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Gowdas and Gowdthis from NJ and surrounding states. The fact that they were already a
close-knit Gowda clan helped make his work effective and efficient.

We had planning meetings at Babuanna’s, Rameshanna’s and Madhu Rangiah’s homes.
First Ladies Vasudha Keelara and Shridevi Manjegowda, and Shubhashini Rangiah were
gracious hosts. I still say that Shridevi’s home-made chicken biriyani is the best ever!

For the first time in VPA history, a Broadway-like Musical, ‘Naada Prabhu Kempe Gowda
Vaibhava’ played to great accolades at the Convention. Pop-star Naveen Sajju’s music
invigorated the audience. Dr. Hamsa Gangaswamaiah both coordinated and participated in
the beautiful dance numbers and skits that delighted the audience. The all-male ‘Gowdru
Kunitha’ by our volunteers in ‘baniyans & chaddis’ caused a riot!

Our Gowdru ‘oota’ was very appreciated by attendees. Besides delicious staples like ‘Ragi
mudde’, ‘Koli saaru’ and Chicken biriyani, the 4PM ‘Thindi’ was especially scrumptious.
Madhu Rangaiah gets all the credit for getting freshly-made ‘obbittu, kajjaya and nippattu’
from Bangalore, which made its way to NJ in 2 days on Garuda Airlines! Attendees who
from Bangalore, which made its way to NJ in 2 days on Garudavega Courier Services! Attendees who
were wondering how there was unlimited, ‘Open Bar’ on all 3 days can thank Jagadish
Shivaramaiah for his savvy negotiating skills with vendors! IT specialist Subhashini Ramappa
did a superb job sending out all those timely Convention e-mails. Her ‘Dress-code Decoded’
e-mail blast was especially appreciated by attendees. Dr. Raju Muthu with his audio-video
acumen saved us a lot of money when negotiating with vendors.

Mamatha Shivaramiah spearheaded the ‘Meravanige’ which was one of the highlights of
the Convention. With her dedicated team, she fashioned the beautiful Shree Chamundeshwari
idol, Prabhavali, Mantapa, and Nandi Kambas from scratch, even using power tools! Hema
Preetham and her team were the brains and labor behind the amazing, large-scale,‘Halli’
diorama, and stunning Ganesha floral decorations to welcome Convention attendees. A big
‘THANK YOU’ to all our dedicated Convention Volunteers, who besides holding full-time
jobs spent enormous time and effort to make the convention a smashing success. You will
see their pictures later in this souvenir. We also thank our generous Convention Sponsors,
who helped make the 16 VPA Convention such a big success. Their family pictures follow
th
later in the souvenir.

Looking forward to meeting you all at the next VPA Convention in Detroit!

Namaskaragalu.

Vani Anand, MPH, CHES

Vishwamanava Committee Lead

December 2019

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