A KERALITE girl who grew up in Doha was crowned May Queen at a glittering function at the Diplomatic Club. Chithira Johnson, a second year BA student of Christ College in Bangalore, was crowned by Bollywood celebrities Sudhanshu Pandey, Mouli Ganguly, Kiran Dubey and Mazher Khan. The event was the eighth May Queen Ball, organised by the Goan Welfare Association. The winner gets a gold necklace, a Doha-Kozhikode-Doha airline ticket, a weekend stay for two at the Four Seasons and a wristwatch. Chithira, who is holidaying in Qatar, said her dream is to become a clinical psychologist. The first and second runners-up were Judeanne Rosario, a CHN student in Qatar from Daman & Diu, and Vanessa D’Souza, an MBA graduate from Goa. They won a brunch for two at Sheraton, a dinner for two at Sharq Village & Spa and a wristwatch each. All three will be participating in the May Queen Ball in Bahrain on May 22. Airline tickets, visas and accommodation are sponsored by Young Goans Club, Bahrain. Fifteen young women from countries including Iran, China, India, Egypt and Bangladesh took part in the contest. All the participants were presented with a rose sponsored by Gardenia. They were also given shopping vouchers by Splash, presented by Praveen Bhatnagar, COO of Centrepoint. The evening was kicked off by Goan entertainer Updesh Swar along with Goan band Forefront. The sound and light effects were by Unique Sound. The grand march was led by Goan Welfare Association president Simon D’Silva. D’Silva said this was the first time that prominent Goan leaders and social activists from the Gulf countries had come to attend a function in Qatar. They were Francisco Correia, president of Young Goans Club Bahrain, Gerard Fernandes, its vice president, Carmo Santo, chairman of Goan Cultural Centre Kuwait, Celso Fernandes, vice president of the Goan Community of Oman, and Bartholomeo Silveira, a social activist from Abu Dhabi. The May Queen contest was co-ordinated by Archie D’Mello, director of the CEO’s Office, Qatar Airways. It was judged by Sarita Barretto, a Bollywood costume designer, Agnello Fernandes, past president of Navelim Youth Centre Kuwait, and Gabriel Crasto, chairman of Bahrain Goans Football League. A Konkani book, Zoit, written by Walter Menezes of Quepem, Goa, was released by Hazel Rodrigues, general secretary of the association. Goan girl Lizerra Vaz, a student at DPS School, was felicitated by the association in recognition of her talent in tennis. She was presented with a memento by Harish Arora, first secretary at the Indian embassy. The association also felicitated recipients of the Community Service Leadership awards of the Goa government. They were Francisco Correia, Carmo Santos, Gabriel Crasto, Celso Fernandes and Simon D’Silva. A token of appreciation was presented to Basil Coutinho, a senior member of the association who flew in from Goa to attend the show. The association honoured Praveen Bhatnagar for continued sponsorship of the title. Gulf Times was the media partner of the event.

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