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
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.
EC 2017
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
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!
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
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
Hello friends,
Thanksgiving is here. I’m sure you are looking forward to the much needed break. Many of you will travel to be with family and close friends. And others gearing up to clinch Black Friday deals in order to stock up for Christmas!
Tables will soon be full of thanksgiving delicacies like succulent turkey, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, cranberry jelly, corn bread, pumpkin pie etc etc. Usually turkey is not my bird of choice, but on Thanksgiving it takes on a new meaning and I find myself actually going in for seconds. But more than the food, it’s the holiday spirit that gives me the warm fuzzies. Families getting together around the dinner table with hearts filled with gratitude for all the good things in life, however simple they might be!
The past month has seen the culmination of a rather bitter and distasteful election season, leaving many people wondering what the future of America will look like. So whatever your political inclination, and whether your candidate lost or won, we have much positivity and hope to inject back into the nation.
So this Thanksgiving, why not try something new? Play a round robin of things that you are thankful for. Involve every person, including children gathered around the table and feel your heart swell as each person states what they are thankful for. It’s a start!
Happy Thanksgiving,
Anu Kurian
Hello Friends,
And so Halloween is is upon us! The streets will soon be filled with fairies, princesses, super heroes, cartoon characters, ghouls & ghosts of all ages! Oooh! Spooky exciting! Every year, we come up with a family strategy to achieve the goal of ‘colossal candy collection’! Every year it’s a different one and somehow, we always manage to collect just about the same amount of candy. Or as we’ve fondly named it “our annual supply of guaranteed cavities”!! Whatever your tradition or family strategy is, have a Spooktacular Halloween!
Diwali, or Deepavali as its known in the south, is also around the corner. My favorite festival growing up in India- the Festival of Lights! The Triumph of Good over Evil! I sincerely wish each and every one of you a very happy, festive and prosperous Diwali!
I leave you with a wonderful picture of the First Lady celebrating Diwali in the White House.
Until next issue…
Warm regards,
Anu Kurian
Hello friends,
September is the month of Onam, and with it Pujas and Onasadhyas. It’s amazing how us NRI Malayalees celebrate Onam with such pomp and splendor! I myself partook in a couple of mini sadhyas culminating in the grand COMA Onam. With each gathering I have been more and more amazed by the richness and generosity that our culture inculcates in us. Not to mention, the delectable spread of 20+ delicacies served on banana leaf. Feels like home away from home.
Fall is upon us. It happens to be my favorite season. Not too cold yet. Leaves change color displaying an exuberant display of yellows, oranges, reds and deep purple. Pumpkin picking, hay rides, barn bashes and of course Halloween. It’s sheer joy watching children trick-or-treat in their fanciful costumes, running from door to door collecting their annual loot of candy. Send in pictures of your Halloween celebrations and we shall display them on our COMA Facebook page.
Hope you enjoyed the first Presidential debate on Monday. I know I did! Looking forward to many more exciting ones to come.
So without further ado let’s dive into this issue of the newsletter.
Warm regards,
Anu Kurian
Dear friends, 
Happy 70th year of lndian Independence to all! PM Narendra Modi in his speech quotes “Today on this special day, I convey my greetings to 125 crore Indians and the Indian community living overseas. May this energy guide the nation to scale newer heights of progress in the years to come.”
Olympics fever is at its peak. Our family is glued to the TV, as I’m sure is yours. But at least this time the purpose is to be inspired and believe in the fruit of your ‘sweat & blood’. Hardwork, determination and craftsmanship at its best!
We wish all our kids a very energetic, enriching and happy back to school experience. And good luck to all parents as well!
On July 22nd we experienced the very painful and untimely demise of a very valuable member of our COMA family, Salil Nair. I have had the privilege of compiling beautiful memoirs that his friends have contributed in his honor. This newsletter is dedicated to his memory. Special thanks to Smitha and Nish Nishant for helping me reach out to Salil’s near and dear ones.
Furthermore, you will find details of the COMA 2016 Onam celebration. We hope to see all of you and your families join us for this quintessential Malayalee festival. Details of upcoming Malayalam classes are also included.
Until next issue…
Onashamsakkal,
Anu Kurian