COMA

COMA July 2016 Newsletter

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Hi friends,

COMA Picnic Cancelled

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COMA Picnic on Saturday, July 23rd at the Liberty Park, Powell — CANCELLED!!!

COMA is pleased to announce 2016 picnic event on Saturday, July 23rd at the Liberty Park, Powell. Shelter 3 has been reserved for the COMA picnic. Please join us with family and friends for a fun-filled day and participate in Throwball, Kho-kho, In or Out (kulam/kara), Tug of War; and other fun activities like corn hole, lemon and spoon race, sack race and much more. For this year’s event we have four volunteers who have graciously accepted to be captains.   

Team 1 – Pramod (pudhiyattil@yahoo.com)

Team 2 – Valsan (valsan.p@gmail.com)

Team 3 – Aslam (asluus@gmail.com)

Team 4 – Latha (lathaunni@hotmail.com

In order to accommodate all, we have advised the captains to have a diverse team (minimum requirements for each team to include youth, female, new residents less than 3 years in Columbus and long timers more than 10 years in Columbus). Please reach out to the team captains and start your preparation. The winning team will have the bragging rights and will be recognized during Onam celebration (with surprise prizes).

COMA EC team will provide the competition rules to the team captains and all tournament decisions will be made by COMA EC or the assigned referees for the event.

To sweeten things up, we have a cupcake competition this year. The rules have been communicated via email. Those who are interested, please send your entries to coma.officials@gmail.com.

We are also planning to have lunch packets, beverages and other food items for the event. The event will start at 10:00 AM and will continue until 3 PM (or whenever everyone gets tired ;)). The event registration will close on July 22nd. 

COMA Newsletter June 2016

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Hi friends, 


FullSizeRender (1)It’s officially summer! I don’t know about you but it’s amazing how sometimes you can forget how long you’ve been waiting to feel the warmth, and when it’s finally here you start to complain about the days being too hot! Must be the Malayalee in me 😉.

Many of you may be planning your long annual vacation back home or short trips in and around the US. We’d love to hear of your travels! I personally dream of sweet alphonso mangas, ripe chakkas, succulent rambutan, squishy yet delightful mangosteen and of course karikku vellum! Yes…I dream a lot about food! And of the monsoon and torrential Kerala rains that brings a new lease of life to the land. 

I would love to publish an article on a members visit back home with lots of pictures of their tharavadu, the scenery, the people, the favorite thattukada, the local puzha and of course the delectable food!  

The COMA Annual Picnic is just around the corner. Get ready for yet another exciting opportunity to mingle and get sporty with your COMA friends. 

Until next issue…

Warm regards,

Anu Kurian

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COMA Newsletter May 2016

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Hello friends,

FullSizeRender-2May has been a rather busy month. And as we head into June, the weeks seem to get busier and busier. Those with school holidays around the corner know what I mean. 

We lost music legend Prince who lived by his famous words, “A strong spirit transcends rules”. 

May and June also heralds Graduation season. I’m sure we all know a few graduates moving on from their safe zones into the exciting world of college. We look at them thinking, where has time flown? 

So I take this opportunity to congratulate all the 2016 graduates among us and share with you some wonderful words by Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook in her commencement speech at University of California, Berkeley. 

“You will be defined not just by what you achieve, but by how you survive. It is the greatest irony of my life that losing my husband helped me find deeper gratitude- gratitude for the kindness of my friends, the love of my family and the laughter of my children. My hope is that you can find gratitude- not just on the good days like today, but on the hard ones when you will really need it.”

“We can each define ambition and progress for ourselves. The goal is to work toward a world where expectations are not set by the stereotypes that hold us back, but by our personal passion, talents and interests. “

Until next issue…

Warm regards

Anu Kurian

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COMA Newsletter April 2016

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Hi friends,

FullSizeRender-2It’s April, the month of Vishu! Vishu is a quintessentially Malayali festival, which will be celebrated in Kerala on 14th April this year. The most important event in Vishu is the Vishukanni, which literally means ‘the first thing seen on the day of Vishu after waking up’. Homes are painstakingly decorated with auspicious articles that signify prosperity with the intent to please Lord Krishna. Hindu’s all over Kerala flock to ‘ambalams’ to celebrate this most auspicious festival.

 Vishu is traditionally celebrated with great pomp and grandeur, with nilavilakkus and fireworks display (Vishupdakkam). Other exciting customs at Vishu include buying new clothes (Puthukodi), giving of money (Vishukkaineetum) and a gastronomic feast to go with it (Vishu Sadhya).

Another famous 200 year old tradition, Thrissur Pooram will be celebrated on April 17th. One of India’s most spectacular festivals, it involves 30+ colorfully costumed elephants parading through town on their way to the Vadakkunnathan temple. 

In light of the recent catastrophe in Kollam, I hope that this year’s celebrations remain safe. In any case, I wish all of you a very happy and prosperous Vishu! 

Until next issue…

Stay Warm

Anu Kurian

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COMA Newsletter March 2016

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Editor’s letter

Hello Friends,

FullSizeRender-2It’s officially Spring! The clocks have turned. Buds have already started appearing on trees. My daffodils look ready to sprout. I’m excited!

