Newsletters

Hello Friends!

The Onam 2017 was a blast! The community is growing and we had the largest gathering of malayalees in Central Ohio for thsi event with more than 500 people attending the program this year! We hope you enjoyed the sadya and cultural events and had an oppertunity to meet friends and make a few new friends!

Many of you have told that you enjoyed the Kathakali demonstration very much. We have included some additional information about this traditional art form of kerala in this newsletter.

Arranging Onam Celebration, the largest event of COMA required months of planning and coordination among various groups. Many of you had stepped up and helped us throughout this period. We would not have been successful without your support. Thank you!

The photos from the COMA Onam 2017 event are now available. Please visit the following link and use the password ‘COMA2017‘ to view the photos.

http://www.photosaga.photography/COMA-ONAM-Celebrations-2017/

Videos of the event will be available soon.

EC-2017

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Hello Friends!

We are sure you are eagerly waiting for the Onam event and signature ‘Sadya’ next weekend! This is going to be a packed event with the Maha Sadya followed by a line up of exciting stage programs thrugh the afternoon! Several artists and volunteers are working hard to please you with their performance! There are a few surprises in the mix as well!

It will be a traditional Sadya with all the curries, upadamsams, rice, pappadam, pazham and payasams! You just need to bring your appitite!

We would recommend you reach the venue early, as we will be starting the Sadya @ 11:30. You will be given a token with a time slot assigned for the Sadya. We are expecting a massive crowd this time and sticking to the assigned time slot is essential to serve Sadya to everyone in a timely fashion, and start the stage programs on time.

We hope you will have loads of fun during COMA Onam Celebration!
EC-2017

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Hello Friends

Summer break is coming to an end! I hope you enjoyed the break from schools, colleges and work! Many of you may have taken a vacation and travelled to places! Would you like to share some of those memories with COMA? If so, please send pictures and notes and we will publish in newsletter in the coming months.

Seven months have already gone in this year, and we are about to get to ‘ponnin chinga masam’ and Onam Celebrations!. More information and registration link will be coming out soon! Hope to see every one of you there! As usual, there will be delicious Ona Sadya and wonderful cultural events! Please reach out to EC if you would like to participate in the stage programs or would like to volunteer for the event.

India’s 71st Independence Day is coming up and FIA will lead the celebrations in Columbus.

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Hello Friends!

Hope you all had a ton of fun during the picnic on 17th!! Even though it was a scorching day, we had a record number of people attend the picnic and everyone enjoyed all of the games and food. Thanks to all who helped in making this event a success. Thanks to Sony and his catering business C&J Catering for the delicious kerala food.

Click here to view Picnic photos.

We love to hear your comments and feedback about the event.

EC 2017

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Hello Friends!

It is probably the busiest time of the year for most of us as the school year is coming to an end and summer break is around the corner! Spring cleaning, gardening, starting outdoor activities, vacation planning, AP exams, and graduation – lots of hectic things!

Several youth wing members will be heading to college after the break! After 12 years of grade school, they will be starting a more independent life as college students – the majority away from home. Years of preparation, AP classes, tests, ACTs, SATs, community service, several sports and arts lessons have finally paid off! And then to top it all off, navigating through the elusive college admissions process! Vijaya and I were going through this as Hrishikesh is graduating from high school this year. It is a big change for parents and the child; especially if the child is moving out of town. The journey so far has taught us some invaluable lessons.

We would like to publish information about graduating community members in next newsletter to recognize their achievements. All high school seniors, undergrads, grads and PhDs, please send us your information in the following format.

• Name
• Picture
• Parents names
• School/University you attended, GPA (optional), and achievements (optional)
• University/work that you will be joining and your major/minor.
• Career goals.

EC 2017

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Hello Friends!

Wish you all a Happy Vishu and Happy Easter!!

Due to its unique characteristics, Kerala has unique cultural and religious celebrations; however, we don’t celebrate some of the major festivals of the rest of India. Prominent examples of Malayalee exclusive festivals are Onam and Vishu. Vishu comes around mid-April, and signifies the transition of the Sun from ‘Meenam’ to ‘Metam’ rashi (in astrological terms). Vishu is considered as the beginning of the year, and seeing the ‘Vishukkani’ arrangement decorated with ‘kannappoo’ as the first thing on the morning of Vishu is believed to have a positive effect on the entire year! I am sure, just like me, you are nostalgic about the “Vishukkani”, “Vishu Kaineettam” and fireworks!! Festivals are also about fun times with family and friends and the sumptuous ‘Sadya’ with a variety of desserts!

Easter, the celebration of resurrection of Jesus Christ is on the 17th of April, following Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.

For those of you who might be travelling to Kerala in the month of April, you have a chance to see the Thrissur Pooram, which starts on April 17th this year.

