COMA Newsletter October 2015

From the editor’s desk

Welcome to the October edition of the COMA newsletter. This edition highlights upcoming COMA events that you do not want to miss out on, and has a short write-up on the revamped COMA website.

It’s a fall tradition in my family to carve a jack-o-lantern two days before Halloween, and put it out in the unlit porch with flickering LED tea lights inside to light it up. My son looks forward to this activity every year, which has helped us create lasting memories that we cherish as a family. Do you have fun family traditions for Halloween? We’d love to hear about them! Send in pictures of your Halloween traditions, or you or your family members dressed up in costumes, and we will share it on the COMA Facebook page for everyone to enjoy.

Wishing you all a spooky, fun filled, and safe Halloween!
Smitha Nishant

Financial Planning Seminar in November

COMA has teamed up with Jason Sowards and Erik Brown from New York Life, both of whom are long time sponsors of the organization, and will be conducting a financial planning seminar on November 15th Sunday from 2 PM to 3:30 PM at 485 Metro Place South, Dublin. This event is open to COMA annual members as well as their friends and family. Light snacks and drinks will be provided. Since seating is limited (30-35), if you RSVP yes, please make sure that you do come. If for some unanticipated reason you cannot make it, do let us know early enough so we can offer that seat to someone else.

COMA Christmas – December 5, 2015

The COMA annual Christmas program has been officially opened up for ticketing, and you can purchase tickets online from the COMA website. This year, the EC team has decided to go for a dinner party format as opposed to the stage format used in previous years. The event is on December 5th, Saturday from 6:30 PM to 10 PM, at the Holiday Inn, Worthington.

This is a formal attire event, and attendees are expected to dress formally in suits, tuxes, dresses, or sarees. There are multiple activities planned, including Christmas carols, piano recitals, party games, a professional performer, and ballet. COMA will also open up opportunities for gift card donation to the needy and a winter coat drive, both via the YWCA.

There will be a 3-course multi-choice dinner, including wine, and a full cash bar will be open throughout the night. A professional DJ will handle the sound and dance lighting, and the event will conclude with an open dance floor. Come join us to eat, drink, dance, make merry, and celebrate Christmas!

Surprising facts about India

submitted by Nikita Sathiaprakash

Being born in America, I don’t know too many facts about India other than the obvious ones, like how the outfit Prime Minister Modi wore to meet President Obama was covered in his own name. But over the years, I have collected many facts about India that some native Indians themselves might not know. For example, Bollywood is not India’s biggest movie industry, but rather Tamil and Telegu films. Also, Indians are more obsessed with breaking records than any other country. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, India ranks third behind the U.S. and U.K. in the number of records claimed each year.

Another interesting fact is, most historians agree that the first recorded account of plastic surgery is found in the ancient Indian Sanskrit texts. I am sure that most Indians don’t know that one. There are many more facts that I have found, such as the game Snakes and Ladders originated in India. It was known as Moksha Patamu and was invented as a moral lesson about karma to be taught to children.

Okay, I have three more free facts that I want all of you to have. India has greater linguistic diversity than any other large country. The precise number of languages spoken in India is over 1,000 but it is often hard to define when one language ends and another begins. The big six languages – Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, and Urdu – are each spoken by more than 50 million people. Sorry, Malayalam didn’t make the cut! India doesn’t have a national language, both Hindi and English are regarded as official languages.

India has three of the world’s top ten megacities – one more than China. According to the UN, Delhi is the second largest urban agglomeration in the world, with Mumbai ranked seventh, and Calcutta tenth. My last fact is actually one that once you hear, you might find it true. There are more road deaths in India than any other country in the world. This is a statistic that won’t surprise many visitors, for whom the roads of India are often terrifying. Speaking from personal experience, I know that this fact must be true. I hope that I have taken these free facts to share with others!

Malayalam movies – more frequent releases

COMA has been bringing Malayalam movies to Columbus far more frequently in the last two months compared to earlier times. The movies are distributed by a 3rd party in agreement with COMA as an active stakeholder. In the old days, COMA typically screened 3-4 movies an year, which meant we had to select a small handful of movies. Movies were also screened on only one day with a single show. The newer format allows COMA to bring many more movies, targeting a wider audience, and we also have the flexibility of multiple show times (Ennu Ninte Moideen had 6 shows across 6 days). The EC team feels that a wider variety of movies can now be screened in Columbus which will be advantageous to the larger Malayalee audience in the area. Expect to see more popular Malayalam movies released here, and usually within weeks after their release in Kerala.

YWCA Host a Meal

 

A group of volunteers, including 8 of our young adults, prepared and served breakfast to around 160 people at the YWCA shelter in Columbus on October 11th Sunday. This event was sponsored by COMA, and is the third such event we’ve organized at the YWCA center this year. Thanks to all the volunteers.

COMA website ported to WordPress

Not sure how many of you noticed this, but the COMA website underwent a redesign last month. The entire site has been migrated to WordPress, which is an open source content management system. The website is now responsive and uses a new theme that is easily readable on multiple devices ranging across cellphones, tablets, and laptops. The site also has its own shopping cart functionality now, which you will notice when you purchase tickets for Christmas. The EC team has made this choice as they feel it will make it easier to maintain the website and content in future, while also being able to take advantage of the new features or popular plugins available for WordPress. Every page or post on the website now supports comments, so please feel free to comment on our site if you have feedback, opinions, or suggestions.

Karthik Music Experience – Nov 8, 2015

The Columbus Tamil Sangam is bringing Karthik and team for a musical night on November 8th, Sunday at Westerville North High School.

Tickets

• http://www.columbusthamilsangam.org/Home/Events