Category Archives: Nri’s / Pio’s

Merging border with dance

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Nri's / Pio's, World Opinion

New Delhi, (IANS) :

Rasaja Foundation, in collaboration with Business & Community Foundation (BCF) will organise a discussion ”Merging Border” with artists Lata Pada (Sampradaya Dance Creations, Canada), Dr I Wayan Dibia (scholar, author and dance choreographer, Indonesia), Shila Mehta (Nupur Zankar Academy of Performing Arts, New Jersey, Belgium and Mumbai) and Hema Rajagopalan (Natya Dance Theatre, Chicago) followed by ”Nimitta” a solo kathak performance by Shila Mehta, portraying “Shikhandi” from Mahabharat on December 12 at Sri Aurobindo Society in New Delhi.

”PRALAYA”, a collaboration in Bharatanatyam and Baliness dance by Sampradaya Dance Creations, Canada, a modern retelling of the Mahabharata with special focus on the game of dice between the Pandavas and the Kauravas will be staged on December 13 at Kamani Auditorium in the capital.

The presentation, conceptulised and directed by Lata Pada, includes choreography by Lata Pada & I Wayan Dibia, music by Praveen D. Rao, costume Design by Sandhya Raman, visual Design by Jacques Collin and lighting design by Deepa Dharmadhikari.

Their Indo–Balinese collaboration that premiered in Toronto in November 2016 and went on to do an eight-city tour in Canada, has now begun its international tour across seven cities in India and a stint in South East Asia-Indonesia.

–IANS / Sukant/prs
source: http://www.outlookindia.com / Outlook / Home> The News Scroll / December 10th, 2019

Dubai Dasara sports meet held in grandeur

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Nri's / Pio's, Records, All, Sports, World Opinion

Dubai:

Indian expats of ‘Hemmeya UAE Kannadigaru Dubai Family’ organized a cultural, heritage and sporting event in the heart of Dubai with Dasara doll competition, rangoli, Dasara cup cricket tournament, along with the final showdown event of athletics, badminton, throwball, volleyball, kabaddi, and football at the prestigious Etisalat Sports Academy on October 11.

Ashwini02KF23oct2019

Over 3,000 participants including children, women and men joyfully took part in the various age categories starting from 4 up to 35 plus years. The competitors were cheered by their family, friends and the loved ones. A mammoth crowd motivated the participants to give their best to secure gold, silver, bronze medals and team trophies.

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Indian Olympic athlete Ashwini Nachappa inaugurated the event and honoured the medal winners. Mohammed Mustafa, MD of M Square, Sheik Bu Abdulla Bib Abdellah, M S Khan CEO of Caprice, Mohan Uppin, Zafarullah Khan, former minister Karnataka and Praveen Shetty, MD, Fortune Group, Mohan Uppin, CEO, Evolve Interior, Dr Guru Madhava Rao, president, RAK Medicals, Chethan, MD, Virgin Tours, Shekar Reddy, Dr Rashmi, CEO, Riva Laser Hospital, and other honourable UAE dignitaries graced the occasion and appreciated the spirit of the events.

Ashwini Nachappa was honoured by prestigious Dubai Kreeda Rathna Award. The organizing committee honoured former Indian Volleyball player Dr Kavitha Paiyadi Rao who currently works in Dubai. Former Indian Kabaddi captain Pooja Hassana who also works in dubai banking sector, was also honoured.

Hemmeya UAE Kannadigaru organizers RafiqAli Kodagu, Sudeep Davanagere, Senthil Bengaluru, Madhu Dvg, Vishnu Mysore, Mamatha.Ragavendra, Pallavi Davanagere, Mamatha.Sharja, Dr Savitha Mysore, Anitha Bnegaluru, Hadiya Mandya, Shashidhar and game organizers heartily thanked the father of UAE nation, respected rulers of UAE for the opportunity the great nation has created to celebrate culture, sports spreading tolerance and humanity.

They thanked the participants for their overwhelming response making the event successful.

source: http://www.daijiworld.com / DaijiWorld.com / Home> Middle East / by Media Release / October 23rd, 2019

Kodava Convention In US

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Leaders, Nri's / Pio's, Records, All, World Opinion

Over 400 attend grand ceremony in Boston

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Boston:

The North American Kodava Convention was hosted by Kodavas of Greater Boston area from Aug. 30 to Sept. 1.

Kodavas from across Continental US, Hawaii, Canada, India and UAE joined the convention that was one of the largest gathering of Kodavas in North America. Over 400 people attended the event.

