Mana Andhra Telugu Association (MATA NZ) celebrated Eid Milap at the Mt Eden War Memorial Hall amid distinguished guests, delectable food, and soulful music on Friday, May 6.
The well-attended event saw many dignitaries, such as National Party MP Melissa Lee, founder and chairperson of Bhartiya Samaj Charitable Trust Jeet Suchdev, New Zealand Indian Central Association (NZICA) president Narendra Bhana, Auckland Indian Association President Dhansukh Lal, and FIANZ president Ibrar Sheikh among others.
The celebrations began with the guests enjoying the traditional sheer khurma. Nisar Mirza sang a soulful Hamd (a poetic piece in praise of God) and Syed Mujeeb, General Secretary of Urdu Hindi Cultural Association NZ) sang Naat e sharif (poetry in praise of Prophet Muhammad).
While extending her Eid wishes and addressing the audience, Melissa Lee said, “It has been an absolute honour to be here this evening. I thank MATA NZ for the initiative. This is my very first Eid Milap and therefore is very special. An event like this has been pretty difficult over the last two years because of the Covid lockdowns and the different alert level changes.
“Therefore, it's so good to see people face to face. There's nothing like face to face when we are friends, when we're in a community and when we are people in this country. The warmth of greeting each other, shaking each other's hands and seeing smiling faces is great. It is awesome to celebrate each other's cultures. So, thank you so much for organising this event of bringing people together.”
The evening also saw Maqbool Ahmed (a professional accountant) and Syed Mohiuddin (founder and Chief Instructor of Lion Budokan Karate International) recognised by MATA NZ for their contribution to the community. Both of them were felicitated by Melissa Lee.
In his speech, event chief guest FIANZ President Ibrar Sheik expressed thanks to MATA NZ President for arranging this event. He said that MATA is practising what is mentioned on their logo" Unity in diversity is our cultural heritage.” Sheik and his wife were jointly felicitated by the MATA NZ president, Dr Reginald Samuel and Melissa Lee.
An elated Samuel said, “I am overwhelmed by the support we got for this event. It was great to see so many dignitaries and community leaders and families coming over and celebrating Eid Milap with us.”
The guests enjoyed delicious dinner and melodious ghazal and qawwali performances by Nisar Mirza and Khalid Hussein.
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