Welcome to 2023! I hope everyone enjoyed holiday celebrations with family and friends. As I reflect on 2022, I feel grateful for all the fun experiences COMA created for all of us. It was incredible to watch the outpouring of participation and support from our community in COMA events, and it was pure joy to observe the remarkable growth our organization has achieved in recent years.
This year’s Executive Committee is already busy at work, planning for some great things for us. Our 2023 President Shibu Nair has shared below his vision for our organization this year.
As we enter the new year with renewed hopes and plans, I am looking forward to a new year of continued community service, lasting memories, new friendships, fun celebrations, and most of all, the connection that we make with each other. Let’s make 2023 our best year yet.
Wishing everyone a happy and successful new year!
Smitha Nishant
Presidential Address – Shibu Nair
I am happy to take up this second stint in the COMA Executive Committee in 2023. I feel it is a much-needed give-back to the Malayalee community in Columbus that has been a significant part of my immigrant Malayalee life in the United States, my home away from home. I am very excited to share that my team has a myriad of events and ideas planned for this year.
In addition to bringing you cultural, sport, and entertainment events, my team would like to take the opportunity to reassess COMA as a cultural organization, the values we uphold and its relevance to the Columbus Malayalee diaspora. We have made leaps and bounds since our formative years. However, as an organization, there is room for further growth, including but not limited to better managing the upkeep of our organization’s assets, promoting youth member participation, enhanced use of our website and social media presence to better engage and communicate with our members. A lot of thought is being put on those lines and you will see some major steps being initiated on these fronts.
Coming back to the planned events this year, in addition to our annual Picnic, Onam, and Christmas events, we plan to have a Valentine’s Day event and several sporting tournaments (Cricket, Soccer, Shuttle Badminton, also involving other Indian association members). Weather permitting, we plan to have an outdoor entertainment event as well. Also in the works are the development of communities for outdoor activities such as hiking and biking.
We hope to seed initiatives that the community can take advantage of not just this year but in the coming years too. I trust that each and every one of you will support us in achieving our goals as one big family. I wish you all a happy, prosperous, and healthy 2023.
Know your EC Team
All of our Executive Committee members have been associated with COMA for the past several years and hardly need an introduction. Here is some fun trivia they shared with me that highlights how we are all in for a fun ride with them this year.
| Location | Powell |
| Hometown | Trivandrum |
| Years in Columbus | 12 |
| Favorite snack | Crispy Parippu Vada |
| Favorite song | Anagha Sankalpa Gaayike (Movie: Aniyara) |
| Favorite TV show | Friends |
| Favorite movie punch line | Nee thankappan alleda ponnappananu, ponnappan |
- As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
- Pilot, maybe?
- If you could live anywhere, where would you live?
- Madagascar.
- What would your superhero power be?
- Of course, fly!
- If you could meet anyone, who would you meet?
- Sabu bro.
- What will people say at your funeral?
- Eda bhayangara!
- What’s something you think everyone should try at least once?
- Have a dog at home.
| Location | Dublin |
| Hometown | Kalady, Ernakulam |
| Years in Columbus | 13 |
| Favorite snack | Pazham Pori |
| Favorite song | Thaniye mizhikal (Movie: Guppy) |
| Favorite TV show | Maanasaputhri |
| Favorite movie punch line | Ippo shariyaakki tharaam |
- As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
- Vice president of a malayalee samajam.
- If you could live anywhere, where would you live?
- Kalady.
- What would your superhero power be?
- Teleportation.
- If you could meet anyone, who would you meet?
- Tutankhamun.
- What will people say at your funeral?
- Nalla oru manushyan aayirunnu.
- What’s something you think everyone should try at least once?
- Touch your nose with your tongue.
| Location | Delaware |
| Hometown | Chennai, Tamil Nadu |
| Years in Columbus | 13+ |
| Favorite snack | Masala Peanuts and Kerala Mixture |
| Favorite song | Pudhu Vellai Mazhai (Movie: Roja) |
| Favorite TV show | Comedy Utsavam (Flowers TV) |
| Favorite movie punch line | Kedaikarthu Kedaikama Irukathu; Kedaikama Irukardhu Kedaikaathu (Superstar dialog) |
- As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
- To play for the Indian Cricket team as a batting all-rounder.
