Last Update: June 09, 2008
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Hoon Khabbar
Congratulations:
Houston Restaurant Guide’s Fearless Critic, that has gained repute for its brutally honest reviews, has lauded local vegetarian eatery, Udipi Café, owned and operated by Satish & Sangeeta Rao, of Humble, TX with the Total Pleasure-Grade A award, the highest for any South Asian restaurant in this city in December 2007.
BETH KULKARNI of The Woodlands, TX is the founding trustee of the Hindu Temple of The Woodlands. This is a special temple in terms of its involvement in many educational activities from the beginning. See www.WoodlandsHinduTemple.org for more information.
During the Republic Day celebrations in Jan. 2008, Government of India awarded the most coveted Padma Bhushan Award to Sri. K. V. KAMATH, CEO of ICICI Bank. The category was Trade & Industry. Under Kamath’s stewardship, the Bank has catapulted to new heights on a global scene.
The ACE Awards Program in the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care recognizes Achievement, Commitment and Excellence (ACE) of its employees. ANJANA PAI and her project team won in the Customer Service category for the year 2006. The award was handed out in a ceremony on January 21, 2008 by the Minister of Health George Smitherman and Deputy Minister Ron Sapsford.
Three distinguished Konkani personalities who have made rich contributions in their fields were presented distinguished achievement awards by Dr T M A Pai Foundation here on Tuesday January 15th 2008.
The awardees are:
Mr. S. V. PIKALE, Renowned advocate, Supreme Court, Mumbai
Mr. G. V. MASURKAR, Eminent Pharmaceutical Manufacturer, Mumbai and
Mr. JOHN D’SILVA, Renowned Promoter of Co-op Banks, Mumbai.
New Arrivals:
MEERA, a baby girl to Premila & Kiran Mandrekar on November 16th 2007 in NYC. The maternal grand parents are Ganesh & Seema Bhat of Malba, NY.
MALVIKA, a baby girl to Vivek & Manasi Kolpe of Simi Valley, CA on Dec. 20th 2007 in Thousand Oaks, CA. A little sister to Vir. The proud grandparents are Vijaykumar & Jyoti Kolpe of Mumbai and Maya & (late) Suresh Maskeri of Mumbai.
KHUSHAAL, a 6 lb 6 oz, baby boy to Narasimha & Rekha Nayak of Tallahassee, FL on January 15th 2008. A baby brother to Khushi The paternal grand parents are Nagesh & Sharada Nayak of Mangalore and visiting young Khushaal are his maternal grand parents Prabhakar & Jaya Kamath of Mangalore.
ANYA, a 6 lb 9.6 oz, 19-1/2” tall baby girl to Richard & Priya Page of New York, NY on February 5th 2008, a baby sister to Aasha. The paternal grand parents are Michael & Olwen Page and the maternal grand parents are Chandrakanth & Sheila Mahale of High Bridge, NJ.
ARMAAN, a baby boy to Hemant & Linda Keny of San Jose, CA on Feb. 8, 2008, a brother to Megan and Taj,. The proud grandparents, Vasant & Surekha Keny of La Palma, CA.
ANIKA KRISHNA, a baby girl to Sanat & Priya Amladi of Brentwood, CA on Feb. 23, 2008 in Santa Monica. The proud grandparents are Shyam & Meera Amladi of Los Angeles and Kishore and Sudha Adur of Santa Cruz, Mumbai.
Engagement:
Suresh & Usha Shenoy of Sugar Land, TX celebrated the engagement of their daughter, Kum. SHEILA with Chi. SANTOSH, s/o Prabhu & Kanta Reddy of The Woodlands, TX on Saturday February 23rd 2008 at their residence.
Newly Weds:
Chi. NARENDRA of Santa Clarita, CA , s/o Drs. Nayan & Pratibha Nayak of Pune married to Sow. ANUSHREE, d/o Kiran & Mrunalini Laturkar of Pune on Dec. 28th 2007 in Pune, India.
Relocation:
The KAMATH family, Ramachandra & Sunita together with their son, Rohan, relocated from Kansas City, MO to 14324 Norwood Street, Leawood, KS 66224-3912. The new telephone is (816)-550-6554 (Cell).
