Past Presidents of Kasturi Kannada Sangha
The history of Kasturi Kannada Sangha A group of Kannada speaking people met at a picnic during the summer of 1984 and decided to create an organization to celebrate and cherish the linguistic and cultural traditions of the Kannada speaking diaspora of the greater Cleveland area. At the suggestion of Mrs. Sumitra Dattatreya, they chose to name it Kasturi Kannada Sangha. Mr. Vasudev Kamath, who hails from Shringeri and moved to the Cleveland area in 1983, was chosen the inaugural president. The first event of this fledgling organization was Ganesha Pooja in 1984, with the participation of 24 families. Mr. Kamath was assisted by an able committee which included Mr. R. Srinivas (Vice President), Dr. Usha Shankaran (Secretary), Mr. Sridhar Phadki (Treasurer), as well as Mrs. Bharati Udayashankar, Mrs. Janaki Patil and Mrs. Vijaya Vishwanath. A great tradition was thus born!
Mr. R. Srinivas took over as the second president from 1986-1987. He is originally from Bengaluru and resided in northeast Ohio between 1972 and 1987. During his tenure, about 30 families regularly attended the Sangha events. Mr. Srinivas recalled that 7 of these families, including his own, were particularly close and met almost every 2 weeks. Their children grew up together and felt they were all part of an extended family despite being away from the shores of the motherland.
Mr. R. Srinivas took over as the second president from 1986-1987. He is originally from Bengaluru and resided in northeast Ohio between 1972 and 1987. During his tenure, about 30 families regularly attended the Sangha events. Mr. Srinivas recalled that 7 of these families, including his own, were particularly close and met almost every 2 weeks. Their children grew up together and felt they were all part of an extended family despite being away from the shores of the motherland.
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Mr Vasudev Kamath
Mr R.Srinivas Dr Usha Shankaran Mrs Leela Ramachandra Dr Sudha Kadambi Mrs Geeta Varadarajulu Mrs.Sandhya Phanindra Mrs. Vidya Nadig Prof.Sree Srinath Prof.Ram Nagaraj Mrs Ramya Rajashekar Mr Dwarakanath Mr Janardhan Kamath (2008-2009) Dr Suma Achar (2009-2010) Mrs Hema Vartak (2011-2012) Dr Naveen Uli (2013-2014) Mr Suhas Sabade (2015-2016) Mrs Meena Mahesh (2017-2018) Mrs Pushpalatha Venkataraman (2019-2021) Mrs.Deepa Rao (2022-2023) |
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What our Ex-President says
Namaskara, My name is Leela Ramachandra. I was a part of Kannada Kasturi from its inception and later it was a privilege and honor to serve as its President. During our time we were a small group of members with limited resources, but our members were ever ready to support the programs who volunteered to cook and clean. Being a part of the Sangha has left an indelible impact on my life’s journey. Finally, I would like to give a special appreciation to the present committee for their tireless work and service to the Kannada community. BEST WISHES TO KANNADA KASTURI SANGHA!
- Mrs. Leela Ramachandra KKS 4th president 
Dear Kasturi Kannada Friends, As a past president, it was a pleasure to be part of our Cleveland Kasturi Kannada Sangha. We made so many new friends and learnt a lot from each other. Some of the dances & dramas that we performed as a group brings back beautiful memories of those days! I am so glad to see the youngsters taking part in making this tradition continue. It is only because of your active involvement, enthusiasm & cooperation, that this group is thriving year after year! Wishing you all the best!
- Mrs.Vidhya Nadig KKS 8th President |
Hello , my Kannada family members. My name is Mrs. Usha Shankaran. I had the honor and privilege of being the President of our Beloved Kasturi Kannada Sangha during 1988-1989 when it was just 3 year old. I have wonderful memories of that year having lot of fun working with our Commitee members planning our functions. I am extremely proud to see our association thriving splendidly in the hands of the younger generation of kannadigas. God bless our Kannada Kasturi Sangha!
