Talent Time Day 2 is on April 9, 2022

Talent Time Day 2 competitions will be held on April 9, 2022, at the North Bethesda Middle School, 8935 Bradmoor Dr, Bethesda, MD 20817. Competitions for Day 2 in-person event will include:

• Carnatic Music
• Cinematic Dance Single (Boys)
• Cinematic Dance Single (Girls)
• Cinematic Music
• Fancy Dress
• Let's be CrafTee
• Painting Watercolor
• Pencil Sketching
• Poetry Recitation Malayalam
• Poetry Writing English
• Public speaking English
• Spelling Bee Finals (Oral)
• The Great Debate Competition (Group)
• Yoga

The registration for the Day 2 in-person event will close on March 31, 2022. Please submit the sound track by April 1, 2022.

LITTLE PRINCE & PRINCESS and FANCY-DRESS (Cat 0) ONLINE COMPETITIONS

Little Prince and Little Princess competitions are separate for boys and girls. They are open to Grade K and below. Fancy Dress - Cat 0 for Talent Time will be an online event as well.

Video Submission Deadline is April 7, 2022. The judges will be evaluating the videos online via zoom (no kid participation required) and the videos that you have submitted will be streamed via Facebook Live for the audience to view on April 10, 2022, at 6:00 pm EST.

Register: https://talenttime.kagw.com/

Rules: https://talenttime.kagw.com/rules

Talent Time Grand Finale

The finale of Talent Time will be an in-person event on April 23, 2022 at Walter Johnson High School (6400 Rock Spring Dr, Bethesda, MD 20817). The following events will be held on that day:

• Cinematic Dance (Group)
• Classical Dance (Group)
• Best Couple

For Best Couple competition, KAGW invites all the dynamic, fun loving, charismatic couples to be part of the best couple competition. The competition will be an evening of fun and entertainment, something that you can cherish doing with your partner. This event is open to all adults (above the age of 18). Please refer to the event's portal for rules and guidelines https://events.kagw.com/#/home. We are looking forward to conclude with a high energy evening!

Trophy Sponsorships

We have three full days of arts and literary programs planned with kids and adults showcasing their talents in a multitude of areas. If you would like to support by sponsoring a trophy, please visit the KAGW website.

• Trophy for one - $25
• Trophy for one category of an event -$50
• Trophies for 3 categories of an event - $100
• Kalaprathibha - $250
• Kalathilakam - $250
• Rising Star (Kalaprathibha) - $100
• Rising Star (Kalathilakam) - $100
• Little Prince - $100
• Little Princess - $100
• Best Couple - $200

Volunteers for KAGW Talent Time

The success of Talent Time is to a large extent because of the time and effort put in by our generous community members. Please come and volunteer like always to help with the event. This year too, we look forward to your support! Students will be provided with SSL hours. Please sign up here to volunteer. Please bring the SSL Forms from your school district when you come to volunteer.

Sneha Sayahnam with Mrs. Sheeba Ameer on April 8 ^th

KAGW will host Mrs. Sheeba Ameer on Friday, April 8th at Walter Johnson High School, Bethesda, MD from 6.30 p.m. to 9.30 p.m. Mrs. Ameer is the founder and secretary of Solace, a voluntary organization based in Thrissur, Kerala that provides care for economically disadvantaged children affected by cancer and other long-term illnesses. Solace is the current beneficiary of KAGW's long-term charity program, 'Thangum Thanalum'.

While caring for her own daughter Nilu for 16 years, who succumbed to leukemia at the age of 28, Mrs. Ameer was deeply moved by the struggles of poor families that tried to balance the needs of their sick children and their own livelihoods. Mrs. Ameer channeled her personal grief to compassion for gravely ill children and their families and founded Solace in 2007. From humble beginnings, Solace currently cares for more than 3000 young children at nine Solace centers located across Kerala in Thrissur, Kochi, Kozhikode, Patambi, Malappuram, Kollam, Thiruvananthapuram, Wayanad and Kottayam.

Sheeba Ameer is the recipient of several awards including the Vanitha Woman of the Year Award 2011, KV Surendranath Award 2012, The CNN IBN Real Hero Award 2012, and Kerala State Social Justice Dept. Accamma Cherian Memorial Vanitharatnam Puraskaram 2016.

