised by the Hyderabad Deccan Foundation of Canada (HDFC) was a huge success with hundreds of Hyderabadis and friends in attendance. It was addressed by Hazel McCallion (Mayor of Mississauga), Kathleen Wynne (Member of Provincial Parliament & former minister), Dipika Damerla (Member of Provincial Parliament), Jagmeet Singh (Member of Provincial Parliament), and Bonnie Crombie (Councillor & former MP).
In his welcome address Mr. Bashir Beg stressed on preserving the multicultural heritage of Hyderabad and to pass it on to the coming generations. He emphasised on the need for building a Hyderabad Cultural Centre in the Greater Toronto Area which will serve as a space to promote the languages, culture, cuisine, art, music and mannerisms of Hyderabad. It will also offer services to new immigrants. He urged the community to offer its help in bringing this dream to fruition. Mr. Beg thanked the directors and volunteers for their dedication in making the program a success.
Mr. Asif Quadri receiving HDFC’s Award of Excellence in sports (Tennis) at the hands of Mayor Hazel Mcallion.
Continuing its tradition HDFC honored high achievers of Hyderabadi origin from around the world for their accomplishments. This year the Awards of Excellence went to:
Asif Iqbal (Cricket legend & former captain of the Pakistani team) for his lifetime achievements.
Sardar Ali, editor of www.sherosokhan.com, receiving a certificate of appreciation in recognition of his services in promoting Urdu on the internet at the hands of Councillor Bonnie Crombie.
Dipika Damerla (Member of Provincial Parliament of Ontario) for her distinguished services in public affairs.
Asif Quadri California based businessman) for excellence in sports (Tennis)
Cricket legend Asif Iqbal receiving HDFC’s Lifetime Achievement Award at the hands of Mayor Hazel McCallion of Mississauga. Also seen in the picture is HDFC director Karam Ali Khan and emcee Anjum Saeed
Athar Rizvi (Author) for his contributions in the field of Urdu literature.
Astronaut Rakesh Sharma, the first Indian to go into space, was also to be honored but couldn’t come due to his health. He sent a message highlighting his deep roots in Hyderabad which was read out.
Dipika Damerla (Member of Provincial Parliament) receiving HDFC’s Award of Excellence in recognition of her distinguished services in public affairs at the hands of Kathleen Wynne (MPP and former minister). Mr. Bashir Beg, HDFC chairman, is also seen.
Certificates of appreciation were also presented to Aliuddin Hyderi of Chicago for community services and to Sardar Ali (editor of www.sherosokhan.com) for his exemplary services in promoting Urdu on the internet.
The highlight of the program was the musical section which featured top talent from the area. This segment of the show was conducted by HDFC director Rafat Alam who is himself a popular singer and is called as the ‘Voice of Kishore.’ Singers and musicians include Mehboob Orchestra, Darshana, Chandrima, Zubin, Philip Patrick and Sara.
HDFC directors Zaheer Kaiser and Rafat Alam with raffle draw winner Amir Shamsi
Sara’s soul stirring rendition of the Canadian national anthem was widely appreciated.
This year a new feature included a comedy skit called “Laddo Faddo” in Deccani Urdu with Zainab Raza and Asra Ahmed which caused thunderous laughter in the audience followed by another called Joru ka Ghulam with Zaki Ahsan, Rafat Alam, Syed Ali, and Zainab Raza.
Skit being performed by Zainab Raza and Asra Ahmed
Well known author and poet Dr. Taqi Abedi in his speech highlighted the ganga-jamuni culture of Hyderabad which stands as a true paragon of mutual respect and coexistence of various communities.
Two round trip airline tickets from Etihad and one from Turkish Airlines were raffled to the lucky winners. The efforts of HDFC directors Zahir Kaiser and Taqi Ansari in getting these sponsorships were noted.
A section of the audience.
The program was ably conducted by Hamdan Yar Khan, Anjum Saeed and Salman.
This year’s richly illustrated souvenir magazine with informative articles and poetry is bound to become a cherished keepsake.