More than 2000 guests treated with mouth-watering cuisines
Mysore :
They are no Karan-Arjun or Krishna- Balram but both share a strong relationship from the past 60 years depicting the same affection as that of brothers whom we have seen on television or heard about in stories of Bhagavata. At the time when families no more live together, here is a family that lives, eats and breathes together. Yes, I am talking about one of city’s well known families… The Shenoy’s of famous Mangalore Ganesh Beedi Works.
Yesterday it was a festival atmosphere among the members of various communities at the Govind Rao Memorial Hall on JLB Road when they came together to celebrate the 60th birthday of city’s industrialists M. Ramanath Shenoy and M. Jagannath Shenoy of Mangalore Ganesh Beedi Works, who are twins. It was a rare occasion where people from different walks of life came together to celebrate their 60th birthday.
The felicitation committee headed by Dr. C. Umesh Kamath had organised a grand event to celebrate 60th birthday of industrialists who are known for their philanthropy apart from taking care of their employees.
Both Ramanath Shenoy and Jagannath Shenoy were given a Poorakumbha Swagatha accompanied by Naadaswara on their arrival at the venue. The event began with both couples M. Jagannath Shenoy, his wife Kusuma Shenoy and M. Ramanath Shenoy, his wife Vasumathi came on the stage after seeking the blessings of Surendra Bhat, a senior member among the Gowda Saraswat Brahmin community. Later, the event began with rendering of invocation by Rajesh Padiyar, who took the members present on a devotional journey.
Industrialists from Mysore and Mangalore, politicians, businessmen and well-wishers had come to wish both the brothers on their 60th birthday which is considered to be a great occasion among the Hindu community. Vishwanath Bhat, a close friend of Shenoys, spoke about Jagannath Shenoy and his achievements, also about the meaning of celebrating the 60th birthday of an individual.
The event was presided by K.V. Kamath, former Chairman of ICICI Bank along with his wife Rajalakshmi Kamath. Incidentally, K.V. Kamath is the co-brother of Ramanath Shenoy and Jagannath Shenoy. More than 1,000 people had assembled at the Govind Rao Memorial Hall to felicitate and greet the Shenoy brothers. Tributes were also paid to the parents of the Shenoy brothers on the occasion. Vijayraghavan, one of Jagannath Shenoy’s friends, spoke about their school days and the pranks they played when at school and home.
Speaking on the occasion, Jagannath Shenoy, thanked all those who were involved in organising the event. He also remembered tough situations and challenges he faced while taking over the management of Mangalore Ganesh Beedies.
Thanking his co-brother K.V. Kamath for his guidance when the company was in trouble, Jagannath Shenoy said that company had to take loan of Rs. 114 crore to solve a legal matter. “It is when Kamath helped me and till today he has been guiding me all through,” he said.
Jagannath Shenoy also added that the company cleared all the liabilities within the given time and today the turnover is around Rs. 550 crore per year. He advised the youngsters to respect parents and elders. Speaking about his company, Jagannath Shenoy said that the Government of India has announced the deadline to close the tobacco industry by 2020. But, till now the Government has not come out with any alternative programme for those involved in the beedi industry. “There are around 65,000 people dependent on the industry and the company has been paying Rs. 3.5 crore every week towards wages. But, if the industry is shut, there is no alternative for these workers who are not educated. Let government come with an alternative job for these beedi workers,” said Shenoy.
Later, K.V. Kamath said that nothing was made easy for Jagannath Shenoy and whatever he got was only on merit. “He wanted to change things in 1993 and be an entrepreneur. His hard work and dedication has brought him to this level and I feel very proud of him,” he added.
GSB Sabha Vice-President Mahesh Shenoy, Secretary Mahesh Kamat, Dr. C.D. Srinivas Murthy, Star of Mysore Editor-in-Chief K.B. Ganapathy, Vijaya Vittala Vidyashala Secretary Rtn. R. Vasudev Bhat, Canara Bank Deputy General Manager Dr. S.T. Ramachandra, music patron Rtn. K.V. Murthy, Industrialist B.R. Pai, MLA Vasu, MLC G. Madhusudhan, former MLC Thontadarya, Dr. C.G. Narasimhan, Rtn. Parthanath, Dr. C.K.N. Raja, Kamakshi Hospital Administrator Dr. K.R. Kamath and others were present.
More than 2,000 guests were treated to 12 kinds of cuisines specially prepared for the occasion. A total of 10 cooks were brought from Mangalore to prepare the special dishes.
The menu included Ghee Rice, Kurma, Gobi Manchurian, Khichdi and desserts.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / February 08th, 2014