- Mrs. Usha Shankaran KKS President 1988 -1989 
Namaskara I am Suma Achar a long-time member of Kasturi and had the privilege of the sangha’s Presidency in 2009-2010. When I arrived in US in 1995 Kasturi was a place where I met some kind people who became my lifelong friends and I cherish those friendships to this day with joy. In 2009 the responsibility of organizing ’Kasturi 25’ fell into my lap and I accepted it with the knowledge that I can DO it with help of my exceptional committee. I am thankful to my committee, my secretary Archana Mood and my beloved husband Sudhir Achar who stood by my side to make the function a grand success and will be in our memories for a long time. My best wishes and support to the present committee and the future committees to continue to uphold our art and culture with grace and dignity.
- Mrs. Suma Achar KKS President 2009 -2010 |
Namaste Cleveland Kannada Kasturi priyarigae, When Shobha and I moved to Cleveland from DC on a snowy day on December 31, 1987, I swore that I will get ourselves out of here in two years. By Ugadi ‘88, we were getting comfortable and attended the Kasturi function. Ramprasad (the now famous singer) creatively sang a parody on all the ladies and promptly got brickbats, though I thought it was funny. Surprise, next there were elections. I contested and promptly got the lowest vote. However, over that year we got the privilege of coming in first to decorate any Kannada function and leave the last carrying the trash out with us. Thus began the ‘maitri.’ Incidentally, that was the last year that we had elections in Kasturi. Those days we would have three annual events – Ugadi, Summer Picnic, and Deepavali.
After serving in all officer capacities (the work did not change with the title), in 1999 Shobha and I were invited to be President(s) of Kasturi. During those two years we had 13 events: Hirannaiah Mitra Mandali drama from none other than the Master, two Kannada full length feature films at Case Western Theatre, Daasara Dina competition at Shiva Vishnu Temple, Music Concert by Singer Shreenath and Tulu Film Music Director Ramachandra Rao, Harikathe by Aralumalligae Parthsarathy, Pandit Rajeev Taranath on Sarod (jointly with Asha for Education), and hosted Mayamruga Director Sitaram on his promotional tour of their CD set. We collected $11k funds via a dance event from Cleveland Arts Prize winner Sujatha Srinivasan to benefit a girl only Maitreyi Gurukula in Moorkaje, Bantwal Taluk, South Canara. We participated in two locally produced Kannada plays directed by Latha and Dwarkanath during Deepavali with a bunch of us adult amateurs acting. I distinctly remember ‘Nannavala kaagada’ by S. Gundu Rao wherein yours truly played the hero, with Suma Achar playing the opposite. Children were young and would tag along to all the Kasturi events, and we thought that it was a great way to introduce our Kannada culture to them before they become tweens strengthening their wings to fly away. Every Ugadi tradition dictated that we needed to have bisi holigae, bisi haalu and lots of tuppa. Coordination was challenging, but there was always a volunteer who stepped up to transport the drama artists from Columbus, cook for fifty families, or pick up Udupa’s holigae from Pittsburgh. Kasturi meetings were wonderful way to enjoy a relaxed weekend lunch or dinner at a committee member’s home. Thirty-five years out in snowy Cleveland, we are proud of how Kasturi has grown, and the tradition is continued by younger enthusiasts. We wish the best to all of you and your family. Happy Deepawali in advance!
