“The idea behind organizing this festival was to provide a platform for Indian students to showcase their talents in fields other than what is prescribed in their school curricula,” said AMPS President Anil Thomas. “Our association has been organizing such events since 2005. We have succeeded because of the hard work put in by our members. It is all a teamwork.” In his address, Thomas highlighted the constructive activities of his organization amid cheers from members of the Indian community belonging to all states.

Nearly 350 schoolchildren from Lower KG to Class 12 competed in more than 130 trophies in 17 categories. The contestants came from several schools, including the International Indian School-Jubail, International Indian School-Dammam, Al-Khozama International School-Dammam and Sunshine International School-Alkhobar. Indians from all over the Kingdom evaluated the competitions. Prizes were given to the first three performers as well as consolation prizes for other best performers in each category.

Prominent Indians who attended the event included International Indian School-Jubail Chairman Jamsheed Akther, IISJ Principal Syed Hameed, Vijayalakshmi Sridhar, U.A. Raheem and Naushad Ali. IISJ Principal Hameed appreciated the role played by the association in promoting Indian culture and creating a sense of healthy competition among students through extempore speeches, elocution competition, story-telling sessions and fancy dress displays. Akther then unveiled a colorful logo designed specifically for the event.

For the event’s success, around 100 members of the organization were clubbed into groups — Regist-ration Group, Venue Management Group, Publicity and Sponsorship Group, and Judges Group. “They all worked in perfect harmony to make the event colorful, smooth and memorable,” said Anil Thomas.

He praised John Abraham and Kumar Narayanaswami, the coordinators for this year’s event. The anchors, Parvathy Ananthanaraynan and Sneha Suresh, received accolades for doing a wonderful job in keeping up the tempo throughout the event. AMPS General Secretary Sreekumar Potamal presented a vote of thanks.

AMPS is a non-profit voluntary organization consisting of Malayalee professionals from all over Saudi Arabia. It is dedicated to the overall achievement and advancement of Indians abroad.