The community came together as ‘Okka’ at the convention which was aimed at bringing the community closer, renew old relations and forge new ones, facilitate connections for youngsters who are growing up in a foreign land to their Kodagu roots and to help preserve and nurture the rich Kodava heritage, culture and language.

The event was organised at Marriott Copley Hotel in the heart of Boston. The weekend festivities kicked off with an informal meet of the gathering on the evening of Aug. 30 at the hotel lounge, followed by ‘Oorkuduva’ evening on Aug. 31 at the world-renowned MIT Media Lab, to showcase the intellectual side of Boston.

The ‘Oorkuduva’ evening had presentations regarding the origin of culture and biodiversity in Kodagu related to genealogy, including preliminary data from the ‘Kodava Genome Initiative’, which was presented by Prof. Maanasa Raghavan and her Ph.D. student Arjun Biddanda.

The evening also included a talent show of Kodava children in the art of public speaking, piano recitals, jazz-saxophone performance and singing. It was an idyllic setting for an ‘Oorkuduva’ gathering at the MIT Media, overlooking the Charles River and spectacular views of Boston skyline.

There was Kodava Vaalaga after dinner which got most of the guests onto the dance floor. The party then shifted to the Marriott Copley Hotel where Deep Chinappa entertained guests with his rock band, the ‘Deep C Divers’.

There were several daytime activities including tours of various historical and cultural Boston landmarks, walks along the popular Freedom Trail, kayaking on the Charles River and tours of MIT and Harvard campuses. The highlight of the Convention was the gala reception on Sept. 1 at the Grand Ballroom of the Hotel.

It was a Kodava wedding muhurtha-like atmosphere where guests sported their traditional attire. The programme included Kodava folk dances like ‘puthari kolaat’ by Kodava men, an up-tempo exhilarating ‘bode namme’ style carnival dance.

The programme also had panel discussions that covered topics like, “Our enchanting Kodagu: Change is inevitable! The resources are at their limits. How do we advance our beloved Kodagu on a global scale in a sustainable way, while preserving our unique culture, family values, and one-of-its-kind natural bounty? What role each person can play towards achieving these goals? How do we inspire youngsters and serve as role models to excel in whatever field they choose?”

The panellists included Belliappa Cheppudira, an educationist, coffee planter, an entrepreneur, an accomplished novelist and author of several books including ‘Tale of a Tiger’s Tail’, ‘Yarns from Coorg’, ‘Nuggets from Coorg History’, and ‘Victoria Gowramma: The Lost Princess of Coorg’.

Others were Dr. Zarin Machanda, Assistant Professor at Tufts University and Director of Kibale Chimpanzee Project in Uganda and Dr. Naren Anjaparavanda, Professor of Paediatrics at the University of Cincinnati.

After the discussion, the guests were treated to delicious authentic Kodagu food including ‘kadambuttu,’ ‘nooputtu,’ ‘Onakyerchi’ ‘nucchi kum’ curry, ‘kadale payasa’ and of course the traditional ‘pandi’ curry.

The evening’s programme also included an annual update from Kodava Koota and presentation of high school achievement awards sponsored by Bachranianda Muthappa and Rani Education Fund.

The convention ended with a resolve to organise the next convention at San Francisco Bay Area in 2020.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> News / September 22nd, 2019

Dubai: Emotional farewell offered to creative art director B K Ganesh Rai

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Leaders, Nri's / Pio's, Records, All, World Opinion

Dubai :

UAE Kannadigas and Tuluvas bid an emotional farewell to creative art director B K Ganesh Rai, who had come from the land of warriors and natural beauty Kodagu district of Karnataka, 25 years ago and is going back to his native after retirement.

The farewell function took place on Friday, August 2 at 11 am at the Fortune Plaza auditorium at Al Ghusais in Dubai.

The convener of UAE Kannadigaru and Tuluvara Sanghatane, which consists of 40 pro-Karnataka organizations, Sarvotham Shetty welcomed the gathering.

B K Ganesh Rai was serving as the creative art director and manager at the Gulf Public Relations and Advertising section, which is one of the B R Ventures group of companies that is owned by senior entrepreneur of UAE Dr B R Shetty.

Sarvotham Shetty lauded the social service done by Ganesh Rai by getting involved in various pro-Karnataka organizations that are active in UAE.

He also congratulated Majula Ganesh Rai, wife of Ganesh Rai and their children Monish Rai and Aishwarya Rai.

