This Columbus Day weekend, New England Kannadigas (people of Karnataka origin) gathered at Charles Whitcomb School in Marlboro, MA, in huge numbers for a two-day gala celebration of “Ratna Mahotsava”, 40th anniversary event of Mandaara, New England Kannada Koota (NEKK).  It was billed as a celebration of talent and Karnataka culture, and it lived up to the expectation!

It was attended by more than 600 guests and everyone agreed that this was an event like no other show at NEKK.  President of NEKK, Praveena Naduthota beams with a sense of pride and accomplishment - "it was a great team effort, credit goes to many volunteers and families who have worked hard for many months to plan and implement a great celebration".

On that crispy Saturday morning, guests were welcomed by the reception committee led by treasurer, Shantharaj Hanchur.  First, they were treated to mouth-watering Karnataka breakfast.  Vice president, Mamta Kudlugi delivered the welcome address. This was followed by the inaugural group song that was directed by Sunitha Ananthaswamy.  A highlight of that morning was the Ratna Mahotsava theme song – a complete NEKK effort that was very well received.  The song, composed by Madhusudhan Akkihebbal has the tune and music composed by Sowmyashree Sandeep.  On this occasion, chief guest, Bhuvaneshwari Hegde, a well-known Kannada author and humor writer, officially inaugurated the event and also released the souvenir, “Deevige” that was brought out by a team led by Madhusudhan Akkihebbal.  Past presidents of NEKK were also recognized and thanked for their efforts.

After a sumptuous lunch, the cultural events included classical music presentations by students of Anubhava School of Music led by Tara Bangalore and a Bharatanatyam presentation by the students of Sridevi Tirumalai’s Natyamani School of Dance. Sunitha and Anitha Ananthswamy, daughters of Kannada light music pioneer, Mysore Ananthaswamy, presented popular light music numbers.  That afternoon also had shades of humor.  Popular Kannada theatre group, Ranga Tharanga presented  a satire play, “Donku Baala” that was very well received by the audience.  Prakash Purohit directed the play.  Sudha Baragur, a well known standup comedian from Karnataka enthralled the audience with her penchant for humor in daily life.  The fact that Kannadigas in New England are mastering  art forms that are popular in other parts of India was evident in Chandrika Sripad and her team’s Odissi dance presentation.  The evening turned melodious again with popular playback singers, BR Chaya, Ram Prasad and NEKK’s own popular singer Sowmyashree Sandeep presenting old and new Kannada film hits.  Men and women didn’t hesitate to shake a leg and enjoy the melodies!

Tasty dinner provided a fitting finale to a hectic day of activities.  Ramgopal Deshpande, coordinator of the food committee says that food is second only to entertainment, and his team ensured that all guests were fed with the best Karnataka cuisine on both days.  One may wonder how were the kids enjoying the day!  Bhanu Prakash, secretary of NEKK, Murali Kudlugi and Madhu Mattihalli coordinated a “Kids Corner” that provided kids with a variety of entertainment and fun activities.  The visiting artists were taken care of by Asha Kumar and her hospitality team.  The sheer variety and quality of entertainment programs made the audience very happy.  Vaishali Hegde, who heads the entertainment committee, thinks that it was an effort to present a blend of Karnataka’s rich culture and also portray the great spirit of Mandaara Kannada Koota.  Padma Naduthota and her decoration committee members ensured a welcome and colorful setting in the lobby and on stage.

Just as they did on the first day, Sudhakara Rao and his audio committee members showed up early to take care of the audio to meet the Sunday program requirements.  They were very well assisted by the stage committee led by Aneesh.  Post-lunch presentations started off with a scintillating instrumental jugalbandi show with Arun Ramamurthy on violin and Indrajit-Roy Chowdhary on sitar.  An inspiring couple, Indu and Prof. Suryanarayan, one of the earliest founders of NEKK, were acknowledged onstage and the audience was very happy to see them grace the occasion. Bhuvaneshwari Hegde addressed the audience and shared her views on humor in Kannada literature.  She also captured audience attention in a conversation with Vaishali Hegde.  A well known drama troupe from CT led by Malli Sannappanavar presented a hilarious play, “Sri Kamalananda Mahatme” that showcased the talents of Kannadigas of our neighboring state.  Vasantha Venkatesh and Pradeep Vasudevan’s gamaka vaachana (recitation of episodes from our great epics) impressed the audience. Jyothi Shetty and her team presented a fashion show that was an instant hit with the audience.  The colorful costumes were eye-catching and they portrayed brides and grooms of various part of India.  Sudha Baragur presented another round of comedy talk show.  Deepa Srinath, a well known dancer and Teacher, presented Bharatanatyam based on Kannada devotional songs.  The prime time event in the evening was a Yakshagana (a popular dance based art form of coastal Karnataka whose players wear colorful costumes and elaborate make-up) performance by Yaksha Manjusha led by Vidya Kolyur.  The episode “Narakasura Vadhe” thrilled the audience.  At the post-dinner session, Madhusudhan Akkihebbal presented a quiz show, ” Karnataka Sourabha” for qualified finalists.  This was a novel presentation at NEKK. 

This brought the curtains down on the two-day cultural extravaganza.  NEKK committees had worked on this for months, and fund-raising activities led by Sudhakara Rao, Nagendra Rao and Sanjay Gowda ensured a smooth conduct of the program.  This program will further establish NEKK as an exemplary non-profit organization in New England; one that strives for its members to maintain their connection with Karnataka and its heritage, and also give back to the New England community, in general.  When it was all over, members left with sweet memories and their camera full of memories – one couldn’t stop humming Dr. Rajkumar’s famous song “ellaadaru iru, entaadaru iru, endendigoo nee Kannadavaagiru ..”! (where ever you are, whatever you are, be Kannadiga for ever)

|