She has also published three books, 'Nadannu Poyaval' ('She who walked on') which won the 2011 Avani Bala award for best literature by a female writer, 'Azhathil Pathinja Chitrangal ('Images, deeply graven') and 'KoodeKurachuDooram' ('Together, for a distance').

Sneha Sayahnam will provide an opportunity for KAGW members and supporters to interact with Mrs. Ameer and learn from her firsthand about the activities of Solace, and the huge impact that it has on the lives of those that are touched by Solace.

KAGW EID Mubarak Program on May 21, 2022

In association with Muslim families and others, Kerala Association of Greater Washington will be celebrating the Eid Mela on the evening of May 21, 2022 at the Walter Johnson High School, 6400 Rock Spring Dr, Bethesda, MD, 20817. The program is more like a large family get-together where people from all faiths will come together to enjoy the rich cultural programs performed by local talents along with a sumptuous traditional feast. There will be a few interesting competitions and also a Mehendi booth. If you would like to perform at the KAGW Eid Mela, please contact entertainment@kagw.com. Stay tuned for more information.

KAGW Pioneers Club Presents Swarna Thooval on June 4, 2022

Kerala Association of Greater Washington (KAGW) Pioneers Club is organizing Pioneers Day on June 4, 2022, at the Walter Johnson High School, 6400 Rock Spring Dr, Bethesda, MD 20817. The program will begin with an icebreaker along with refreshments and beverages for the much-awaited pioneer's networking followed by two hours of entertainment organized and performed by the pioneers. Pioneers Club will invite and recognize three KAGW Committees that completed the silver jubilee. KAGW is also planning to recognize all the past presidents on the Pioneers Club Day. KAGW Charity program, Thangum Thanalum is planning to update on a collaboration with an additional organization to continue the association's charity work. The fun-filled evening is for all family members to look at how we have grown as an eminent organization, enjoy and have fun. For more information, please contact the Pioneers Club leader Beena Kalath at mailto:beenak@gmail.com . Please stay tuned for more details.

Career Planning workshop

For the first time, KAGW organized a Career Planning Event as a part of the Reconnect and Rejuvenate program on 2/26/2022 at the Walter Johnson High School in Bethesda, MD. Five different professional experts including Mr. Sony George (Engineering/entrepreneurship, CEO of MindPetal Software Solutions), Ms. Shally Pannikode (Technology, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer of Healthcare Services at Humana Inc.), Ms. Anna Aryankalayil (Law and Legal systems, Attorney Advisor to Commissioner Noah Joshua Philips at the Federal Trade Commission), Dr. Preetha Abraham (Research/Scientist/Academics, Director of Research and Assistant Professor at Uniformed Services University, Department of Defense School of Medicine) Dr. Abhilasha Nair (Medicine Board certified Hematologist, Oncologist at the Oncology Center of Excellence, Food and Drug Administration), spoke on the pros and cons of each profession. Mr. Sony George also played an excellent video about professional excellence and growth.

Youth President, Deepak Menon welcomed the panel members and all the guests. He also served as the emcee for the program and moderated the Questions and Answers session. He introduced Mr. Sony George. Nora Thomas introduced Ms. Shally Pannikode, Mythili introduced Anna Aryankalayil, Gauri Vellanoore introduced Dr. Preetha Abraham, and Kiran Manoj introduced Dr. Abhilasha Nair. There was pin-drop silence during the program reflecting the close attention of the participants. Youth participants also asked a number of challenging and interesting questions.

The program was concluded by a vote of thanks from Nirav Sabin. Many thanks to Youth coordinators Ms. Smitha Menon and Ms. Lin Tomas for organizing this program. Presentations and Videos of the program will be made available at kagw.com

Sketching and Painting Workshop

As a part of the Reconnect and Rejuvenate program on 2/26/2022 KAGW organized a Sketching and Painting workshop. Thanks to the KAGW Women's Club who took lead and organized the event. The program was started with lighting the lamp by Women's and Youth Club members followed by a beautiful prayer song by Ashwathi Menon.

Thanks to Ms. Sreedevi Yogeshwar, an art teacher from Germantown MD, who taught sketching and painting on canvas. KAGW is conducting these types of training to help children prepare well for the upcoming Talent Time Arts and Literary competitions. Thanks to all the children and parents who participated in the program.

KAGW has conducted an edible arts competition in Jnauary 2022 and the trophies for the winners were awarded at the end of the sketching and painting workshop. Mrs. Archna Thampi from the women's club hosted the award ceremony.