Ganesh Rai is sculptor by profession. In addition, he is an expert artist and computer graphic designing. He himself is a blood donor. He has played a stellar role in organizing the blood camps by pro-Karnataka associations. He has designed more or less all the emblems of Kannada associations. In addition, he has depicted the rich cultural heritage of Karnataka through various digital displays and canvas. He has also designed the invitation cards of meetings, functions, Sneha Milana, sports meets, leisure outings and literature conventions. Ganesh Rai, who is a writer also, has published articles about great personalities before and after the programmes of various organization in web media. He has also compered many Kannada events and participated as the chief guest.

Honorary accreditation certificate from Dubai government health authority

Ganesh Rai started blood donations camps from the time he was the president of Sharjah Karnataka Sangha and continued to organize blood donation camps through all pro-Karnataka associations from 2007 to 2019. Recognizing Ganesh Rai’s efforts in organizing blood donation camps, the Dubai government health authority conferred the honorary accreditation certificate on him. This letter was handed over to Ganesh Rai by Balakrishna Salian, organizer of blood camps and Sarvotham Shetty.

Felicitation to Ganesh Rai and family

Ganesh Rai and his family were felicitated in the presence of presidents and office bearers of pro-Karnataka organizations in UAE. Sarvotham Shetty, Premnath Shetty, Balakrishna Salian and Satish Poojary conducted the felicitation. Sampath Shetty read the letter of honour.

Ganesh Rai acknowledged the felicitation offered and thanked the office bearers and members of various associations. He also recalled the encouragement, support, honour and opportunity given to him during his journey of achievement in art.

Organizations served by Ganesh Rai

During his stay of 25 years in UAE, Ganesh Rai has served in Abu Dhabi Karnataka Sangha, Karnataka Sangha Dubai, Karnataka Sangha Sharjah, Karnataka NRI committee UAE, Al Ain Kannada Sangha, India Social and Cultural Center Abu Dhabi, UAE Tulukoota, Namma Tuluver, Tulu Siri Dubai, Dhwani Pratistana UAE, Kannadigaru Dubai, UAE Bunts, Billava Family Dubai, Byaris Cultural Forum Dubai, Mangloor Konkans Dubai, Gammat Kalavider Dubai, Yaksha Mitraru Dubai and Padmashali Samudaya UAE. Mogaveers UAE, Amchigele (GSB) Samaja UAE, Basava Samiti UAE, Ganiga Samaja UAE, Kulala Vrinda UAE, Vokkaliga Samaja UAE, Vishwakarma Seva Samiti UAE, Kodagu-Dakshina Kannad Gowda Samaja, Kodava Samaja, Devadiga Sangha Dubai, Kundapur Devdiga Mitraru (KADAM), Ramakshatriya Sangha UAE, Magadeepa cultural committee, Rajaka Samaja UAE, Tulu Pateruga Tulu Oripaga UAE, Varamahalaxmi Pooja Samiti, Samoohika Sri Satyanarayana Samiti, Brahmana Samaja UAE, Theeya Samaja, Karnataka journalists’ association UAE and Karnataka association Blood Donors’ Group.

Satish Poojary, one of the organizers of UAE Kannadigaru and Tuluvaru compered the event in a grand manner.

source: http://www.daijiworld.com / DaijiWorld.com / Home> Middle East / Media Release / August 05th, 2019

Obituary : MANEYAPANDA, Bidappa G., MD

Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Leaders, Nri's / Pio's, Records, All, World Opinion

ManeyapandaKF29jul2019

MANEYAPANDA – Bidappa G., MD July 23, 2019, age 83.

Forever husband of Barbara G. (nee Marker) Maneyapanda; loving father of Dinesh, Jeremy Maneyapanda and Chanda (Jason) Agro; cherished grandpa of Jacob, Cameron, Zachary and Alexander; caring brother of Ponnappa (Chitra), Belliappa (Shaka), Poonacha (Jamuna) and the late Kuttamma (late Ganesh); dear brother-in-law of Gary (Jan) Marker and the late Robert (Carol) Marker; also survived by nieces, nephews and friends. He did what he loved until the very end.

The family will be present on Saturday from 12-3 PM at the (Tonawanda Chapel) AMIGONE FUNERAL HOME, INC., 2600 Sheridan Drive (corner of Parker Blvd), where Funeral Services will follow at 3 PM.

Friends invited.

Share condolences at www.AMIGONE.com

Funeral Home: Amigone Funeral Home, Inc.

source: http://www.buffalonews.com / The Buffalo News / Home> Deaths> Death Notices / July 25th, 2019

Dubai: UAE Kannada Doctors’ Association celebrates National Doctors’ Day

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Nri's / Pio's, World Opinion

Dubai :

United Arab Emirates Kannada Doctors expressed gratitude to Hemmeya UAE Kannadigaru family for arranging meet and greet of Kannada doctors’ in Dubai on behalf of National Doctors’ day.

