COMA

COMA Newsletter – Jan 2019

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2019 – A refreshing New Year

We hope all of you had a great kick start to this New Year with new hopes and resolutions which we all look forward to. To quote a famous author “In inner life it’s just one revolution which matters which is to move unwillingness to willingness”. We wish you all the very best in fulfilling your dreams and reaching your miles stones in 2019.  

Message from 2019 COMA EC Team

Hello All,

2019 EC team is looking forward to serving you this year. Our goal for 2019 is to continue the growth of COMA with major focus on having fun, being active, giving back to the community, empowering  youth, provide socializing opportunities and welcoming new members to the community. We are planning a number of exciting events this year and hoping to have all of your support to make it another memorable year for COMA.

We are very excited to kick off 2019 with a fun filled event ‘Oru Adipoli Night’ on Saturday, February 23rd at DCRC. This event is based on a competition between teams over several fun categories. In addition we are planning to have some interactive games for kids and adults. Registration for this event is now open. The earlier you sign up, the more fun it will be for you as you get to be part of a team and prepare. We hope that you and family will join us on Feb 23rd to have fun, meet your friends and make new ones!

Looking forward to seeing you all on Feb 23rd!

EC team (Girish, Rajesh, Sheeja, Arun & Ravi)

Introducing our 2019 Newsletter team

Priya and Praveen

We moved from St Louis to Columbus in late 2011, since then we have been part of the COMA family and enjoyed all events hosted by COMA. We are very grateful to be part of the community and will be the newsletter editors for COMA this year. We are looking forward for your support and inputs.

Manjula Nair

I am settled in Columbus since 2001 and currently lives in Powell with my two boys Adithya (Freshman in OSU) and Arvind (Sophomore in Olentangy Liberty) and Maximus, 5 year old German Shepherd and the love of our lives.
I work for Nationwide Insurance and have been with COMA family since 2001 even before it officially became COMA. I am very grateful to be part of this wonderful group of friends who have become family over the years. I have been at the receiving end of the kindness and empathy of this group and have seen how everyone comes together as one solid family in the face of crisis. I hope to continue to be part of this group into the future.

COMA Christmas 2018

In 2018, COMA events ended with a spectacular Christmas event on December 8th 2018 at McCoy Center, Hilliard. A huge thank you to everyone who attended this holiday party to make it a special one indeed. We had beautiful Christmas carols rendered by the very talented musicians from OMCC, spectacular dance performances by our very own COMA members, a traditional Margam Kali performance , a heart-warming nativity skit by sweet little children from Syro Malabar Church and a nice presentation and malayalam song by Malayalam class students. The night came to an end with everyone on the dance floor showing their awesome moves!

Event photos are available here.

COMA – Oru Adipoli Night – Feb 23rd 2019

Get your tickets for the upcoming event “Oru Adipoli Night” soon. Since the seating for this event is limited, ticketing will be closed as soon as it is sold out. Remember to get your membership before taking tickets to be part of a lucky draw and avail the membership pricing for this event and all future events. Email coma.officials@gmail.com if you have any questions.

Click here to buy “Oru Adipoli Night” tickets.

 COMA Youth Corner

“It’s only after you’ve stepped outside your comfort zone that you begin to change, grow, and transform.”, quoted by Roy T. Bennett, author of The Light in the Heart.  For many of us, it is hard to step into a role where all eyes are on us. But we decided it was time to break out of our comfort zone and take on this new role of leadership. Our favorite event this year by far has been our youth led YWCA event. The two of us called into YWCA to check their availability, planned the menu out for the breakfast, and ordered all the food for that day. It gave us an experience of how to deal with people in the real world and it made us see how much effort gets put into making meals for someone else. On the day of the event, we each played our part and worked as a team to serve 150 people.

Moreover having this role, taught us what it means to be a part of a team. A lot of the activities behind the scenes required a hardworking group of people. We learned how much effort goes into organizing events and the importance of communication among all members of the team. From working at the front desk to helping decorate venues, they really gave their time to all of the events. Without their support, we wouldn’t be able to help our community the way we do today. Through these events, we learned to work stronger as a unit and we hope to strengthen this idea with the upcoming youth.

Overall, we are grateful for this experience. We were glad to give back to our Malayalee community and gain something back in the process. Speaking from personal experience, the Youth Wing has had a lasting impact on us and the valuable leadership and team building experiences that we gained from being a part of this has been incredible. – Aishwarya Arun and Megha Rajesh

COMA Youth Wing Committee

Anju Anilkumar – President

Hi, my name is Anju Anilkumar and I am this years Youth Wing President. I am currently a junior at Olentangy Orange High School. This is my third year as an active participant in COMA, and I feel so welcome! Music is my most loved hobby. I love to sing and dance. I am in school choir and the Columbus Children’s International Choir. I also have learned indian classical Carnatic music since I was five. I am looking forward to all the beautiful events that will take place this year. It’s a honor to be apart of such an organized and loving association.

