MMA Annual Celebrations 2007
The members celebrated the 25th anniversary of the association on a grand scale on 13th,14th and 15th July 2007. The venue was the Paramount Daventry Hotel, a four star modern hotel and country club with 2.5 acres of beautiful grounds in the heart of
The president’s evening was on the 13th of July, and this gave the opportunity for the members to meet each other in a relaxed and informal manner. The members enjoyed a buffet in cosy settings. Following this there was karaoke by the youth wing of the MMA, and Binoy, Kieran and
The following day, the 14th, was the gala cultural and entertainment day, which started with sports and games on the beautiful lawn of the hotel. Luckily, as if to bless the day of the celebrations, there was no rain during the day, and the lawn was not water logged. Most of the members and their children had great fun in participating in sack racing, and a tug of war.
Lunch was served in the ground floor auditorium of the hotel, with fast food, such as pizza, burgers, and soft drinks on offer. This was not particularly up to the taste of the members but the youngsters definitely enjoyed the service.
At about 2pm the annual general meeting started. At the end of a two-year tenure, Dr.Haseena Amiruddin handed over the reins to Dr.Antony Varkey. Subsequently other office bearers were elected. The president elect, Dr.Antony Varkey in his address, elaborated on the achievements we have made during past years, and was particularly happy about the current comfortable financial position of the association. He also invited opinion regarding the donation of financial help to deserving charities in Kerala.
Soon after the AGM, the members had an opportunity to stroll on the well-manicured lawn of the hotel, and meet new friends or refresh the memories of old friendship. Every member, who appreciated the taste of Kerala snacks, had yet another occasion to enjoy the same authentic experience through the refreshments supplied.
At about 4.30pm, the grand Silver jubilee evening programme started with a welcome speech by the president, Dr.Haseena Amiruddin. This was followed by an invigorating speech from Dr.A.A Mather, the former president of the association who highlighted the history of the MMAUK. The commemorative souvenir was prepared by Dr.Jayaraj, another past president of the association, and formally released by the president.
The artists from Kerala including play back singers, Venugopal, Sunita, comedian Saju Kodiyan and Kalabhavan Santhosh entertained the guests. Chitralekha and company conducted the dance performances. They were all gifted artists, and their performance was quite invigorating and the guests had a spell of being in Kerala with old memories. After each performance, artists received hearty applause and recognition. Since the air-conditioning in the auditorium was not working the guests were found to be slightly uncomfortable and some of them had to go out for fresh air.
The dinner was served on the round table in an elegant style. There were six items in the starter, nine items in the main course and two items in the dessert. Some of the guests were not happy about not serving wine with the dinner, and /or queuing up to buy expensive wine from the hotel corridor. As a whole the service of the dinner, the quality of the food and the ambience were satisfactory to most of the guests.
A vote of thanks was delivered by Dr.M.K.Ajith, the Hon. Secretary of the association. He made great effort to name everyone who helped to make the silver jubilee celebrations a success. Some of the guests had left by then, and others enjoyed a disco dance with scintillating lights till the early hours of the next day.
On 15th July 2007, after breakfast, the office bearers, gathered in the foyer of the hotel and made an appraisal of the whole function, while it was fresh in their memory. The outgoing office bearers, made a hearty farewell, while the incumbent office bearers thanked them for their services and for taking the MMA UK to further heights. With this the silver jubilee celebration was concluded.
Prepared by Dr.C.J.George FRCS
Information and Public Relations Secretary