SAFAL Awards night a resounding success ï»¿

By Neeru Saluja

*Dr. Shelton Premeratne honoured for his contribution to music*

The South Asian Film Arts and Literature Festival (SAFAL) has come a long way since it’s inception. With a vision to celebrate the rich arts and culture of the South Asian region, SAFAL has become a melting pot of cultural diversity at it’s best.

*Safal Team with founders Ashish Gholkar and Kedar Pagaddinimath*

The brainchild of founder Ashish Gholkar, President of the Australian South Asian Forum and co-founder Kedar Pagaddinnimath, SAFAL was founded in 2017. Spread over two consecutive weekends, the festival showcased award winning films, an art exhibition, music, dance, a poetry slam competition and an awards night.

Led by MCs Saroni Roy, Nim Gholkar and Sanjay Bhosale, the awards night kicked off by a welcome from the founders and music from the eight representative countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

Graced by the esteemed presence of dignitaries like Jodi McKay, Hon. Victor Dominello and Clr Jerome Laxale, the following awards were bestowed to achievers in their respective fields:

*Kiran Pradhan received Lifetime Achievement Award in the field of music*

Lifetime Achievement Award ”“ Mr Kiran Pradhan and Dr Shelton Premaratne for music

Distinguished Achievement Award ”“ Dr Chandrika Subramaniam, Dr Sydney Srinivas and Monir Hussain for Literature

Special Encouragement Award ”“ Dr Sabrin Farooqui for Fine Arts

Recognition Award to Anuruddha Jaya Singha, Mr Shashank Ketkar and Omkar Shetty for films

The audience was entertained by melodious performances on Sri Lankan, Afghani, Nepali and Hindi songs and colourful Bangladeshi, Bollywood, Nepali and Sri Lankan dance performances. The highlight though was ”˜Shivastuti’ ”“ the painting to the rhythm of Indian Marathi dance celebrating the virtues of the Indian Emperor Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

The SAFAL team have worked hard to bring together the culture of eight countries under one roof. The journey of three years was evident from the colours, vibrancy and the organisation of the event that abided by the scheduled time. As SAFAL grows year after year, we wish the team the best in bringing together the harmonious celebration of art, literature and films.

Pics by Roy Graphix

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