Neelima Gopinath – Vice President

My name is Neelima Gopinath and I am 16 years old. I am a Junior at Thomas Worthington High School. I was born in Ohio and have been living in Columbus since 2004. My family and I have been part of COMA for as long as I remember and I always enjoy taking part in all of the programs and activities. I enjoy watching Indian movies and cooking and trying new foods. I have been learning Bharatanatyam and playing the violin since I was young. I’m very excited to be this year’s Youth Wing Vice President, I hope to do a lot to support and improve the community with my peers.

Community Corner

In this edition of new letter some of our members have graciously offered to share some of their creations. Let us explore what they have in stock here.  

“Blossoming hopes of 2019” by Krishna Nimil

“A simple flower cake , orange flavored cake with “Swiss Meringue Buttercream” and used Russian piping technique for the buttercream flowers. I am a  self-taught baker. What keeps me pushing forward is my love for baking. I failed too many times and I stood up as well, trying to correct it. Every cake that I baked, bad or good, it all had my passion and love for baking.”  


Eggplant curry recipe  by Pradip Ramachandran

Pradip calls this as a very “different eggplant curry” which requires a few “unexpected” ingredients that gives a slightly unusual flavor twist to please your palate. The goal is to have a balance blend of heat, sourness and sweetness.  

Here are the ingredients you will need:

Group 1

  • One large Eggplant cut into small pieces , you can peel the skin off based on personal choice
  • Salt to taste
  • Four table spoons of oil
  • For tempering one tea spoon mustard seed and two teaspoon of channa daal

Group 2

  • One small onion chopped,
  • One tea spoon ginger paste
  • One tea spoon garlic paste.

Group 3

  • Two tablespoon of sambar mix which contains following ingredients corainder, chilli, turmeric, fenugreek and asafoetida. (this can be substituted with four teaspoons of coriander powder , one teaspoon of chilli powder , one teaspoon of turmeric powder and a pinch of fenugreek and asafoetida powders ).
  • One teaspoon of cumin powder.
  • Half cup crushed tomato.
  • Three to five tablespoons of vinegar ( use as needed , this provides sourness along with tomato).
  • One half to two teaspoon sugar to provide little sweetness to the dish .
  • Two tablespoons of crunchy peanut butter to provide a creamy texture.
  • Two teaspoons of crushed kasoori methi.
  • Two table spoons of chopped cilantro.

Now that you got all the ingredients let us get to work here.

  • Heat oil in pan splutter mustard seeds add channa and cook until slightly brown.
  • Add onion and saute  for three to four minutes until the mix is translucent.
  • Add ginger and garlic paste and saute for 2 minutes..
  • Add washed and drained eggplant , then add salt and stir well . Cook for 8-10 minutes covered on low flame until eggplant is soft and mushy . Please note that no water is needed .
  • Now you can add all the items in group 3 and cook for another 8-10 minutes until the mixture starts thickening and all the spices have cooked thoroughly.
  • Garnish with cilantro and serve hot with Roti , Naan , Chappathi or any other Indian bread.

Upcoming Local Events

Meals on Wheels – 

  • Sunday, January 27th.
    • Joseph Abraham, Joshua Joseph
  • Sunday, January 13th.
    • Nish Nishant, Kurian Uthup, Keziah Uthup, Marissa Uthup
  • Sunday, December 23rd :
    • Shibu Nair, Sachin Sugathan, Roopesh Sathyan
  • Sunday, December 9th :
    • Thomas Pullumpallil, Rachel Varughese, Reuben Varughese

Get Involved!

COMA has a whatsapp group to socialize coma events, community news and so on. Please use the following link to join the group: https://chat.whatsapp.com/67hzscBz4Su8fQmpFtodpJ. Please let us know at coma.officials@gmail.com if you would like to get involved with any of the following:

  • YWCA Cook a Meal
  • COMA Youth Wing
  • Malayalam Class

C.O.M.A Newsletter Oct – Nov 2018

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Hello friends,

We are getting ready for the final event of C.O.M.A 10th Anniversary Celebrations!

Preparation for Christmas this Saturday is in full swing. Registration for the event is closed; we have more than 250 guests registered to attend the event. Everything you need to know about the event is listed below! Come and join us for celebrations & C.O.M.A 10 year anniversary Finale!!

Can’t believe the year is coming to an end so soon! We feel like we just took over at EC for 2018 not long ago! What an eventful year it has been; we went from height of excitement in May with the mega musical event of Chitra to the despair and helplessness with devastating floods in Kerala in August!