- Prof. Sree Sreenath KKS 9th President
After serving in all officer capacities (the work did not change with the title), in 1999 Shobha and I were invited to be President(s) of Kasturi. During those two years we had 13 events: Hirannaiah Mitra Mandali drama from none other than the Master, two Kannada full length feature films at Case Western Theatre, Daasara Dina competition at Shiva Vishnu Temple, Music Concert by Singer Shreenath and Tulu Film Music Director Ramachandra Rao, Harikathe by Aralumalligae Parthsarathy, Pandit Rajeev Taranath on Sarod (jointly with Asha for Education), and hosted Mayamruga Director Sitaram on his promotional tour of their CD set. We collected $11k funds via a dance event from Cleveland Arts Prize winner Sujatha Srinivasan to benefit a girl only Maitreyi Gurukula in Moorkaje, Bantwal Taluk, South Canara. We participated in two locally produced Kannada plays directed by Latha and Dwarkanath during Deepavali with a bunch of us adult amateurs acting. I distinctly remember ‘Nannavala kaagada’ by S. Gundu Rao wherein yours truly played the hero, with Suma Achar playing the opposite. Children were young and would tag along to all the Kasturi events, and we thought that it was a great way to introduce our Kannada culture to them before they become tweens strengthening their wings to fly away. Every Ugadi tradition dictated that we needed to have bisi holigae, bisi haalu and lots of tuppa. Coordination was challenging, but there was always a volunteer who stepped up to transport the drama artists from Columbus, cook for fifty families, or pick up Udupa’s holigae from Pittsburgh. Kasturi meetings were wonderful way to enjoy a relaxed weekend lunch or dinner at a committee member’s home. Thirty-five years out in snowy Cleveland, we are proud of how Kasturi has grown, and the tradition is continued by younger enthusiasts. We wish the best to all of you and your family. Happy Deepawali in advance!
- Prof. Sree Sreenath KKS 9th President
Dear Kasturi Family, I am Dwarakanath and was the President of Kasturi Kannada Sangha during 2006 and 2007. Currently, I live in Houston, Texas and hence you don’t see me at the Kasturi functions. However, my wife Mrs. Latha Dwarakanath still lives in the Cleveland area because of her job. Per the request of Mrs. Puspalatha Uli (Also, one of the past President of Kasturi), I am very happy to write the following few lines for the Kasturi Newsletter: We had a real challenge running the organization in those days because the Kannada families who were responsible for the start of the Kasturi organization in 1984 had already started either getting old and not coming to our functions regularly or they had already moved out of Cleveland. So, we had the challenge of getting new members for our Kasturi organization, which was difficult as the only way to reach out to more people were via mouth-to-mouth communication as there were no social media in those days. In addition, unlike today the number of Kannadigas living in Cleveland area was also less in those days. Hence to generate extra revenue to run the organization, in addition to membership fee, we used to screen Kannada movies at Strosacker Auditorium at Case Western Reserve University - thanks to Prof. Sreenath who was helping us get the auditorium booked free of cost. So, after paying for the movie reels and the person helping us screen the movie, the remaining money was another form of revenue for our organization. But we did manage get through all those difficult times, without depleting the Kasturi reserve money. In contrast, nowadays thanks to all the social media like WhatsApp, it is lot easier to reach out to new people coming to Cleveland area. Lately, I have heard that more than 150 to 200 people come to our Kasturi functions, whereas it was hard to see even 30 to 50 people in those days at each function. Also, from my conversations with Mr. Ravi Alangar (Kasturi Treasurer – who was also the treasurer during my time), I came to know that the Kasturi reserve funds are much healthier than what it was during my time. I am really very happy to hear that so many people are coming to our current day functions and the kind of reserve money that the organization has when compared to our days when we were struggling to have even $1000 reserve money. Also, I am extremely happy to see the organization growing to new heights every year with new Kannada families becoming part Kasturi family
- Mr.Dwarakanath KKS President 2006-2007
- Mr.Dwarakanath KKS President 2006-2007
Dear Kasturi Kannada Friends, Namaskara, I had the honor and pleasure of being the president of Kasturi Kannada Sangha from 2011 - 2012. Although it was a challenge, since I had not been a member of Kasturi for long before taking over the role as president, I had a wonderful and experienced committee that were willing to help me with anything I needed assistance with. Thanks to the teamwork, I had a smooth transition. The Kasturi Kannada Sangha was and is a great organization not only to make new friends, and have a sense of community, but also a wonderful organization for my children to connect with their roots and appreciate our culture. It is so great to see how far the Kasturi Kannada Sangha has come, and I am looking forward to attending many more functions in the future! Thank you,
