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COMA Newsletter November 2016

November 23, 2016November 22, 2016 by COMA

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

COMA Newsletter October 2016

October 28, 2016October 27, 2016 by COMA

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

COMA 2016 Christmas Red Carpet Event

December 1, 2016October 17, 2016 by COMA

Date:Saturday, December 3rd, 2016.

Time:6:00 PM – 11:00 PM

Location:The Crowne Plaza located at 6500 Doubletree Ave, Columbus, OH 43229

Tickets are SOLD OUT!!!

COMA Newsletter September 2016

September 28, 2016September 28, 2016 by COMA

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

Onam Celebrations 2016

September 20, 2016August 19, 2016 by COMA

2016 Onam will be held on Saturday, September 17, from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM at the Gahanna Lincoln High School located at 140 S Hamilton Rd, Gahanna, OH 43230. Here’s a short invitation video: https://youtu.be/5RDOlnDBBRY
There will be a full-course Onam Sadhya followed by cultural programs including Onam favorites like Maveli procession, Thiruvathirakalli, Onam songs and patron-submitted programs including dances, songs, and skits.
This year we have an exciting new twist – the POOKALAM COMPETITION at the event premises. Get your friends together and create colorful Pookalams! To register for this competition and for participation in the cultural program, please contact coma.officials@gmail.com.

Onam registration is closed.

COMA Newsletter August 2016

August 25, 2016August 18, 2016 by COMA

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

COMA July 2016 Newsletter

July 13, 2016July 13, 2016 by COMA

Hi friends,

The countdown to your Annual COMA picnic has begun! Hope you’ve been flexing those muscles and brushing up on your athletic skills & talents! Age no bar. Gender no bar. There’s something for everyone. This is yet another great opportunity to mingle with your COMA family and we hope to see as many of you there!

The EC team would like to especially thank Dublin Metro Dental, the main sponsor of the event.

Also, save these dates for Onam 2016; either September 10th or 17th. Further communication will be sent via email.

Until next issue.

Warm regards,

Anu Kurian

COMA Picnic Cancelled

August 25, 2016July 3, 2016 by COMA

COMA Picnic on Saturday, July 23rd at the Liberty Park, Powell — CANCELLED!!!

COMA is pleased to announce 2016 picnic event on Saturday, July 23rd at the Liberty Park, Powell. Shelter 3 has been reserved for the COMA picnic. Please join us with family and friends for a fun-filled day and participate in Throwball, Kho-kho, In or Out (kulam/kara), Tug of War; and other fun activities like corn hole, lemon and spoon race, sack race and much more. For this year’s event we have four volunteers who have graciously accepted to be captains.

Team 1 – Pramod (pudhiyattil@yahoo.com)

Team 2 – Valsan (valsan.p@gmail.com)

Team 3 – Aslam (asluus@gmail.com)

Team 4 – Latha (lathaunni@hotmail.com

In order to accommodate all, we have advised the captains to have a diverse team (minimum requirements for each team to include youth, female, new residents less than 3 years in Columbus and long timers more than 10 years in Columbus). Please reach out to the team captains and start your preparation. The winning team will have the bragging rights and will be recognized during Onam celebration (with surprise prizes).

COMA EC team will provide the competition rules to the team captains and all tournament decisions will be made by COMA EC or the assigned referees for the event.

To sweeten things up, we have a cupcake competition this year. The rules have been communicated via email. Those who are interested, please send your entries to coma.officials@gmail.com.

We are also planning to have lunch packets, beverages and other food items for the event. The event will start at 10:00 AM and will continue until 3 PM (or whenever everyone gets tired ;)). The event registration will close on July 22nd.

COMA Newsletter June 2016

June 23, 2016June 23, 2016 by COMA

Hi friends,

It’s officially summer! I don’t know about you but it’s amazing how sometimes you can forget how long you’ve been waiting to feel the warmth, and when it’s finally here you start to complain about the days being too hot! Must be the Malayalee in me 😉.

Many of you may be planning your long annual vacation back home or short trips in and around the US. We’d love to hear of your travels! I personally dream of sweet alphonso mangas, ripe chakkas, succulent rambutan, squishy yet delightful mangosteen and of course karikku vellum! Yes…I dream a lot about food! And of the monsoon and torrential Kerala rains that brings a new lease of life to the land.

I would love to publish an article on a members visit back home with lots of pictures of their tharavadu, the scenery, the people, the favorite thattukada, the local puzha and of course the delectable food!

The COMA Annual Picnic is just around the corner. Get ready for yet another exciting opportunity to mingle and get sporty with your COMA friends.

Until next issue…

Warm regards,

Anu Kurian

COMA Newsletter May 2016

May 25, 2016May 23, 2016 by COMA

Hello friends,

May has been a rather busy month. And as we head into June, the weeks seem to get busier and busier. Those with school holidays around the corner know what I mean.

We lost music legend Prince who lived by his famous words, “A strong spirit transcends rules”.

May and June also heralds Graduation season. I’m sure we all know a few graduates moving on from their safe zones into the exciting world of college. We look at them thinking, where has time flown?

So I take this opportunity to congratulate all the 2016 graduates among us and share with you some wonderful words by Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook in her commencement speech at University of California, Berkeley.

“You will be defined not just by what you achieve, but by how you survive. It is the greatest irony of my life that losing my husband helped me find deeper gratitude- gratitude for the kindness of my friends, the love of my family and the laughter of my children. My hope is that you can find gratitude- not just on the good days like today, but on the hard ones when you will really need it.”

“We can each define ambition and progress for ourselves. The goal is to work toward a world where expectations are not set by the stereotypes that hold us back, but by our personal passion, talents and interests. “

Until next issue…

Warm regards

Anu Kurian

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