Let us Talk Women's Health

Kerala Association of Greater Washington, Women,s Club organized an Education and Empowerment Program online health program called Let's talk Women,s Health, on Sunday, February 27, 2022, as a part of the International women,s week in early March. The goal of the program was to discuss health issues related to Women in an Exclusive Women only setting. It was a unique program exclusively geared towards the women in the Washington metropolitan area. The Women's Club also started a Fem-Zone Whatsapp group to keep the community informed about their activities. Based on results from a survey posted in the group, a few important topics were selected for discussion during the program.

Dr. Chethana V. Rao, MD spoke on primary care. Dr. Sangeetha Sinha, MD discussed Gynecology topics. Dr. Lauren A. Mauro, MD spoke on Breast Medical Oncology and Dr. Haritha Raja, MD, spoke on Reproductive Psychiatry and Mental Health. Kerala Association of Greater Washington thanks all the Physicians for accepting our invitation and serving as one of the panel members for the event. The panel also addressed many questions from the audience.

Dr. Abhilasha Nair from the Women,s club served as an emcee. Various other members from the Women's club moderated the question and answer session. The community members were very appreciative of the detailed information provided during the program and also the question and answer session.

International Women's Week Volunteering at Capital Area Food Bank

As a part of Women's International week, KAGW volunteered at the Capital Area Food Bank yesterday, March 5, 2022. It was the first time KAGW volunteered at the Food Bank. The goal was also to expanded our reach, and provide increased our volunteering opportunities to provide for more SSL hours for eligible students, and at the same time serve the poor and needy.

The Capital Area Food Bank is a large, clean and tidy facility with special parking for the volunteers. The courteous staff take lot of precautions and provide detailed instructions for volunteering at the facility. The workspace is huge with conveyor belts, to pack various food items. Around 30 volunteers can work simultaneously starting from making the box, placing canned food numerous items, and finally sealing and stacking with non-stop work from 9 AM to 12 Noon and then clean-up.

We helped to pack large number of food boxes for shipping to MD, DC, and VA. Special thanks to all the volunteers for volunteering. A worthwhile cause duing the International Women’s Week!

Photos taken at the facility are available on the KAGW website

KAGW Kerala Queen Online Beauty Pageant was held on March 12

The first Talent Time event in 2022, the KAGW Kerala Queen online Beauty Pageant was held on March 12, 2022. This event provided an opportunity for women to become leaders in the community as stated in our bylaws. The beauty pageant was open to all women of Malayalee descent above 18 years of age and focused on beauty, substance, and talent. It was held in a virtual platform to encourage wide participation.

The KAGW Vice President, Sushma Praveen took the lead to coordinate this event. The Talent Time team leaders Dhannya Gopkumar, Niffy Saji, along with their entire team were also involved in organizing the event. Many thanks to the Women’s Club members Seema Shankar, Anu Thampi, Abhilasha Nair, Soumya, Josy, Shally, Sudha, Anju, Swapna, and Deeksha for all the help with the event.

Dhannya Gopkumar, Niffy Saji, Soumya, Abhilasha, Rekha Nambiar, Anu Thampi, Seema Shankar, and Narayanan Kutty Menon served as emcees for the 2022 virtual Kerala Queen Beauty Pageant. KAGW is thankful to all the eminent national judges (Rajan Cheerath, Malini Nair, Vyas Mohan, Meena Chittilapilly, and Bindhiya Suresh Babu), who elegantly judged the pageant.

Special thanks also to the KAGW Kerala Queen Competitors, Ms. Akhila Sajan, Ms. Femin Chiramel Charles, Ms. Reshma Palakkal, Ms. Smitha Tom, Ms. Sneha Vishwanath, and Ms. Uma Suresh Mohan who took the leap to participate and also for their outstanding performance.

Many thanks to all the audience who joined us during the event. There were thousands of views on Facebook and hundreds of positive comments. Also, our special thanks to Shri Vipin Raj from CrossCountry Mortgage for sponsoring the 2022 KAGW Kerala Queen beauty pageant.

The crowning ceremony for the Kerala Queen online beauty pageant will be held on April 23, 2022, during the Talent Time Grand finale at the Walter Johnson High School. Along with the crowning, other titles that will be awarded are Best Elegance, Best Photogenic, Best Talent, Best Creative Mind, and Best Impact.