-Mrs. Hema Vartak KKS President 2011-2012 
It has been my honor to have served in the organizing committee along with a team of close friends in Kasturi Kannada Sangha in Cleveland, Ohio. Being President of the sangha was just a title I bore, but the true work effort, great ideas and execution was a team effort from the entire committee. We spearheaded initiatives to promote Kannada language and culture, fostering a sense of community among members aimed at preserving the rich heritage of Karnataka. Through collaborative efforts, we strengthened the bonds within the Kannada-speaking community, contributing to a vibrant cultural exchange in Cleveland. What was most memorable was the committee members having a growth mindset, willingness to learn from feedback, try out new things especially the one event with live music performance by the popular artist Rajesh Krishna. The funds generated from the captivating performance contributed to the financial health of the organization, giving us satisfaction that we were exiting our tenure by leaving the organization financially stronger for the incoming committee to leverage! I look back fondly at those times doing it all with my infant boys in town! and now they're both colleges bound, it's amazing how time has flown! It was a wonderful experience and I'm grateful for all the people both on the committee and all volunteers who came together to make the events as successful as they were!" - Mrs. Ramya Rajshekar KKS 11th President
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Chanda, Namita and I moved from North Carolina to Cleveland on a cold Saturday in Fall month of October 2002. We learned from a neighborhood Kannada Friend that the Next day is Deepavali Celebration at Kasturi Kannada Sangha in North Olmsted Community Center! We were so excited to attend as I had a taste of being a part of Sampige Kannada Events. From that Sunday onwards we became a part of Kasturi Kannada Sangha and enjoyed the association of all Kannadigas in the Greater Cleveland Ohio as an extended family of ours. I was invited to work as Kasturi President for 2015-16 period and I took it as an opportunity to work closely with all Kannadigas in Cleveland. I had an opportunity to Invite and Host noted kannada Singer B.R.Chaya and Padmapani for Kasturi Deepavali 2015 Event and that was a very cherishable and memorable moment of Organizing a Musical Event at Kasturi Kannada Sangha. In spring of 2016 I had another great opportunity of Inviting and Hosting 'Idagunji Yakshagana Mela' to Perform Yakshagana at Kasturi Ugadi Event of 2016. A troupe of 11 Karnataka Pride Art of Yakshagana Kala visiting Cleveland was a Great Opportunity. Hosting and Organizing a Performance of these World Famous Yakshagana Artists was a very special and memorable experience and a very pride Moment for All Kannadigas of Cleveland. Another Great and memorable Event during my Kasturi Presidency was the Food Sponsoring Event at Shiva Vishnu Temple of Cleveland Ohio during Spring of 2016. All Kasturi Kannadigas participated in the proud moment of Preparing, Cooking and Serving all devotees at Shiva Vishnu Temple of Cleveland Ohio.
- Mr Suhas Sabade KKS President 2015-2016 |
My first involvement with Kasturi started within a few months of my arrival in Cleveland as a graduate student in August 94. I remember assisting a friend family that participated in a drama HiTech Hayavadanaachar. The Kasturi members warmly welcomed us at events as my wife Shanthala joined me after marriage in 1996. It was Sri Sreenath, President (1999-2000) who first invited me to join the Kasturi committee. I served as secretary in his committee and have been in many following Kasturi committees with Ram Nagaraj, Ramya Rajashekar and others in various capacities as treasurer, web master etc. I got the opportunity to serve as President of Kasturi Kannada Sangha during 2007 and 2008, taking over from Sri. Dwarakanath (2006-07) at the end of his two-year tenure. With that came the responsibility of carrying forward the good work by all the past presidents and their committees. Like my predecessors, I was fortunate to have a very good committee supporting me in organizing the various Kasturi events. We continued to have the usual Kasturi events at Yugadi, Ganesha and Deepavali and summer picnic. I have fond memories from these events that included everything from the weeks leading up to each event, busy with planning, drama/dance rehearsals at various members houses followed by pot luck dinners, booking a venue, renting sound systems from a place in downtown each time, all the way to the day of the event till the late hours after all programs were done and all guests had had the sumptuous Kasturi dinner, cleaning up the venue after the event, with the last of the garbage bags thrown away and we return home with the satisfaction of completing yet another Kasturi event successfully.
