ICAI Dubai Chapter celebrates ‘Diwali Dhandiya Mela’

On the occasion of Diwali and Navratri, The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India — Dubai Chapter organised a colorful and vibrant social event “Diwali Dandiya Mela” for its members along with families. The event was held on November 4, 2023 at the Delhi Private School, Jebel Ali, Dubai. The event witnessed more than 1,400 members and their families on this joyous event and celebrations. This event was co-sponsored by Bricks and Woods Real Estate and NIDI Services DMCC.

The event started with many exiting games for the members and their families, including the kids who were thoroughly entertained throughout the evening. The events took place alongside some electrifying music by DJ for the evening. Entertaining games included Lemon and Spoon race, Tug-of-War and musical chair. Kids were highly entertained with games and play arena with the bouncy castle, superhero acts, laughing with clowns and walking with stilt walker. The evening also saw the artistic side of members and their family members with the art exhibition, which encourages display of art and paintings by its members and their families.

The evening was graced by Chief Guest, Satish Kumar Sivan, Consul General of India to Dubai and Northern Emirates, along with his spouse. He addressed the gathering with his humble words and good wishes to the Dubai Chapter and its members. He acknowledged and thanked the vast contribution of the CA community towards the growth and success of the UAE. He also briefly visited the Art Exhibition corner of the event and was full of praises for the artists behind the beautifully displayed paintings.

During the Chairman address, Harikishan Rankawat, Chairman of The ICAI Dubai Chapter, wished all the members and families present on the occasion of the Diwali festivities. In his address, he chose to state that India was on track to become the third largest economy by 2030, behind China and the US. He also re-iterated that at the recent event of this Chapter on “India Compounded Past Compounded Future”, Raamdeo Agrawal, Chairman of Motilal Oswal Financial Services Limited, mentioned that the NIFTY is going to double in the next five years, a sign of the upcoming great wealth in India and all CAs should invest in Indian Stock market to create wealth on Diwali. Harikishan Rankawat also congratulated the ICAI on being awarded the prestigious UN Award for its contribution to sustainability reporting at the 8th World Investment Forum at Abu Dhabi held on 17th October 2023.

Jai Prakash Agarwal, Secretary of The ICAI Dubai Chapter, encouraged the members and families to celebrate the festivities and emphasised that festivals are medium to bring human beings together. He mentioned that the more we celebrate each other’s culture, each other’s belief and each other’s festival; it will bring hearts together, which is the need of the world currently. He took the opportunity to wish world peace, prevalent humanity and widespread happiness on the pretext of Diwali, the Indian festival of light and sweets.

Rishi Chawla, Treasurer of The ICAI Dubai Chapter, mentioned that “Diwali event was full of music and entertainment. Meeting friends dressed in traditional dress really set the mood for the festive season in Dubai. This was definitely one of the hallmark events of the ICAI Dubai Chapter”.

The evening was intensified by the musical performance of Bollywood singer Jahnvi Shrimankar and troupe. Their electric performance with amplified energy and beats stole the evening of all and left the gathering asking for more. The Managing committee made arrangements for a dance floor to accommodate the needs of the dancer side of the members and families. The arena saw a large number of the members and families flock to the dance floor with their glittering and colourful lehenga and dresses with Dandiya sticks in hand, dancing to the singer and troupe’s authentic dance numbers.

The evening was filled with loads of fun and food and ended with the nail-biting game of Tambola/ Bingo for all the interested participants. The event had very exciting prizes for all the winners of the games and art exhibitors followed by winners of Tambola in various categories of the game. Members and their families enjoyed the evening filled with colour, music, dance and a number of prizes and giveaways to take back as memories of the event.

• KT Network