The BHANDARKAR family, Ratnakar & Srimathi, have relocated within Mississaga to 3650 Kaneff Crescent, # 2007, Mississauga, Ont. L5A 4A1. The telephone remains at same at (905)-896-4539 and email ID: pd.sudha@sympatico.ca
The PAI family, Ramdas & Sudha have relocated from Colton, CA to 1409 Elizabeth Street, Redlands, CA 92373. The new telephone is (909)-894-4054.
The BYKER family, Shalini & Erik have relocated from Washington, DC to 222 Northlawn Avenue, East Lansing, MI 48823. Their email: rickandi@hotmail.com
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KONKANI HAPPENINGS
Houston Area Amchigale Association (HAAS) had a dinner cruise aboard the Spirit of Texas on Saturday Dec 22nd 2007. It was a great chance for everyone to have a good time with great music, delicious food and of course, superb company! The young children were thrilled to have a Santa there with gifts for them. Many thanks to Ayshwarya and Chetan for choosing the gifts for the children, wrapping them beautifully and even including a gift certificate with each gift! Ira did a splendid job as Santa! All got a chance to join our friends who were celebrating days that were special for them in December- there were birthdays, anniversaries and even a graduation. Many thanks to Chaya for the tasty cake! A big thanks to Kumar and Nikhil Pai for providing the great music for us to dance to. The night would have been just perfect if the weather had cooperated. It was great to have a large turn-out, of all age groups, having fun together.
The annual Konkani Association of Southern California (KASC) sponsored Shivaratri Bhajan was held on Saturday, February 22, 2008 at the residence of Drs. Shobha and Ashok Naimpally in Cerritos. The social hour started at 4 pm with delicious dhokla, munchies and tea. The bhajan was led by Nandini and Sridhar Rao. There were about 25 people in attendance singing the bhajans and chanting the shlokas. After the arati, there was guided meditation facilitated by Shobha Naimpally. It was a satisfying spiritual experience. This was followed by a sumptuous potluck dinner and more socialization. We are very grateful to the Naimpallys for welcoming us to their beautiful residence and their hospitality………………………………………. (By Ajit D. Pai and Sudha M. Pai)
Houston Area Amchigale Association (HAAS) celebrated their annual SatyaNarayan Puja on Saturday Feb 9th 2008 at the Sugar Land Community Center in Sugar Land, TX. The first event of 2008, included the Puja, Bhajans, act in the Katha, and delicious food.
A big thank you to Sadanand Pai, Ramkrishna Prabhu and Surendra Bhat for performing the puja and explaining the steps. Our thanks are also in order again to Ramkrishna Prabhu our MC who made this function livelier. Many thanks to Umesh Baliga and Kumar Sirur for coming early to set up the sound system and keep it running well throughout the program. We sincerely thank Didi Baliga who made sure that the appetizers were warmed up and ready for everyone when they arrived. Thanks to Maya for the Satyanarayan photograph, Sharda Pai for setting up the puja, Poornima Bhat for making a nice mala, Manikkam mai Bhat and Pushpa Desai for providing us with the mango leaves. It was a pleasure to listen to the katha written by Gauri Sirur and read by Rohit Kamath, Rohan Kini, Ankur Bhagwat, Sharath and Kiran Bhatt, Varun Nayak, Ramesh Kamath, Hema and Raj Kamath, Ram Nayak, Anu Malya, Mohit Nilekini, Suresh Nayak, Pushpa Desai, Akhila Bhat, Deepak Nayak, Amol-pacchi, Jyoti Nayak, Anu Nayak and Chaya Ubhaykar. We were lucky to have our talented members like Gaurav Nayak, Samhita Bhat, Uma Kamath, Hema Kamath, Pushpa Desai, Maya Prabhu, Ramkrishna Prabhu, Ramesh Kamath and Aparna Kamath, sing bhajans or recite sholkas while the rest of us were enjoying lunch. Thanks to Ranjana Golikeri, Hema Kamath, Gauri Sirur, Neeta Balsavar and Jayanth Kabad for making the sapad baksha for us. And of course our special thanks to Prem Mam, Ram Nayak, Ravindra Pai, Shanti Pai, Santosh Bhagwat, Tara Baliga and every one else for arranging the chairs, tables and food. It was a pleasure to have so many friends help in serving lunch, clearing, cleaning the hall and disposing of the trash. Thanks to all whom we might have inadvertently overlooked. We missed those who could not make it to this function. We did pray on your behalf to the Lord SatyaNarayan for unity, peace and prosperity. Hope to see you at our next function!