The success of each event was measured by the member turnout and the gate collection we got to add back to the modest fund we inherited as a committee when we assumed charge. I do remember the enthusiasm with which each committee tried to be creative, to bring in new ideas to break the monotony when members started feeling that Kasturi events were getting predictable and monotonous. Planning quiz shows, conducting the Kasturi Idol competition and seeking opportunities to invite some guest performers when we could, were some of the things we tried during my tenure. Building on the good work by my predecessor, Sri Dwarakanath, who renewed the registration for Kasturi as a non-profit organization, we tried to make Kasturi memberships attractive by reach out to various local businesses like Indian grocery stores, restaurants to give a discount to Kasturi members. With the continued help and support from Prof. Sreenath and Dwarakanath, we tried to get Kannada movie screenings a few times in a year. I do fondly remember representing Kasturi Kannada Sangha at the AKKA World Kannada Conference in Chicago in 2008, with a few other families from Cleveland. I still vividly remember proudly carrying the Kasturi Kannada Sangha banner in the meravanige on the streets of Chicago, with my daughter dressed up as a Karaga dancer (a huge thanks to my mother-in-law for designing the costumes and the traditional headwear used in Karaga). My part was easy looking like Wodeyar from Mysore, wearing a Mysore peta!
I got the opportunity to continue as a committee member in my successor, Dr. Suma Achar’s team. The magnificent 25th Year jubilee celebration we had for Kasturi in 2009 at CSU under Dr. Suma Achar’s presidency was a crowning moment for all of us. I had the unique honour of interviewing many of the past presidents and making a video montage of Kasturi Kannada Sangha’s 25 year journey. Everything about the event from wonderful musical performances by Ganesh Desai, yakshagaana performance to the finale where Kasturi kids and members performed to the music of A.R Rahman’s Jai Ho (choreography courtesy of Archan Mood), all of it is etched in my mind with extreme fondness and pride. I continued being an active part of Kasturi Kannada Sangha all the way up to 2011 when I moved back to India with my family. We left Cleveland that year, but memories of Cleveland’s Kasturi Sangha has always stayed us. We have followed all the great progress made by this association from afar. I am so happy and proud to see how Kasturi Kannada Sangha has grown since then, more than doubling in size and the great strides made by each president who took charge thereafter along their committees have carried on the association’s good work. I am very impressed by the wonderful initiatives taken by recent Kasturi committees like the weekend kannada school for kids, book clubs, Kasturi Newsletter, Guest talks etc. I congratulate the current committee for their amazing enthusiasm and energy and wish them success in taking Kasturi to greater heights - Janardhan Kamath KKS President 2007-2008
The success of each event was measured by the member turnout and the gate collection we got to add back to the modest fund we inherited as a committee when we assumed charge. I do remember the enthusiasm with which each committee tried to be creative, to bring in new ideas to break the monotony when members started feeling that Kasturi events were getting predictable and monotonous. Planning quiz shows, conducting the Kasturi Idol competition and seeking opportunities to invite some guest performers when we could, were some of the things we tried during my tenure. Building on the good work by my predecessor, Sri Dwarakanath, who renewed the registration for Kasturi as a non-profit organization, we tried to make Kasturi memberships attractive by reach out to various local businesses like Indian grocery stores, restaurants to give a discount to Kasturi members. With the continued help and support from Prof. Sreenath and Dwarakanath, we tried to get Kannada movie screenings a few times in a year. I do fondly remember representing Kasturi Kannada Sangha at the AKKA World Kannada Conference in Chicago in 2008, with a few other families from Cleveland. I still vividly remember proudly carrying the Kasturi Kannada Sangha banner in the meravanige on the streets of Chicago, with my daughter dressed up as a Karaga dancer (a huge thanks to my mother-in-law for designing the costumes and the traditional headwear used in Karaga). My part was easy looking like Wodeyar from Mysore, wearing a Mysore peta!
