COMA

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

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From the editor’s desk

Hello friends,

Fall is very much my favorite season. The start of fall is an exciting time for everyone, with visits to orchards and farms, and a ton of other fun activities for the whole family. It can also be a little overwhelming for some of us with school work gearing up for the kids and temperatures slowly dropping down.

This edition of the COMA newsletter has a lot of the usual items, but in addition has a very interesting interview with one of my favorite COMA patrons, our beloved trustee Jacob Vengal. His story is a true inspiration to all of us and teaches us the importance of giving back.

Thank you.
Smitha Nishant

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We are thrilled to announce that this year’s COMA Onam program will be on August 29th, Saturday from 11 AM to 4:30 PM. The venue is the Gahanna West Middle School, located at 350 N Stygler Road, Gahanna, OH 43220. There will be a full-course Onam Sadya as well as a cultural program including Onam favorites like Maveli, Thiruvathira, and Onam songs.

There will also be patron-submitted programs including dances, songs, and skits. Due to the high volume of participants, we have stopped accepting new programs.

This year’s highlight is that Maveli will be present throughout the program and will be a key element in the event storyline. The roles of Maveli and Maveli’s friend are played by two of the most talented folks in Columbus.

Tickets are sold out!

• This event is prepay-only.
• We will not sell tickets at the venue.
• Outsiders who don’t want to have the Sadya but are part of a group event will require Attendee Tickets. This includes anyone accompanying minor participants.

Note to COMA annual members

If you are a paid COMA member, you will receive a separate email with member-special pricing. If you are not a member and would like to take advantage of member-pricing, just purchase a membership, and wait 24-48 hours to receive an email with instructions on getting member-pricing.

We have a finite limit on the number of people we can accommodate for the Sadya, so we will close payments once that limit’s been reached. Please buy tickets early to ensure that you will be able to attend.

From the editor’s desk

Hello friends,

Happy New Year (Kollavarsham) to all my Malayali readers!

The COMA Executive Committee is working hard to bring you a magnificent Onam celebration with a sumptuous Sadhya and elaborate cultural programs. Thank you everyone who have purchased tickets already. It helps the Executive Committee to better plan the event and give an accurate head count to the caterers. Those of you who intend to come are requested to purchase tickets before they run out to ensure you won’t miss all of the excitement, fun, and socializing.

Onam is a time to rejoice, to reminisce childhood memories, and celebrate the spirit of being a Malayalee. I wish all my readers happiness, peace, and prosperity. See you all this Saturday at the COMA Onam celebrations!

Thank you.
Smitha Nishant

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We’d like to officially announce the COMA 2015 summer picnic on July 25th Saturday at Liberty Park, 2845 Home RD, Powell (Shelters 1 and 2) from 10:30 AM to 5 PM. This year, to spice things up a bit, we are dividing the attendees into 4 teams that will play against each other in various group games. The four teams we have formed are the Powell Panthers captained by Anjana Hari, Columbus Cheetahs captained by Vikas Gopal, Dublin Dragons captained by Sachin Sugathan, and Westerville Warriors captained by Girish Manoharan.

• Tickets are $5 per person (ages 5+) and are to partly cover the event expenses.

Fun and games

Each captain can pick 2 key players for their team prior to the picnic date. On the day of the picnic the rest of the team will be randomly allocated to each captain from the pool of attendees. Individual games will have additional rules, example for the volleyball games, each team would need to have 3 men, 2 women, and 1 youth member. We will have more detailed guidelines closer to the event date.

We will have games and fun-activities for adults and kids. Planned games include volleyball, hillbilly golf, card games (28, rummy), brain games, puzzles, kids’ entertainers/performers, face painting and we’ll have food, drinks, and light energy snacks for everyone. If you have game/activity suggestions or are interested in helping us organize games, please let us know.

The 2015 COMA Executive Committee is excited to bring eminent actress and dancer Shobana and her team of highly talented performing artists to Central Ohio to present the dance drama Krishna, conceived and choreographed by Shobana herself.

The role of Krishna is played by Shobhana who is accompanied by a group of 16 artists including her daughter Narayani. The design of Krishna does not follow conventional patterns. Instead, it is a symphony of various dance forms ranging from ancient classical forms to Bollywood dance. The background design of the performance provides the majestic ambiance of Mathura, Brindavan, and Kuruskhetra.

Though the story of Krishna has been told in several languages, this is the first full-fledged song and dance performance on Krishna entirely in English. Popular film songs composed by the illustrious music director, A R Rahman forms the musical theme of the dance drama. The sound mixing is done by the Oscar winner Rasool Pookkutty. The voice of the characters are rendered by some of the best known film actors from India including Surya Sivakumar for Arjuna, Konkana Sen for Radha, Shabana Azmi for Gandhari, and Shobhana for Draupadi. Actors such as Andrea Jeremiah, Sukumari, Prabhu, and Radha lend their voice to the other characters in Krishna.

Online Tickets

• Buy tickets here

Charity Fund Raiser

A portion of the profits from this event will be donated to the Wounded Warrior Project. The Wounded Warrior Project is a non-profit charity that aims to honor and empower our wounded veterans. See their website for more details.

We are inviting volunteers who wish to participate in this event at the YWCA, where they get to prepare and serve meals to around 200+ people. The event is sponsored by COMA. Interested folks, please send an email to coma.officials@gmail.com

Note : This event is now sold-out (no more volunteer spots).