KHABBAR FROM KULAR
By: - Vishwa Konkani Sardar BASTI VAMAN SHENOY
All India Konkani Parishad 26th Confenrence will be held at Kochi(Kerala) in the first week of February 2008. Shri T.M.V. Shenoy will be the Chairman, the Reception Committee, Konkani Prachar Sabha will host the Conference.
Noted Stage and Film Director, Actor Kasaragod Chinna and his team staged Konkani Drama `Gaanti' at Town Hall, Mangalore on 04.10.2007 and witnessed by a packed audience. `Gaanti' Konkani drama was also staged at Bantwal S.V.S. Temple. H.H.Sri Shivananda Saraswathi Swamy of Sri Kaivalya Mutt was present.
`Sahiitya Akademi Fellowship' was conferred on Shri Ravindra Kelekar, Veteran Konkani writer, freedom fighter, ardent follower of Mahatma Gandhi was felicitated at Panaji, Goa on 06.10.2007.
Seminar on `Vishwa Konkani Parichay Kosh' was held at Saraswath Vidya Mandir, Mumbai, at Panaji, Goa and Canara College at Mangalore. Large number of Konkani writers, historians, columnists were present.
Golden Show(50th) of famous Konkani Drama `Nanda Deepa' by Konkani Triveni Kala Sangam, Mumbai was staged at Town Hall, Mangalore. Shri K.K.Pai, Manipal presided. Basti Vaman Shenoy was Chief Guest.
`Ullal Srinivas Mallya - Life and achievements' Konkani Book written by Basti Vaman Shenoy is now translated to Tulu language by Shri Muddu Moodubelle, Assistant Director, All India Radio, Mangalore and released at a function by noted Kannada Professor and Research fellow Mr. Amrith Someshwar at Mangalore on 7th December 2007.
Mr. Kumble Narasimha Prabhu has been elected as President of Kanara Chamber of Commerce & Industries, Mangalore for the year 2007-2008 and Mr. Narendra L. Nayak(of Expert Coaching and Educational Institutions), Mangalore has been nominated as Member of the Advisory Board of L.I.C. of India. Both are felicitated by Vishwa Saraswath Sammelan Anniversary Celebration Committee on 8th December 2007. Vice District Governor, Dist. 324-D5, Lions Clubs International Mr. K. Mohan Kamath(Tile Industry) was the Chief Guest.
Sahasra Chandra Darshan Celebrations of Shri S.V. Pikale, Founder President All India Saraswat Cultural Organisation was celebrated at Pikalewadi, Collem, Goa during 4th to 6th December 2007. Seminar on A.I.S.C.O. was held during the 3 days' celebrations. H.H. Swamijis of Sri Gokarn Partagali Mutt, Sri Kaivalya Mutt and Sri Chitrapur Mutt blessed Sri Pikale and the Samaj.
Upcoming Konkani Events
Update on Konkani Sammelan 2008 Activities
With only 4 months to go, the various committees are busy ensuring that all details are handled and our guests have a wonderful experience. Our website is constantly changing as our plans get more and more final, so keep an eye on the homepage for the latest updates and feel free to send us questions at help@konkanisammlan.org .
Registration has begun to pick-up and we are now over 330 registrants, growing every day, from all over the World. We’ve been hearing from a lot of folks that they are “planning to come” and will register soon. For those of you saying that, keep in mind that on May 1st registration fees will jump to $200 for an adult registration. $200 is still a great deal for the entertainment and food that awaits you, but the earlier you register, the better we can plan to ensure we amaze you!!
In addition to registering, be sure to book your hotel rooms at the Hyatt!! For the best experience we highly encourage everyone to stay at the hotel. It will really help make the most of your time!! Rooms will be available at the discounted rate until June 1st, and can be booked directly on the Hyatt Website. Please follow this link to make your reservations: http://santaclara.hyatt.com/groupbooking/claranaka2008
To get your juices flowing, here’s a quick highlight of what we have planned, and just in case you think we forgot, we have left plenty of time for the breakfasts/lunches/snacks and dinners; o yeah our dining hall seats everyone at once, so don’t line up!!
For more details, you can visit the Program Page.
July 3rd 2008
The morning of July 3rd we will be offering a Medical Symposium. More details will be available on the website soon. http://konkanisammelan.org/2008/medicalsymp.asp
Registration will open at 3:00PM
We have setup a Panchadik Lounge right next to the registration area, so feel free to meet old friends and socialize in the lounge before or after you register.