The video recording of the event is available on kagw.com: http://kagw.com/kagw-video-gallery

Results of Be My Valentine Card Contest

KAGW organized an exciting contest that involved making lovely Valentine's Day cards for people to express true love during February 2022. The goal of the contest was to create awareness of recycling and to promote creativity. Any type of recycled material could be mixed with imagination to create one of a kind cards. Winners of the contest were announced during the KAGW online program Beating Allergies and post COVID-19 care on March 13, 2022. We thank the past president Praveen Kumar and the entertainment team for their help in organizing this online contest. The awards will be presented during the Grand Finale of Talent Time on April 23, 2022 at the Walter Johnson High school Bethesda, MD 20817.

Malayalee Association of Greater Philadelphia Card Tournament

Malayalee Association of Greater Philadelphia is organizing a 56 Card Tournament on Thursday, June 11, 2022, at 7733 Castor Ave, Philadelphia, PA, 19152. The registration fee is $300/per Team. Prizes include $1000, $750, $500, and $300 for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th prizes respectively. For registration please visit: https://www.mapicc.org/events-1/map-56-card-tournament/form

Introducing a New Family

KERALA ASSOCIATION OF GREATER WASHINGTON TALENT TIME PROGRAM IN PROGRESS

Kerala Association of Greater Washington (KAGW) is a registered non-profit organization founded in 1975 and serves Keralites who reside in Washington DC and areas of Maryland and Virginia. For the past 47 years, KAGW has been providing a forum to bind the community together by preserving and promoting traditions and values. It is serving as the bedrock for all types of arts, cultural and literary activities and is a stepping stone for youth, aspiring artists, and leaders in the community. Every year KAGW hosts “Talent Time” , a literary and performing arts competition where participants in multiple categories compete to become a Kalathilakam or Kalaprathibha. KAGW is an active partner in promoting several international theatrical/cultural events and popular personalities.

The 2022, Talent Time in person Day 1 program was held on March 26th at the North Bethesda Middle School, 8935 Bradmoor Dr, Bethesda, MD 20817. The program was started after lighting the lamp by KAGW 2022 Talent Time Team members and Executive Committee members and by a prayer.

Dr. Madhu Nambiar, the president of KAGW welcomed all the committee members, participants, judges, teachers, parents, family members and supporters. In his presidential address he reiterated the vital part of culture in everyone's upbringing and how we live with it forever. He also mentioned that culture and tradition is something that brings smiles on the faces something that will help us go home with happiness. KAGW Talent Time promotes cultural and traditional knowledge along with talent and it also helps to increase self-confidence.

The president indicated that 2022 KAGW Talent Time is the 15th anniversary of this program. It started in 2007 and is growing year by year. It was a one-day program earlier, then became three days. Talent Time is a unique event that we cannot see in any schools around this area. Our goal is to make talent time one of the best programs around this area for the community and host it as a youth festival.

This year, because of Covid-19, the program became a five-day event. The Kerala Queen beauty pageant was held online on March 12, 2022 with several national Judges. The Day 1 Talent time program was held on March 26, 2022. The Day 1 of the KAGW Talent Time included Cinematic Music (Duet), Classical Dance Single, Essay Writing English, Folk Dance Single, Instrumental Music (String), Instrumental Music (Wind), Just Color, Little Prince/Princess (online), Mathemagician, Poetry Recitation English, Public Speaking Malayalam, Spelling Bee (Prelim written) and Story Writing English. Team Friends of FOMAA witnessed many of these events and the quality of the program. FOMAA Capital Region RVP Thomas Jose served as one of the judges for the Malayalam public speaking.

Day 2 in-person Talent Time events will be held on April 9th at the same school. The Day 2 program includes Carnatic Music, Cinematic Dance Single (Boys), Cinematic Dance Single (Girls), Cinematic Music, Fancy Dress, Fancy Dress - Cat 0 (online), Let's be CrafTee, Painting Watercolor, Pencil Sketching, Poetry Recitation Malayalam, Poetry Writing English, Public speaking English, Spelling Bee Finals (oral), The Great Debate Competition (Group), and Yoga.

Little Prince and Princess (under 5 years) and Fancy-Dress category 0 (under 6 years) will be held on April 10 as an online event.

The grand Finale and Award ceremony will be held in person on April 23 at the Walter Johnson High school. During that time, we hold competitions for Cinematic Dance (Group), Classical Dance (Group) and Best Couple. The crowning of the Kerala Queen will also be held on the same day.