We have tried our best to make this a memorable 10th anniversary year for C.O.M.A by conducting a variety of events to suite the tastes of everyone in the community. We started with a small gathering for bowling in January, celebrated Valentines Day in Feb, organized community 5K Run in April. As we heard feedback from several participants on fitness and their interest in joining a regular activity, we started ‘Active C.O.M.A’ and organized morning walks on Saturdays in several different parks and trails!

After the mega musical event, which drained most of us, we had a magical evening with Dr Gopinath Muthukad where he displayed his magical prowess and also discussed about his dream project to support differently-abled children with his dream project ‘Magic World’. This was followed with the Picnic in July. The flood disaster stuck Kerala while we were almost set for celebrating Onam. The plight of our brethren has shifted our focus on supporting the flood relief efforts, rather than celebrating. We were able to collect more than $43,000 and donate to Kerala CM’s Disaster Relief Fund.

Halloween costume competition was a fun event for kids and adults alike, towards the end of October! We had several kids (and a few adults)  in variety of costumes showing off!

See you soon for Christmas Celebrations!

-EC-2018

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C.O.M.A Newsletter Aug-Sep, 2018

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Hello friends,

That was a quick summer wasn’t? Year’s most beautiful season is here and we are just loving this great fall weather. Can you believe we are in the last quarter of 2018? Time surely does fly! COMA EC team is eager to finish the year with a bang. So wait till you hear what we have in store. 😉

A BIG THANK YOU!!!

Kerala Flood Relief Donations: As communicated in the previous newsletter, the support we received from our Malayalee Community and other Indian Communities in Central Ohio to our Fund for supporting flood relief efforts in Kerala was overwhelming. With your generous donations, our target of 25K was achieved in two days! The executive committee and trustee board of C.O.M.A cannot thank you enough for all the support we received. We have sent $43,571.38 till date to CMDRF.
The following Organizations/Business also has contributed to C.O.M.A for our flood relief efforts:

Upcoming Events – Mark your calendar

  1. Halloween Costume Competition
    Bawarchi Indian Restaurant
    Saturday October 27th, 7 PM
    .
  2. C.O.M.A Christmas and 10 Year Anniversary Finale
    Bridgewater Banquet & Conference Center, Powell
    Saturday December 8th, 6-10 PM

(Registration Details and Links will be sent out Tuesday)

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Bengali Association- Retro to Metro

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COBCA – Central Ohio Bengali Cultural Association celebrates the Legends!!!!

Retro to Metro

A Magical Musical Journey for the benefit of Special Olympics, Ohio!

6:00 PM, Saturday Sep 15th, Weigel Hall, OSU School of Music

Arnab Chakraborty (of Wada Raha fame and winner of K for Kishore) is back in Columbus once again with Shirsha who will take us on a beautiful musical journey. If you love the evergreen music of Rafi, Mukesh, Kishore, Hemant Kumar, Lata, Asha, S.D., R. D. and the brilliance of current musical geniuses like A.R. Rehman, Shankar-Ehsan-Loy, Pritam, Arijit Singh, Shreya, Sunidhi, and many more, come enjoy this evening of pure nostalgia and bliss, as we celebrate The Legends of Indian film music.

Our goal is to help the Columbus community and the people. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Special Olympics, Ohio.

Come have a fantastic time and help make a difference!!!!

 

Dhvani – Concert by Jayashree Rajeev

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Dhavni Presents

A Tribute to Swathi Thirunal- A Concert by Jayashree Rajeev

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 23|4:00 PM – 6:30 PM, Peggy R. McConnell Arts Center of Worthington  

This is a performance by three Malayalee artists, and donations will be collected at the event for Kerala Flood Relief.

Tickets: Dhvani Event Tickets

An Appeal to Support Flood Relief Efforts in Kerala

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C.O.M.A raised $43,974 and transferred to Kerala Chief Minister’s disaster relief fund. 

If you still would like to donate, you can do so by donating to Kerala CM Disaster Relief Fund: https://donation.cmdrf.kerala.gov.in/

 

Friends,
Several people have lost their lives in the last few weeks due to the incessant rain and floods in Kerala. Thousands are rendered homeless, and most of Kerala is still under heavy rain with several parts flooded. The rainfall has reduced in since Sunday and water is receding from most of the affected areas. Army, IAF, Navy, NDRF, Coast Guard and the Fire Force along with the state police have mounted joint rescue and relief operations.

Central Ohio Malayalee Association is raising funds to support the relief efforts. We kicked off this campaign with a contribution of $1000 from long time C.O.M.A patron Venu Nair! We are grateful for his magnanimous support! The association is adding $2000 from our reserves. We request you to contribute generously to help our extended family to recover from the tragedy! The funds collected will be sent to Kerala Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF).

Message from Chief Minister of Kerala:

C.O.M.A Newsletter – July 2018

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Thank you Central Ohio!!!