In the evening, we will have a happy hour featuring some California wines and an up and coming Konkani Stand-up Comedian.
The evening will culminate with a classical music program by a noted artist after a sumptuous Konkani dinner
The Panchadik Lounge will be open until 11PM to allow everyone to relax and catch up with friends.
The Youth will be holding a welcome event from 9PM to midnight, so for the Youth be sure to come early on the 3rd.
July 4th 2008
Registration will be open all morning for those of you that couldn’t make it on July 3rd
The program will start promptly at 9AM, and believe us, you don’t want to miss this.
Chief Guest Prakash Padukone, Badminton World Champion, will motivate and inspire us!!
In the afternoon our seminars/breakout sessions will kickoff with a talk from Padma Vibhushan K.V. Kamath Managing Director & CEO of ICICI Bank and Smt. Jaya Row, Management Consultant and Founder of Vedanta Vision
A unique blend of classical and modern music will be presented by our Konkani Youth and Prasanna, a highly accomplished and versatile professional musician
July 5th 2008
The day starts with Regional programs, including plays from Chicago and Los Angeles.
We’ll have another exciting year of Konkani Idol, so be sure to come out and cheer on the Youth as they showcase their talents!!
The weekend wraps up with an amazing closing ceremony and a formal banquet dinner to celebrate the weekend.
Based on feedback from previous Sammelans, we have tried our best to reserve several hours each day for meeting and greeting long-lost friends, relatives and loved ones. The Panchadik Lounge will transport you back to Konkani towns and hamlets where you can sit back, relax and chat into the wee hours!!
We look forward to seeing you soon and wish you a very enjoyable and exciting Sammelan!
Devu Baren Karo
2008 Konkani Sammelan Committees
Nominations for Distinguished Awards of Excellence for the next Sammelan (KS-2008):
Do you have friends or relatives that have outstanding achievements? Here is your opportunity to get them recognition at the Konkani Sammelan 2008. The Sammelan plans to honor distinguished Konkanis from North America for their achievements. Please take a few minutes to nominate deserving candidates. The Awards Committee is soliciting nominations of candidates in the following six categories:
Arts – for demonstrated excellence in the performing, visual, or liberal arts.
Science/Research – for achievements in the fields of biological, physical, mathematical or medical sciences.
Technology – for contributions to engineering and technology in engineering, computer science or other technical fields.
Entrepreneurship/ Professional Achievement – for having demonstrated leadership, business acumen and management skills in their chosen fields.
Education/Public Service – for outstanding teaching or administrative skills in Education, having held public office or performed social/ spiritual work.
Outstanding Youth – for distinguished academic and extracurricular achievements.
Nominations (including the award category and a description of the candidate’s achievements) should be addressed to: KS 2008 Awards Committee at : bshiralkar@gmail.com (preferable) or mailed to c/o Bharat Shiralkar, 1127 Quail Ridge Ct., San Jose, CA 95120. Thanks !
NAKA, the North American Konkani Association
The NAKA Board now consists of:
Vasanth Bhat, Damodar Baliga and Nina Padukone (Founding members), Ramesh Kamath & Bharat Shiralkar, Vasant Acharya & Sandhya Kamath, Suren Kamath, Sudhir Golikeri & Suresh Shenoy, Ramadas Kamath, Ashok Bhatt & Sadanand Mankikar. Seema Kamath, Ranjit Shiralkar & Sheila Shenoy (Youth).
This quarter, the NAKA Board approved to give $30k seed money to Konkani Sammelan – 2008. The Board has been busy developing fund raising strategy for KS-2008 and other ways to help preserve our culture here in North America.
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If any North American Konkani have any constructive suggestions, please,
contact any of the NAKA Board Members or send them to NAKA, 2465 Bergen
Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11234. Phone: (718)-251-4795 and Email: naka1@indiatimes.com
NAKA - Statement Of Accounts
|
Date |
Description |
Credit, $ |
Debit, $ |
| 12/01/2007 | Balance from last report |
74,870.12 |
|
| 01/06/2008 | Seed money to KS-2008 |
30,000.00 |
|
| 02/28/2008 | Interest |
352.83 |
|
| 02/28/2008 | Final Balance: |
45,222.95 |
Signed: Damodar Baliga
Treasurer, NAKA
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