The stage was set on June 28 at Hotel Conrad, Sheikh Zayed Road in the city for the joyous celebration of ‘Doctors’ day’ and proud United Arab Emirates Kannada Doctors’ first ever get together in Dubai.

Hemmeya UAE Kannadigaru Dubai Family, the pioneers of promotion of Kannada language and culture in the UAE since four years organized the first ever gathering of Kannada Doctors with the theme ‘UAE Kannada Doctors Meet & Greet’.

Over 100 eminent doctors from all across the seven emirates attended this maiden occasion. The UAE national anthem, Indian national anthem, Karnataka state anthem ‘Jai Bharatha Jananiya Tanujaathe’ filled the hall with great spirit.

‘Kannada Deepa’ was lit by Dr Guru Madhva Rao, President, RAK Medical and Health Sciences University along with the Hemmeya UAE Kannadigaru organizing members with the prayers of well being to humanity.

Dr Savitha Mysore from Hemmeya UAE Kannadigaru family warmly welcomed the guests musing about their medical college days, professional challenges, dedication, success stories and explaining the purpose of the formation of the group and its vision.

Vishnu Murthy shared Hemmeya UAE Kannadigaru’s works, vision and mission to promote the Kannada Language and culture and sought the doctors’ support to take it to newer heights, which was warmly reciprocated with assurance and applause.

Self-introduction of the Doctors had many nostalgic moments as each one of them shared their home towns, education, specialization, workplace, worldwide and UAE experiences and love for Kannada. Teachers found their students and vice versa.

A special cake cutting celebration was arranged by Hemmeya team celebrating Doctors’ day. The cake was cut by Dr Guru Madva Rao, Dr Vasanth, Dr Anil Kumar, Dr Aris, Dr Shanthi, Dr Ragavendra Bhat, Dr Mamatha, Dr Fauzia, Dr Godfred, Dr Vasanth, Dr Anil along with all the other doctors.

Several key points on forming the Doctors’ Associaton, conduting Medical CME, cultural meets, professional workshops, and Doctors’ protection were discussed. Dr.Guru Madva Rao welcomed all the doctors to RAK University Campus with open arms and to utilize the facilities for professional development.

Rafiq Ali Kundanda Kunjila and Dr Lekha Thammaiah explained how lives are lost during golden hour of emergency and patients had to be rushed from Kodagu to far away Mangaluru, Mysuru or Bengaluru due to lack of facilities and made an appeal for an early set up of Super-speciality Hospital in Kodagu supporting the ongoing campaign in Karnataka. Doctors supported the noble cause by raising their hands and speaking in one voice that it is long overdue for decades and an absolute necessity to save lives. A video appeal was recorded for submission to the Government of Karnataka.

Vote of thanks was rendered by Dr Lekha Kodagu, from Hemmeya UAE Kannadigaru group, in which she thanked all the doctors for their precious presence and appealed to connect all the Kannada doctors, and to work for the professional development, give employment opportunities to Kannadigas and promotion of Kannada culture and language was well received.

The lunch with the North Karnataka cuisine of ‘Jolada Rotti Oota’ was followed by singing of Kannada songs by the multi-talented Dr Santosh, Dr Manjunath, Dr Mamatha and Dr Lekha.

The doctors immensely appreciated and thanked the organizing members of Hemmeya UAE Kannadigaru family Rafiq Ali Kodagu, Sudeep Davanagere, Senthil Bengaluru, Shashidhar, Mamatha Sharja, Hadiya Mandya, Pallavi Basavaraj, Vishnu Murthy Mysore, Dr Savitha Mohan, Dr Lekha Thammaiah for bringing all the minds and hearts together and expressed their strong support to their future events and initiatives through active participation.

Programme video youtube link

source: http://www.daijiworld.com / DaijiWorld.com / Home> Middle East / July 04th, 2019

‘Sinkholes to Stars’ Monday at GLMHC in Sanctuary Series

Education, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature, Nri's / Pio's, Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinion
Professor Bopi Biddanda
Professor Bopi Biddanda

On Monday from 7 to 8:30 p.m. is the next program in the Sanctuary Lecture Series, “Sinkholes to Stars: Diving into Lake Huron’s Sinkholes while Reaching for the Heavens.”

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for this free program at Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center, 500 West Fletcher St., Alpena.