Hope to see you all on the COMA Professional Networking Event on the 15th of April!

May the season of festivals bring you good luck, peace and prosperity!

EC 2017

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Hello Friends!

Hope you are enjoying the bounty of warm weather gifted by Mother Nature! It already feels like spring!!

Thanks to all of you who attended Valentine’s Day event at DCRC! MC’s Rekha and Rohit and DJ’s Pradeesh and Vinay were at their best ensured that the group was fully involved and engaged! You made it an exciting and fun evening by active participation! That is what defines the success of the event, and is the motivation for EC to organize similar events. Please take a moment and send your comments and feedback @ coma.officials@gmail.com. The photos of the event will be published soon.

There were some changes in the FIA leadership, and guess what? Our own Rekha Nair is the new Vice President!! This is an exciting development, and we wish all the best for Rekha!. Ramakrishna Kasarla is the new President. We are looking forward to increased collaboration with FIA, especially with Rekha in FIA team.

Holi, the festival of color is coming up next month (March 12th)! There are several events in Columbus planned by various groups. There is also a Bollywood dance event on March 10th at Granero Longue; HOLI DHAMAKA Featuring DJ Mavi.

We are looking forward to your contributions to the newsletter. Write about anything that interests you: a nostalgic poem, recipe of that new dish you experimented over the weekend, a travelogue about your memorable vacation, a note about an event that’s happening around, a nice pic that you captured, introduce a new family in town etc. Anything goes!

Are you interested to be part of COMA Executive Committee in 2018? This is an excellent opportunity to contribute to the Malayalee community while enhancing your leadership skills. YOU can make a difference! Please let EC or Trustees know!

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Hello Friends!

Happy new year from COMA News Desk!! Warm welcome to the first edition of this year’s newsletter!

It has been an exciting and eventful holiday season –Christmas and New Year celebrations, Election results and run up to the inauguration, demonetization and its impacts in India, floods in Chennai and much more! I am excited to say that the new EC team has taken over charge and is already on their job. Meticulous planning is underway for more than a month to make 2017 a fantastic year for COMA members! 2017 EC team’s vision is to “make COMA more than a cultural organization”

2016 was a significant year for COMA; Onam program saw the largest ever gathering attending a COMA function – almost 500 people! Yes, our small organization is leaps and bounds. The team led by Ajoy has done a fabulous job steering the organization last year overseeing this significant growth. This year’s team is committed to continue the hard work to meet your expectations!
There are several exciting programs lined up for this year, kicking off with the colorful Valentines Family Night event on February 18th! With the goal of “making COMA more than a cultural organization”, the team is also looking to provide additional value add services to the community, which will be communicated in the due course. We are looking forward to the continued support from you for the success of our events!

Anu has done a fabulous job with collecting, collating and publishing the newsletter last year. While the pattern of the newsletter will remain pretty much the same, some new sections will be added this year – news on other Indian associations in Central Ohio, event calendar (major events of interest in both local and from Kerala), a section on photography etc.

Your valuable suggestions and contributions are welcome @ coma.officials@gmail.com

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Hello friends,

Tis the most wonderful time of the year! Trees laden with ornaments and twinkling lights, houses decorated with colorful light displays, red & green wreaths on the front door, stockings waiting to be filled with goodies, elves running up and down the house, sleigh bells ringing, snow covered roof tops, children writing letters to Santa, lovingly wrapped presents neatly tucked away. Add to this list the Malayalee touch; painstaking preparation of naadan treats like achappams, fruit cake, kal kals, nankatai, vatteyappam, sukhiyan, kozhukatta….this is making me drool! Yes it does feel a lot like Christmas….

And so the time comes to bid you all farewell. This newsletter editorship been both an absolute pleasure, and a steep learning curve. I’m pleased that I took on the challenge, and looking back, I can safely say that the risk has paid off! In the process, I have made some new friends, which has been both enriching and rewarding in itself.

I’d like to thank each and every single contributor to the newsletter in 2016. All the good things that I hear about the newsletter are owed to your valuable contributions! Who knew COMA had so much talent? Keep it going and support those who have an interest in writing. Especially our kids. I am overwhelmed by the enthusiasm that our kids and youth have shown in supplying articles. In this technological age, where cursive has disappeared from schools and creative writing is at the brink of extinction, its wonderful to see young people express themselves in the most creative form!

I sincerely wish you all a wonderful Christmas and a very prosperous 2017. Keep the momentum going!

I leave you with these words…

“Do not be dismayed by the brokenness of the world. All things break. And all things can be mended. Not with time, as they say, but with intention. Love intentionally, extravagantly, unconditionally. The broken world waits in darkness for the light that is you.”  – L.R. Knost

Warmest regards,
Anu Kurian

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