We have received overwhelming support from Malayalee Community and other Indian Communities in Central Ohio to our Fund for supporting flood relief efforts in Kerala! With your generous donations, we were able to achieve the target of 25K in two days! It is heartening to see that the community is responding to the need as the situation demands! A big THANK YOU from the executive committee and trustee board of C.O.M.A to the community for your overwhelming support! We already sent part of the donations to CM’s relief fund. The remaining amount will be sent later this week.

The rain has stayed away and water is receding from most of the places, even though several pockets in central Kerala are still under water. It is going to be a slow recovery from the worst disaster that hit our motherland in our memory. There is still a dire need for money and supplies as people are trying to put their lives together! We will keep the option to donate via PayPal and Qucik Pay open, but will be closing the ‘GoFundMe’ portal at midnight, Tuesday. There are several other options to support – we request you support in any way you can; just make sure that your support is reaching the needy.

As we have notified you earlier, C.O.M.A Onam Celebration for this year is cancelled as we are putting our full focus on supporting the flood relief efforts.

India Festival and FIA support for Flood Relief Efforts

FIA’s India Festival is on Saturday, August 25th, which falls on Onam this year. (See flyer below) FIA has couple of initiatives during India Festival to support our flood relief campaign. In addition, C.O.M.A will be setting up a booth for fundraiser during this years India Festival. Please visit the booth and cheer our volunteers. Let us know if you would like to volunteer in the booth for two hours between 10:00 AM and 6:00 PM (Email to coma.officials@gmail.com)

Manas restaurant in Polaris has offered to donate 25% of your total bill if you mention that you are supporting ‘C.O.M.A’ fundraiser for Kerala flood relief during this week (Till Sunday, August 26th). Please do visit the restaurant this week and mention you support our efforts. Please do share this information with your friends as well.

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Onam-2018 Registration

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C.O.M.A Onam Celebrations for 2018 is on Saturday, September 8th.

There are several programs planned for the day in addition to the grand Sadya! The venue will be open from 10:00 AM, and Sadya will start at 11:30. Cultural programs will start at 1 PM.
The event is scheduled at Gahanna Middle School. We are looking for a larger venue; if we get confirmation soon, we will be shifting to that venue. Please stay tuned for the venue detail.

Registration : $25 per Adult and $12 per child, age 3 to 9.  (This is a special rate till August 31st. The registration will increase to $30 and $15 from Sep 1st). Registration Closes on Sep 5th (Midnight)

Already a C.O.M.A member? You have a discounted registration rate ($20/$10) and should have received an email with the link for special registration. If not, please let us know at coma.officials@gmail.com

Click here to register to become C.O.M.A Member and save on Onam and Christmas Event Registration

[Please register separately for adults and children. Paypal will direct you back to this page on completion of a purchase]

Preferred Method of Payment: Quick Pay to coma.officials@gmail.com. No QuickPay? No problem; please use ‘PayPal’ below.

Onam Registration – Children

Onam Registration – Children (Between 3-9 years)

C.O.M.A Newsletter June 2018

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Hello Friends,

Summer is here and so being summer vacations! Most of us have planned family trips, road trips, trips down to India, etc.  We hope you stay safe in your travels and enjoy your much deserved break from school and work.

Chitrashalabhangal

Here are the much-awaited photos from the mega musical program Chitrashalabhangal, which was conducted on May 19th, 2018. These photos really help to relive the magic that was that night. Thanks again to our in-house photographer, Ashish Muthiraparambath for capturing these behind the scenes and on-stage moments.

[Link to Photos]

Upcoming COMA Events

  • COMA Picnic (Register here) for this year has been scheduled on July 22nd ,2018 at Liberty park. We have planned multiple activities for every age group. Make sure you block your calendars! COMA youth wing has planned something special – they have planned an exciting and scrumptious BAKE SALE! We will be having a variety of yummy treats for kids as well as adults.If you would like to make a contribution by preparing one of your special secret recipes, please reach out to our coordinator Neelima Gopinath at neelimacg@gmail.com. She can help you with logistics.Example of treats you can prepare: Cutlets,puffs,samosas,chips, sandwiches,cakes,muffins,cupcakes,brownies,boondies, indian snacks … Whatever you bring we will sell!All proceeds from the bake sale will be going towards charity.
    So please do not hesitate to make a contribution today!
  • Onam 2018 has been scheduled for September 8th we have started its preparations already!  If you would like participate in a cultural event, please fill in the below google form and submit by August 3rd  :

Google Form for Onam Event Registration

[Entries received after the last date will be on waiting list] Selected entries will be informed by August 17th. The entries will be selected on first come-first serve basis and judged on variety, considering time constraints and audience interests.
Any queries? You can email us at coma.officials@gmail.com or contact Sangeetha Muthiraparabath (Secretary) at +1 (614) 571-7632 or Seethal Babu (Joint Secretary) at 215-821-4033.

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