‘Rai Kogul’ Akash Telgu and ‘Rani Kogul’ Queenie Fernandes with MCC officials
Mangalore Cricket Club recently staged a Konkani singing TV reality show Soad 3 International to celebrate its 20th anniversary celebrations.
The show was held in association with the Guinness Book record holder ‘Mandd-Sobhan’, a premium Konkani cultural institution from Mangalore.
Three male finalists and three female finalists each from Goa, Mangalore and Doha vied for the coveted ‘Rai Kogul’ and ‘Rani Kogul’ titles, won by Goan singers Akash Telgu and Queenie Fernandes. The finalists were selected through preliminary and semi-final rounds held in Goa, Mangalore and Doha earlier in the year. 
All the competitions were recorded and webcasted on Daijiworld.com and telecast on Namma TV from Bangalore and TV 365 from Goa for audiences throughout the world.
The final was attended by a big crowd and the programme was webcast live on the portal.
Member of the Indian Parliament and former Goa state chief minister Francisco Sardinha was the chief guest. Indian Ambassador Deepa Gopalan Wadhwa was the Guest of Honour and Konkani philanthropist Ronald Colaco was the patron of the programme.
Lauding the activities of the MCC among the country’s Konkani-speaking expatriates, Wadhwa said its activities are worth emulating by other expatriate forums.
Arun Raj of Mangalore was the anchor.  A troupe of artists, judges, musicians and technicians and overseas guests numbering more than 40 attended the programme.
Forum president Richard D Souza informed the gathering that the programme was first of its kind in Qatar to be staged by an expatriate club and thanked Mandd-Sobhan and all who made it possible. Cultural secretary Reena Castelino compered the stage programme.