- If you could live anywhere, where would you live?
- New Zealand.
- What would your superhero power be?
- Power to save people on earth from evil elements.
- If you could meet anyone, who would you meet?
- Lalettan and MS Dhoni.
- What will people say at your funeral?
- I lost my honest and great friend.
- What’s something you think everyone should try at least once?
- Watch World Cup Soccer live from the stadium.
| Location | Galena |
| Hometown | Kannur |
| Years in Columbus | 11 |
| Favorite snack | Pazham Pori / Kallumakai Kadukka |
| Favorite song | Devanganangal kayyozhinja tharakam (Movie: Njan Gandharvan) |
| Favorite TV show | Malgudi Days |
| Favorite movie punch line | Eda Dasaa, ethaa ee alavalathy? |
- As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
- Bus-ile kili.
- If you could live anywhere, where would you live?
- Bangalore of late 90’s.
- What would your superhero power be?
- Swap all the healthy food to unhealthy and all unhealthy food to healthy.
- If you could meet anyone, who would you meet?
- Vaikom Muhammad Basheer.
- What will people say at your funeral?
- Kidakkana kidappu kanda? Emathiri veruppikkalayirunnu!
- What’s something you think everyone should try at least once?
- Take a year’s break from work and do things for which you didn’t have time for.
| Location | Dublin |
| Hometown | Kochi |
| Years in Columbus | 12 |
| Favorite snack | Parippuvada |
| Favorite song | Billie Jean |
| Favorite TV show | Malgudi Days |
| Favorite movie punch line | Namuk oro naranga vellam angu kachiyalo? |
- As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
- Pilot.
- If you could live anywhere, where would you live?
- Kochi.
- What would your superhero power be?
- Superman.
- If you could meet anyone, who would you meet?
- Family and friends, but if someone famous, maybe Sashi Tharoor.
- What will people say at your funeral?
- Kurachukoodi nerathe avaayirunnu!!!
- What’s something you think everyone should try at least once?
- Don’t plan your vacation, just hit the road.
Save the dates
Here is a preliminary list of events being planned this year and their dates. Mark your calendars so you don’t miss any.
- Feb 11 – “Thuruppu Gulan” cards tournament and Valentine’s Day celebrations.
- Apr 22 – Shuttle Badminton tournament.
- May 20 – Cricket tournament.
- June 18 – Outdoor Gaanamela (Franco).
- July 4 – COMA Float for FIA.
- July 22 – Annual Picnic: Vinodayathra, Vallamkali, Idli eating competition, and other fun events.
- Sep 9 – Onam (with Shingari melam and onsite live cooking).
- Sep 30 / Oct 7 – Soccer tournament.
- Dec 2 – Christmas.
We have more activities where dates are not finalized so stay tuned for more information:
- Live cooking sessions (multiple, including one with chef Suresh Pillai)
- Bicycle Challenge – TBD
- Trekking Challenge – TBD
Youth club activities
The COMA Youth Club will be conducting monthly meet ups. Plans are underway for TV station visits, OSU airport tower visit, fire-station visit, and camp-outs as well as charitable events including cloth drives and blood donation drives.
Membership
January is a great time to take your COMA Membership if you haven’t already. The current membership for 2022 will be valid until June 30th, 2023.
Membership benefits include:
- Early access to event tickets
- Discounted tickets for regular COMA events
Also, certain benefits are exclusive to COMA members:
- Malayalam class for adults and kids
- Opportunity to participate in charity/volunteering events
- Access for your children to COMA Youth Wing
You can purchase Membership here: https://www.comaohio.org/membership-account/membership-levels/
It is so satisfying to see that COMA is growing and making significant progress in serving the community. One important factor to guarantee its success is its financial strength. So The new EC Team may consider raising/saving some funds for the rainy days, making donations in case of natural calamities, etc. One way to raise funds is organizing an annual garage sale by collecting usable materials from all sources and advertising. It is a lot of work but I think it is worth considering.
Thank you.. Nice idea – Annual Garage Sale.