I got the opportunity to continue as a committee member in my successor, Dr. Suma Achar’s team. The magnificent 25th Year jubilee celebration we had for Kasturi in 2009 at CSU under Dr. Suma Achar’s presidency was a crowning moment for all of us. I had the unique honour of interviewing many of the past presidents and making a video montage of Kasturi Kannada Sangha’s 25 year journey. Everything about the event from wonderful musical performances by Ganesh Desai, yakshagaana performance to the finale where Kasturi kids and members performed to the music of A.R Rahman’s Jai Ho (choreography courtesy of Archan Mood), all of it is etched in my mind with extreme fondness and pride. I continued being an active part of Kasturi Kannada Sangha all the way up to 2011 when I moved back to India with my family. We left Cleveland that year, but memories of Cleveland’s Kasturi Sangha has always stayed us. We have followed all the great progress made by this association from afar. I am so happy and proud to see how Kasturi Kannada Sangha has grown since then, more than doubling in size and the great strides made by each president who took charge thereafter along their committees have carried on the association’s good work. I am very impressed by the wonderful initiatives taken by recent Kasturi committees like the weekend kannada school for kids, book clubs, Kasturi Newsletter, Guest talks etc. I congratulate the current committee for their amazing enthusiasm and energy and wish them success in taking Kasturi to greater heights - Janardhan Kamath KKS President 2007-2008
I moved to Solon OH with my wife Pushpalatha, son Nishanth and daughter Amala in July 2002, after spending a decade in New York City. Even prior to our move here, we had enquired about the local Kannada sangha and got information on Kasturi from the then President Prof. Ram Nagaraj. The Kannada sangha in New York City was too large and we were unable to make great connections during our time in NYC. However, Kasturi was just of the right size for our needs and all of us (including myself, my wife and both kids) have made lasting friendships in the Kannada community here, relationships we continue to cherish to this day. Just a couple of years after we moved here, we went from being mere spectators at events to participating in a wide variety of activities and events. I had a natural inclination towards musical events, our children took part in dances and skits, Pushpalatha was active on multiple fronts, including skits and organizational activities. In 2010, I was inspired by Dr. Chandrashekhara Kambara winning the 8th Jnanapith award for Kannada and composed a 3-act skit that combined characters and scenes from the works of Shivarama Karanth (ಮೂಕಜ್ಜಿ ಯ ಕನಸುಗಳು) and Masti Venkatesh Iyengar (ಚಿಕ್ಕವೀರ ರಾಜೇಂದ್ರ) that was performed during the presidency of Mrs. Hema Vartak in 2011. I then found myself with the presidency for the years 2013 and 2014 in an unexpected manner. There were no structural changes to the programs of the Sangha during my presidency, and we continued the tradition of 3 indoor events (ಯುಗಾದಿ ಹಬ್ಬ, ಗಣೇಶ ಪೂಜೆ, ದಿೀಪಾವಳಿ ಹಬ್ಬ) and 1 outdoor event (summer picnic) every year. I was however successful in incorporating specific regional cuisines into the food service at each event for a year (ಕರಾವಳಿ, ಮಲೆನಾಡು, ಬಯಲುಸೀಮೆ). The most memorable cultural programs I remember from my presidency are bharathanatyam performances by students of local teachers and a ಯಕ್ಷಗಾನ performance by a troupe from Toronto.