It is very fitting that Holi, the festival of colors, will also be celebrated this month. Holi heralds the coming of spring as well as the triumph of good over evil. Growing up in Mumbai, Holi brings back nostalgic memories of being smothered in bright colors and sprayed with pichkaari’s (water pistols). Nerf super soakers don’t really match up! 

March also heralds the Tax season and I’m sure you are busy getting paperwork in order before the April 18th deadline. 

Earlier this month, we lost one of finest actors of Malayalam cinema, Kalabhavan Mani. Mani started as a mimicry artist in the Kalabhavan troupe and starred in over 200 films in Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu. He won a National Film Award and the Kerala State Film Award in 1999 for his outstanding performance in Vaasanthiyum, Lakshmiyum, pinne Njaanum. His legacy will live through his cinema. 

Easter is also just around the corner. I sincerely wish you all a very Blessed Easter! Many of you will be breaking your Lenten fast with a sumptuous spread at your Easter meal with friends and family, while the kids enjoy loading up their baskets with Easter eggs and chocolate bunnies.

The EC 2016 team is excited to present their first event, Glitz & Glam Family night on Saturday, April 2nd, 2016. We hope to see you all there with your families ready to shake a leg and have a good time!

And finally, I wish those of you with school going children a fantastic Spring Break, whether that be spending quality time with family at home or going some place nice. We wish you safe travels! 

I leave you with a quote: 

“Optimism is a courageous choice you can make every day, especially in the face of adversity. Life is not Perfect, Life is not Easy, Life is Good.” 

– By brothers Bert and John Jacobs

Until next issue….

Warm regards,

Anu Kurian

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Summer Camp

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Looking for Summer Camps?  We compiled a list of 2016 camps in Central Ohio.

36 Elementary & Middle school camps

26 High school camps

12 Gifted kids camps

ELEMENTARY & MIDDLE SCHOOL CAMPS

HIGH SCHOOL CAMPS

TALENT SEARCH PROGRAMS & GIFTED KIDS CAMPS

Glitz & Glam Family Night

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GLITZ & GLAM FAMILY NIGHT     IMG_3586

Your 2016 COMA EC team is pleased to announce a fabulous night of games, food, dance and fun for the whole family. So ‘Guyz n Galz’ of all ages, deck up in your glitzy party best and join us for the first social event of the year.

Date: 2nd April 2016 Time: 6:00-10:00pm

Location: Ted Kaltenbach Community Center, 5985 Cara Road, Dublin 43016

Thank you all who could make it to Glitz and Glam night .. We had a blast.

gltz4 glitz2 gltz1 glitz9 glitz12 glitz11 glitz10 glitz8

 

Kerala Booth at Asia Festival

It was a nice sunny day on May 28th when we had our great experience of hosting a Kerala booth at the Asian festival. The booth was set up very with our traditional Kerala decor such as artifacts, vilakkukal, and especially a thaaliyola! 

The booth attracted a lot of folks and generated tremendous enthusiasm as we made them understand our gorgeous state’s culture, folklore, customs etc.  Overall, it was a humbling experience and a day to cherish for years to come…

Asiafest2 Asiafest3

COMA Newsletter February 2016

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Editors letter

Dear friends,

FullSizeRender-2Here we are in the month of February, that too a Leap February! What a month it has been so far! El Nino struck again bringing us spring like temperatures. Even storm system ‘Jonas’, which left most of the East Coast crippled & battered with record snowfall, showed us its merciful side. And of course, there are days like today to remind us that we do live in Ohio after all!

The last month has also left us mourning the deaths of some legends. There is the most unfortunate demise of actress & comedian Kalpana Ranjani. I’m sure most of us will remember her fondly through her film legacy. We also lost music great David Bowie who very aptly will be remembered through these famous lyrics, “We can be heroes, just for one day”.

On an exciting note, your 2016 COMA EC team has been working round the clock to bring you their first event Glitz & Glam Family Night on Saturday, April 2nd, 2016! I’ve attempted to give you a sneak peak into some of the fun filled activities they’ve planned for you. Its sure to be a winner, so don’t miss out!

February also boasts one of my favorite holiday traditions, Valentines Day. To me, Valentines is much more than just a romantic day, its more a celebration of love at its best! We’d love to see pictures of your Valentines celebrations, so send them in and we will be happy to share them on the COMA website.

And finally, for the Christians among us, we wish you blessed Lenten season. A lovely quote that comes to mind is, “Where there is great love, there are always miracles.” -Willa Sibert Cather

In this edition:

  • Glitz & Glam Family Night
  • A memory that will be remembered by Megha Rajesh
  • Priya Kumar’s Graduation from Columbus State Community College
  • New family in town
  • Mrs & Mr Jacob Vengal (COMA Trustee) celebrate 25 years of marriage
  • Malayalam story ‘Kallu Kudichaalulla Vina’ by Anjana S Nair
  • Naadan Njandu Roast by Nancy Joseph
  • Fashion featuring Vidya S Chandran
  • COMA Annual Membership Renewal
  • COMA Youth Wing
  • Charity Talk

Thanks for reading! Until next issue…

Warm regards,

Anu Kurian

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