[Perthbashi] Re: BAAWA Bangladesh Fair 2021 – Vote of Thanks

Dear all,

Trust you are well.

It was wonderful to see you all on Saturday, 10th April at the BAAWA Bangladesh Fair 2021 (Banglar Mela). As organizer, It was very satisfying to see all the happy faces, throughout the day and the best part was nobody wanted to leave the venue when the program ended. Even the younger generation were enjoying themselves in the beautiful atmosphere that you all created. Thank you! Thank you for believing in us, and coming in big numbers to welcome the Bengali new year 1428. 

An event like Banglar Mela needs a lot of preparation, hard-work, planning, finances, manpower, dedication and so on, but more than anything it needs a lot of love and passion, and I see no lack of it from everyone who took part to make this year's mela possible.

On behalf of BAAWA, I would like to first thank our Platinum Sponsor – KI Group for coming forward and showing their support. Thanks to our Gold sponsor – Flexible Homes, Silver Sponsors – Indian Gourmet Cannington (Ausbangla) and Wattle Flooring & Outdoor Living, Bronze Sponsor DKD Accounting. Banglar Mela was also supported by the City of Canning. 

Thanks to all our guests for attending the event. We had the pleasure to have His Worship The Mayor, Mr Patrick Hall (City of Canning), Parliamentary Secretary to Hon. Dr Tony Buti MLA, Minister for Finance; Lands; Sport and Recreation; Citizenship and Multicultural Interests and Member for Jandakot, Mr Yaz Mubarakai MLA, Mr. Graham Droppert – Hon Consular General of Bangladesh, Dr Jagadish Krishnan MLA, Member for Riverton, Councillor Ms Yaso Ponnuthurai, City of Canning, Prof. Amit Chakma, Vice Chancellor of UWA.

I would like to thank all participating businesses and groups – Banithani, Ananyna's Collection, Jeny's Fashion, Indian Women Wear, Krishna Collection, The Indian Fashion House, Umbrella Community Care, Rind Henna & Face-painting, Eco Utopia Decor, FAST's Flooring Solutions, BSA Curtin, Pathshala Bangla School.

Our cultural team, led by Dr. Tanmoy Deb Nath, assisted by Nusrat Zareen (Lima) and Partha Deb, yet again delivered a well planned, organized and beautifully executed cultural program that started with a colorful Mongol Shobhajatra. I would like to congratulate our Cultural team for their top effort and all the volunteers, performers, coordinators, and families of performers for their time and participation to produce such a vibrant cultural program. A list of performers and coordinators as provided by our Cultural Secretary can be found at the end of this email. My special thanks to our stage management team, led by Partha Deb, assisted by young Rakin and Mouno. 

Thanks are due to our dearest Ms Sabera Sultana Apy bhabi for decorating the stage, entrance and the venue in general. Apy bhabi did an amazing job with help from young Saibah, Subah and Megha to give us a beautiful mela. The early morning wind didn't do justice to the effort and finished work of this hardworking team, but I know how passionately this team has worked to prepare these decorative items. Thank you!

I would also like to thank Kazi Tanveer Shahid for coordinating Mongol Shobhajatra and thanks to Zarin Zahid (Nupur), Kamrul Ahmed, Sohela Silvee, Ariyan, Abraam, Tarif, Zaima, Wardah for producing the artwork for Mongol Shobhajatra. Nupur also decorated the BAAWA Corner Photo-booth.

Thanks to our Dress As You Like coordinator Dr. Tania Urmee and our Art Competition Coordinator Mr. Sharif Ahmed. Thanks to our judges as well – Dr. Meghna, Dr. Rita Afsar (for Dress-as-you-like) and Apy bhabi, Borsha bhabi (for Art competition)

I feel very proud and optimistic when I see our next generation get involved in any shape and form in BAAWA events. This year's mela was no different when it came to second or third generation's cultural participation. However, what was really outstanding is to see how our next generation of leaders stepped forward. Megha Mehreen Rahman and Subah Shahid – these two young ladies have coordinated a team of 19 volunteers  (Priyanka, Sabira, Lamisa, Fareeha, Rishi, Barsha, Shreya, Mahir, Gourab, Tahseen, Adiba, Shaima, Ameer, Prasun, Sneha, Rozin, Ramin, Zeba, Shanila) who monitored the entrance, parking, cleaning, performer management, hand sanitizing station, venue setup and a lot of other tasks throughout the day. Well done, girls! And thank you all the volunteers for your wonderful effort!

I would like to thank our current Executive Committee for their time and effort. Specially, our President Dr. Shahedin Shahid (Rajoo) bhai has inspired us all to deliver what needed to be done to make this happen. I am indebted to AGS, Mr. Abu Saeed Anwar and Kifayat Islam Mazumder for managing the food stall so well, and for their overall assistance. Thanks to Anis bhai, Raj bhai, Sabbir bhai, Muzaffar bhai, Nipu bhai, Tarik bhai, Susan bhai, Jahangir Alam bhai, Shamsu bhai, Rabiul Hassan (Robin) bhai, Roni bhai, Tohura bhabi, Hashi bhabi, Ashraf bhai, Shumon bhai (Wattle Grove), Asif bhai, Bapon bhai, Maqsood bhai, Sarowar bhai for helping Saeed bhai and Kifayat. 

Thanks to Huda bhai and his team, Shahid bhai and his team, and all the food providers, preparers and coordinators for their tremendous effort to feed everyone of us, throughout the day. I would like to mention and thank our master chefs Tahura bhabi, Yesmin bhabi, Rimi Boudi, Gargee Boudi, Khuki bhabi, Hashi bhabi, Apy bhabi, Shahid Alam bhai, Numa bhabi, Tarin bhabi, and our coordinators – Kingshuk bhai, Saumitra da, Shormi, Saeed bhai and Rajoo bhai. Special thanks to Mr Naweed Omar and Ms Laboni Omar for serving almost 150 serves of jhal-muri. 

Thanks to Asif Iqbal bhai, Mohammed Maruf bhai, Roger bhai, Russell bhai, Monsor bhai, Zia bhai, Shoishob, Pasha bhai, Kaushik bhai, Saeed bhai, and Kifayat for their help and support throughout the day. Special thanks to Saumitra da for coordinating the First Aid stall and BAAWA would like to thank all the volunteer doctors – Dr. Goutam Sharma, Dr. Nezamat Ullah, Dr. Afrina Khan, and Dr. Omar Faruque for their time. A very special thanks to dearest Mr. Parvez Mahiuddin for his professional help with all the electrical stuff. 

And last but not the least, thanks to all the family members of all the volunteers – their invisible and silent support is invaluable and let us deliver what is required to organize a day long event like Banglar Mela. Thank you!

I hope you all had a wonderful time, and enjoyed your day with us. I understand there are few areas where we need to improve our game, and we have identified them, but if you have any feedback, please feel free to get in touch via email at contact@baawa.org.au and we will try to address those.

Thank you once again.

… and if I have missed your name, please accept my sincere apologies and kindly let me know so that I can rectify it.

Best wishes,
Tasneemul Galib (Amit)
GS, BAAWA Inc.

Cultural program performer/coordinator/volunteer list as provided by the Cultural Secretary –