The president praised the beautiful children who have been preparing for this event for two to three months now and have worked hard to make every performance a perfect one. He specially welcomed all the children who worked hard to showcase their talents. He said that they are really honored to have them here and are looking forward to their great performances. He also said, usually many of the Talent Time performances are mind-blowing. I don't even have a word to express how amazing they are. He continued to let it be singing, dancing, poetry, story writing, sketching, painting or public speaking. This program is really for you to show your budding talents. We wish you all the best! We know that one day you will make all of us very proud.

President also indicated that behind each great performance there are great parents, teachers and mentors. He thanked the parents and families for training their children. He also thanked all the teachers and mentors who are the real candles brightening the way for their students and led them and praised their dedication to these kids.

The president also thanked all the sponsors and supporters who helped to organize this event in a high-quality way. With that the president declared the 2022 KAGW Talent Time in person program open and wished all the best to participants.

SSVT Celebrates Maha Sivaratri

Sri Siva Vishnu Temple (SSVT) celebrated Maha Sivaratri from Monday, February 28th, into the early hours of March 1st, 2022. Sivaratri is an annual religious puja for Sri Siva that marks the remembrance of “overcoming darkness and ignorance” in life and the world. Sivaratri means “night of auspiciousness”. Siva is the embodiment of auspiciousness, of Mangalam, and of Ananda.

In SSVT, Siva is Sri Ramanathaswamy, representing the presiding deity (one of Jyotirlingas) of the famous South Indian Temple at Rameswaram. Swarna Tiryak Pundram offering to Lord Ramanathaswamy, is a divine opportunity during our Sivaratri celebrations for devotees to receive the blessings of Sri Siva.

Visitors were accommodated by a continuous flow of devotees for the darshan visit throughout the night. All aspects of the events were live-streamed.

Beating Allergies and Post Covid-19 Care By Ayurveda

Kerala Association of Greater Washington (KAGW) hosted an education and empowerment program based on the approach of Ayurveda to Allergies and Covid-19 symptoms.

The program was started by a beautiful prayer song from Ms. Aprarna Panicker, who was the finalist of Flowers TV Sing N Win Competition Season 2. Dr. Madhu Nambiar, President of KAGW in his welcome speech address welcomed all the guests and addressed the importance of alternative medicine for a holistic treatment of disorders. Dr. Nambiar introduced the emcee for the evening Dr. Kala Ashokraj, from the First Clinic Urgent Care Systems, and Second Chance Addiction Center.

Mr. Binny Cherian was the Chief guest for the evening. In his address, Mr. Cherian provided some real-life examples of how ayurvedic medicine helped his family and him from serious illness and stressed the value of Ayurvedic medicine.

Dr. Jevan Pillai, who serves at the Ayurwellness Center at Viennna, VA along with his wife Dr. Ponni Chandran, Introduced the two main speakers for the evening, Dr. Roshni Hari and Dr. Gopal Menon. Dr. Pillai in his introduction eluded the educational backgrounds and the rich experience of the speakers and their fore-parents in Ayurvedic medicine and yoga.

Dr. Roshni Hari spoke on Allergies and the protection of allergies by Ayurveda. Dr. Hari emphasized the possibilities of home remedies for seasonal allergic manifestations and explained natural anti-allergic agents and their effects in ayurvedic prevention and immune-inducing life patterns. Dr. Gopal Menon spoke on distinguishing Covid-19 vs flu and allergies and how to protect from post-Covid symptoms. He provided some Ayurvedic tips for post-Covid recovery that people can follow.

Following the speeches, there was an open interaction with the audience regarding different practical health issues and question answers. All the three Ayurvedic doctors collectively addressed the questions and provided some remedies.

Shri M. G. Menon provided the concluding remarks and stressed that most Ayurvedic Medicine and its effects are well known to many people, but it needs to be written as books for future education and exploration. He also called for a weekly Ayurvedic medicine and experience column in newspapers.

The program ended with a vote of thanks from Mr. Naryanan Kutty followed by the National anthem. Video recording of the program is available at kagw.com

Ambassador of India’s Virtual Interactive Session with Community Leaders of Indian Diaspora

On Thursday, March 10, 2022, the Ambassador of India to the United States Shri Taranjit Singh Sandhu organized a virtual interactive session with community leaders/members of the Indian diaspora on different facets of India-US partnership and ways to advance it further. The interaction included Ambassador's address and brief intervention by some community leaders/members.