Grand Valley State University Professor Bopi Biddanda will share the excitement of over a decade of exploration of life in Lake Huron’s sinkholes carried out in collaboration with Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, and ponder the relevance of these findings to major issues of both scientific and societal interest such as Earth’s current biologic and physiologic diversity, oxygenation of early Earth in the distant past, and humanity’s ongoing search for extra-terrestrial life.

Biddanda is an aquatic microbial ecologist studying the movement of carbon driven by microbes at the Annis Water Resources Institute at GVSU. He grew up in the lush subtropical mountains of Southwest India, and came to the U.S. in the 1980s to obtain a Ph.D. in ecology from the University of Georgia. Subsequently, he went on research and teaching adventures at the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research (Germany), National Institute of Oceanography (India), University of Texas Marine Science Institute, University of Rio Grande (Brazil) and University of Minnesota.

For the last decade and a half at GVSU, he has been studying the microbial cycling of elements in the Laurentian Great Lakes — exploring life in extreme environments such as Lake Huron’s sinkholes and operating a world-class time-series buoy observatory in Muskegon Lake.

Courtesy Photo A diver navigates a sink hole in Lake Huron.
Courtesy Photo A diver navigates a sink hole in Lake Huron.

He teaches classes in marine biology and aquatic ecology, and directs NASA’s Michigan Space Grant Consortium programs at GVSU. He hopes to continue to study Earth’s lakes — one of our most vital freshwater commons — as sentinels of change.

For more information, contact Stephanie Gandulla at steph.gandulla@noaa.gov or 989-884-6200.

source: http://www.thealpenanews.com / The Alpena News / Home> Life / June 06th, 2019

Session on job hunting, interview and career guidance tips for Kannadigas in Dubai on Apr 12

Nri's / Pio's

Dubai :

Hemmeya UAE Kannadigaru Dubai and Coorg Old Students Association-UAE is pleased to announce a session on job hunting, interview and career guidance tips at Pearl City Suites Hotel Ballroom on April 12.

The session will be only for Kannadiga job aspirants only.

Job aspirants from Karnataka and candidates currently working in UAE looking for job change shall get information regarding interview, job search portals, and CV preparation. HR experts shall guide the attendees regarding the above and recruitment process.

Business owners and company recruiters can meet aspirants at the venue and explore opportunities. Non-Kannadiga recruiters are also welcome.

Job seekers who ever comes for session, can bring updated CV (Resume). There is a possibility of job fair at the same venue.

Time: 4.00 pm – 5.00 pm

Date: April 12. 2019

Place: Pearl City Suites Hotel Ballroom, Deira,Dubai (next to Commercial Bank of Dubai, opposite to Deira City Centre parking 3 & 4, Deira City Centre Metro Exit #1)

Entry Free (Karnataka identity to be shown at the venue)

For more information contact: 0567012123 or 0581872686

source: http://www.daijiworld.com / DaijiWorld.com / Home> Middle East / by Media Release / April 11th, 2019

$10,000 Donated To Kodagu Relief Fund

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Green Initiatives / Environment, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Nri's / Pio's

Dr. Subramanya Bhat and his wife Dr. Annapoorna Bhat of Atlanta, USA, donated $ 10,000 (about Rs. 7 lakh) to Kodagu Relief Fund recently.

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Picture shows the couple handing over the cheque to Rtn. PGD G.K. Balakrishnan of Rotary West at a function held at Radisson Blu in city.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Photo New / March 2019

‘Food 4 Cast’ features Lowcountry cafe’ with Indian flare

Coffee News, Nri's / Pio's, World Opinion

Mount Pleasant, S.C. (WCIV) :

Whether you’re looking for a hot cup of tea, some authentic Indian food, or a hard cocktail, you’ll find it at Coorg Indian Café in Mt. Pleasant.

Owners Preethi and Darshan Ayandra are both full time employees of Boeing, but their coffee concept has been percolating for a long time.

They are from the coffee-growing region of Coorg in India. Indian Coffee is primarily distributed to Europe and Russia, but hasn’t been served up in the United States before now, the owners say.

Eventually they’d like to sell the coffee by the bag!

Coffee isn’t the only thing brewing at this café. Food is also a shining star. You won’t find the standard Indian fare. Curry Chicken and Coorg Ribs are traditional recipes from their region.

All entrees are served with a variety of chutneys with different levels of heat. Feeling bold? Try the mint!

Coorg is closed on Monday and Tuesday. The owners would like to expand their staff, so if you’re interested in working for them, stop in!

source: http://www.abcnews4.com / ABC4 NEWS / Home> News / by Emiley Gracey / March 01st, 2019