In 2017, during the presidency Mrs. Meena Mahesh, I spearheaded a new program called "ದಾಸ ವೈಭವ". This is a musical program held in conjunction with our ಗಣೇಶ ಪೂಜೆ festivities and celebrates the rich ಹರಿದಾಸ ಸಾಹಿತ್ಯ tradition of Karnataka. We showcase the numerous Kannada composers by performances by students of various Carnatic music teachers from the greater Cleveland area. It is extremely gratifying to note that this program has steadily grown every year since its inception with more teachers and students participating. Of course, this would not have been possible without the unwavering support of all the Kasturi presidents and committee members; active participation by the Kannada families and the greater music community; and the constant encouragement of my wife. I hope we will be able to expand the scope of this program in the coming years. Ever since I have been in the Cleveland area, I have experienced and benefited from the volunteering spirit of many of my Kannada friends, who continue to play important roles in propagating and celebrating the Kannada heritage in northeast Ohio. Let us work together to cherish this rich tradition, keeping it alive and growing it among the coming generations. Naveen K. Uli, MD KKS President 2013-2014
In 2017, during the presidency Mrs. Meena Mahesh, I spearheaded a new program called "ದಾಸ ವೈಭವ". This is a musical program held in conjunction with our ಗಣೇಶ ಪೂಜೆ festivities and celebrates the rich ಹರಿದಾಸ ಸಾಹಿತ್ಯ tradition of Karnataka. We showcase the numerous Kannada composers by performances by students of various Carnatic music teachers from the greater Cleveland area. It is extremely gratifying to note that this program has steadily grown every year since its inception with more teachers and students participating. Of course, this would not have been possible without the unwavering support of all the Kasturi presidents and committee members; active participation by the Kannada families and the greater music community; and the constant encouragement of my wife. I hope we will be able to expand the scope of this program in the coming years. Ever since I have been in the Cleveland area, I have experienced and benefited from the volunteering spirit of many of my Kannada friends, who continue to play important roles in propagating and celebrating the Kannada heritage in northeast Ohio. Let us work together to cherish this rich tradition, keeping it alive and growing it among the coming generations. Naveen K. Uli, MD KKS President 2013-2014
I have been involved with the activities of the Kasturi Kannada Sangha ever since we moved to northeast Ohio in 2002. My involvement became stronger during the presidency of my husband Naveen Uli in 2013-2014. I then took on the role of President in January 2019, after Mrs. Meena Mahesh’s presidency. We had our standard Kasturi calendar of events for 2019, with the Yugaadi, picnic, Ganesha Pooja and Deepavali functions. But what sets 2019 apart for Kasturi and me is that we got to participate in the ವಿಶ್ವ ಕನ್ನಡ ಸಮಾವೇಶ hosted by ನಾವಿಕ in Cincinnati Ohio over the Labor Day weekend. Along with the Kannada Kootas of Cincinnati and Columbus, Kasturi was a co-convener of this fantastic event. This was a golden opportunity that allowed me and other members of Kasturi to network and collaborate with other Kannada cultural and community leaders in Ohio and across the USA. Then, as we started preparing for the Yugaadi event in 2020, the world witnessed an unprecedented challenge with the Covid-19 pandemic, which shut down all in-person meetings across the globe. However, Kasturi and other Kannada Kootas in the USA were able to collaborate and arrange virtual events. We all put together a wide variety of cultural programs and enjoyed them collectively, continuing a sense of community in very challenging times for the remainder of my term as president, in 2020 and 2021. Another Kasturi milestone during my term was the inauguration of the ಕನ್ನ ಡ ಶಾಲೆ in May 2021. Many parents were inspired to take on the responsibility of teaching ಕನ್ನಡ in a systematic manner, utilizing the ಸವಿ ಕನ್ನಡ ಸ್ವರ ಬಲ್ಲ curriculum from the Kannada Academy. It is my sincere hope that this initiative will continue for generations to come, keeping the ಕನ್ನಡ ಜ್ಯೋತಿ bright and unwavering across oceans and continents
- Mrs. Pushpalatha Venkataraman KKS President 2019-2021
- Mrs. Pushpalatha Venkataraman KKS President 2019-2021
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