Counsellor (Education & Community Affairs) led the program and invited the community leaders/members to speak individually. Participants made brief interventions to provide opportunity to a maximum number of participants to express their views. Counsellor also advised using the chatroom feature on the Zoom platform for further discussion and the discussions were summarized for the Ambassador.

Dr. Madhu Nambiar from the Kerala Association of Greater Washington participated in the event.

Another Feather in the Cap of KAGW

Realizing the need for increasing environmental cleaning and protection awareness, community service, and providing opportunities for KAGW families for volunteering, President Saju Thomas, and the Social Service Committee headed by Pradeep Krishnanath ventured to ADOPT-A-ROAD for families residing in the DC and VA area in 2018. They succeeded and organized the first KAGW VA road cleaning program on September 28, 2018 at 9 AM at Mooreview Parkway, Ashburn. All volunteers met at the Moorefield Station, Elementary School, Ashburn and cleaned the busy road.

Under the leadership of Nirar Basheer in 2019, we obtained the cleaning claws permanently to make the environmental cleaning easier for our volunteers. By this way, we need only gloves, trash bags, and vests for cleaning.

Now, we can see the Adopt-A-Road board in the name of Kerala Association of Greater Washington on Mooreview Parkway, Ashburn VA. Let us thank all who worked behind this project to make it successful.

KAGW also has a long-standing partnership with Prince George’s County, MD's ADOPT-A-ROAD program to maintain the Cipriano road, Lanham on a regular basis.

Some pictures of the 2019 Mooreview Parkway road cleaning can be found here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/pRRDjWHiQRkNrC1A8

https://photos.app.goo.gl/wtMLsnUozNP7d4uE8

Penn Masala's 25th Anniversary Spring Show in Philadelphia on Apr 2

Penn Masala, the world's first and premier South Asian A Cappella group. Over the years they have cameoed on Pitch Perfect 2, performed for President Obama, and accrued 30 million YouTube views. They are having a Spring show in Philadelphia on April 2nd and hoping members would love their blend of Western and South Asian music! They have a group discount ticket. Please contact pennmasala@gmail.com

Bhashafunic – Malayalam conversational Skills

Bhashafunic is an Organization that is dedicated to helping Malayalee kids growing up abroad in developing their Malayalam Conversational skills and introducing them to the culture, tradition, and social setup of Kerala.

Bhashafunic is conducting regular weekly Online Malayalam Class, which is designed in such a way that the kids won't feel the learning as a burdensome process rather like a fun session where they get a chance to talk to other Malayalee kids of their same level and learn from each other and from highly dedicated Native Tutors.

We are also conducting 5 days of Spring Bootcamp starting from April 18th to April 22nd, 2022. This could help kids to easily converse with their relatives, especially their Grandparents in Kerala, and also make their Kerala trips more enjoyable and effortless.

KAGW Family Night

KAGW held the second Family Night on Saturday, February 26, 2022, at the Walter Johnson High School in Bethesda MD. The main goal of the family night was reuniting with friends, networking, and bonding between families. A large number of KAGW family members participated in the family night.

Potluck items with traditional Kerala dishes were served for dinner. We thank all the members who volunteered to bring the food. Culinary skills were standing out in every food item. Family night after the KAGW Reconnect and Rejuvenate made it very special for all the participants.

TEAM FRIENDS OF FOMAA VISIT KERALA ASSOCIATION OF GREATER WASHINGTON TALENT TIME

Kerala Association of Greater Washington (KAGW), Talent Time in-person Day 1 program was held on March 26th at the North Bethesda Middle School, 8935 Bradmoor Dr, Bethesda, MD 20817. Team Friends of FOMAA, Dr. Jacob Thomas, Mr. Ojus John, Mr. Biju Thonikadvil (Current FOMAA Joint Treasurer), Mr. Sunny Vallikalam, Dr. Jaimol Sreedhar, and Mr. James George visited the KAGW 2022 Talent Time and showed their strong support for the arts and literary competitions. Team Friends of FOMAA met many of the KAGW's past presidents including Mr. Pence Jacob, Mr. Saju Thomas, Mr. Thomas Kurien, Mr. Shaju Sivabalan, Mr. Rejive Joseph, and Mr. Naryanan Kutty Menon, and several members of KAGW and exchanged their views. They also held discussions with former FOMAA Regional Vice-Presidents Mr. Thomas Kurien, and Mr. Shaju Sivabalan.

