Elaborate arrangements for KHNA Convention

New York: In the land of immigrants, Kerala Hindus of North America (KHNA) was formed with an aim to uphold the Sanathanadharma and to pass on the merits of our culture and traditions to the upcoming generations. KHNA has done a commendable job in the short period of time and is gearing up for the upcoming convention scheduled from Jul 1- Jul 4 at Hilton Rye Town, Rye brook, NY. The venue for the function has been named Pranav Nagar and it is spread over 40 acres blessed with natural beauty on the outskirts of New York City.

 Leading personalities, cultural leaders and artists from India will be joining this event. SNDP General Secretary Vellapally Natesan, Poet Sri V.Madhusoodhanan Nair, famous scientist from CSIR Dr. Gopalakrishnan,columnist and professor from Indian Institute of Science Prof.Rajeev Srinivasan, Padmabhooshan Kavalam Narayanapanikker, Kavalam Sreekumar, K.S Chitra, Indira Rajan are among the honorary guests attending the event. Invitations are being sent to cultural leaders from other Hindu organizations.

Briefing the press, KHNA president Venkat Sarma spoke about the various initiatives the organization has  taken in the past couple of years. KHNA was able to build 10 houses for Tsunami victims and has also done education assistance in the form of scholarships worth $250 to 50 students. Plans are in pipe line to make this scholarship program a permanent one. Mr.Sarma emphasized the fact that KHNA even after  being a growing organization was able to formulate a constitution and terms and conditions for governance and based on the same able to plan  and execute long term programs beneficial to the society. Mr. Udayabhanu Panikker heads the trustee board which oversees the long term plans. He told that this convention is just a medium through which younger generation will understand our age old culture and heritage and try to be part of the same.Mr. Gopinatha Kurup general convenor spoke about the duties of the parents to mould their children in the right way. The parents who are not giving proper guidance and education to their kids are a curse to their children as well as to the society. Conventions and get together of this kind are a good occasion for the younger generation who are born and growing abroad to know more about their roots and their country. They can also be part of various cultural programs and other related events adding more fun and excitement. The stages and auditorium will wore a Kerala style look and feel and the organizers are doing their best to make Pranav Nagar a replica of God’s Own Country.

Some of the key events scheduled for this convention include

• A women’s forum led by her highness Gauri Parvathy Bhai, member Travancore Royal Family


• A Ganamela by K.S Chithra leading film actress.


• Santhi Santhi a cultural concert by American Rock Band


• Madhyama Vyayogam, by Kavalam Narayana Panikker and troup, New Delhi


• Ananya – An exclusive fashion show to highlight Kerala dress styles and related fashions for young women


• Chiriyarangu


• Traditional kerala folk events, Chendamelam


• A basket ball tournament in the memory of our beloved guru Sri Swami Satyananda Saraswathi.


• Competition on Geetha Chanting, Flower arrangement ,Elocution


• Youth meet, Media seminar, Medical seminar, Cultural discussion forum .All these seminars and forums will be attended by leading personalities in their respective domains.


• Lectures by swamijis from Vedic foundation in English

The organizers spoke about the arrangements made for the 3 day event  and registration details. The food served will be Indian vegetarian food and special arrangements are being made in the hotel to cater food for 3 days in typical Indian style .For a family of 4 to participate in the convention the package is named Narmada and it costs $1200 including food and accommodation expenses. They will be also given a half page space to advertise their family photo in the convention souvenir. Registrations are going on in full swing and  organizers are expecting the total registration to be over 1000 families .They have already registered more than 200 families for this event.  There is a gift kit for each of the family comprising a valuable valampiri sankh, a special edition of Bhagavat Geetha and Ramayana with meanings and descriptions in English and Malayalam  exclusively made for this convention. A raffle will be drawn on the concluding day to raise funds for the long term projects of KHNA. The first prize for the raffle is a Mercedes Benz car and other prizes include a nilavilakku, golden necklace, ipod etc.

The entire event will covered by leading Malayalam TV Channels and media.

KHNA has its headquarters in Pasadena, Texas. They conducted their first convention in 2001 at Dallas,TX and in 2003 at Houston,TX. Office Bearers of KHNA B.Aravindakshan (Treasurer),  Raju Nanoo (Gen. Sec)  , Rajagopal and Sreekumar Pillai were also present in the press meet.

Please refer www.khna.org for online registration and for other program details.