KAGW senior leaders and many of the Association members were happy to welcome and meet the members of Team Friends of FOMAA. Although several of them have spoken to each other and interacted via Zoom and other online communications, this visit provided an opportunity to meet and greet in person. Similarly, Team Friends of FOMAA were also overjoyed to meet the KAGW officials, friends, and members. KAGW thanks the Team Friends of FOMAA and their support for the valuable arts and literary competition to learn culture, traditions and boost leadership skills.

In 2015, KAGW in collaboration with FOMAA participated in a unique Summer to Kerala program. The KAGW Talent Time Kalathilakam, Kalaprathibha, Rising Star Kalathilakam, Rising Star Kalaprathibha were invited to take part in the Summer to Kerala Program. This was coordinated by Mr. Vinson Palathingal, former FOMAA Vice-President. The program aligned with the FOMAA Kerala Convention and the participants had the opportunity to attend the convention and a complete tour of Kerala from South to North and parts of Tamilnadu for around two weeks.

After the KAGW Talent Time visits, the Team Friends of FOMAA attended a formal program and luncheon to meet many of the members and leaders of the Capital Region Malayalee organizations. FOMAA RVP Thomas Jose welcomed the members of Team Friends of FOMAA to the Capital Region. Kairali of Baltimore president Jijo Alappat and many other delegates and members from the Capital Region attended the function. Past KAGW presidents, Mr. Narayanan Kutty Menon, Mr. Thomas Kurien, and Former FOMAA Vice President Mr. Vinson Palathingal, attended the formal meeting with Team Friends of FOMAA.

Team Friends of FOMAA presented their views and plans for FOMAA 2022-2024 to the attendees. The Panel also addressed many of the questions and comments from the Capital region and explained their detailed preparation for the upcoming elections. They also discussed individually and sought full support for the upcoming elections.

FOMAA FAMILY TEAM MEET AND GREET WITH CAPITAL REGION LEADERS

FOMAA Family Team visited the Capital Region on Sunday, March 27, 2022, to continue their campaign for the 2022 - 2024 FOMAA elections. The meet and greet was held at Catonsville Square, 730 Frederick Road, Catonsville, MD 21228. Kairali of Baltimore President Jijo Alappat, other leaders, and members took lead in hosting the FOMAA Family Team.

Current FOMAA RVP Thomas Jose, National Committee member Dr. Madhu Nambiar, who is also the current President of the Kerala Association of Greater Washington, attended the program. Past RVPs, Joy Koodali, and George Cherupil also attended the program. Former FOMAA vice-President and current Election Commissioner Vinson Palathingal also attended the meet and greet.

After the ice-breaker, FOMAA Family Team introduced themselves one by one starting from Presidential candidate James Illikal, General secretary candidate Vinod Kondoor, Treasurer candidate, Jofrin Jose, Vice-Presidential candidate Cigil Palackalody , Joint secretary candidate Biju Chacko and Joint treasurer candidate Babloo Chacko.

FOMAA Family Team members in their introduction explained their vision and plan for FOMAA 2022-2024. They also gave their vast expertise with FOMAA and which led them to contest for each of the positions. FOMAA Family Team members connected well with the audience and were impressed by their preparation for the upcoming elections.

Followed by the FOMAA Family Team presentation, Capital Region RVP Thomas Jose addressed the gathering. In his speech, he welcomed the FOMAA Family Team members and wished them all the best. National Committee member Dr. Madhu Nambiar also welcomed the FOMAA Family Team Members. He mentioned his role in FOMAA 2020-2022 and reiterated the importance of teamwork and communication to succeed. Vijoy Pattamadi from Kairali of Baltimore also wished all the best to the candidates.

After that, General secretary candidate Vinod Kondoor addressed some of the questions that came up including the importance of communication and collaborative work. All the leaders who attended the program also introduced themselves and shared some ideas with the FOMAA Family Team, praised their hard work, and wished them all the best. Former FOMAA vice president Vinson Palathingal stressed the importance of continuing to maintain harmony and move on with the good work FOMAA is currently doing irrespective of loss or win.

FOMAA Family members met the individual attendees and discussed furthermore and also addressed the questions each one of them had.

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