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It's all about the beginning of NEKK.
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It was on March 31, 1973 about fifty people of Karnataka region of India assembled for a picnic at Roger Williams Park in Providence, Rhode Island. Having assembled in a large number, they then decided to form an association of Kannadigas of New England region. That was just the beginning of our Kannada Koota.
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The origin and early years are very interesting and worth knowing about. The people who thought about this association were mostly young people who had come from India for advanced studies. They felt a need to bring together all the people whose mother tongue was Kannada. Soon the association took shape with several subscribing members. The founding members decided to name this newly formed association as "New England Kannada Koota" in short known as NEKK. The constitution was written as a guiding principle in 1974. The written Constitution was approved by the General Body of the Voting Members on September 13, 1975.
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There were a lot of people involved in NEKK's early years. The pioneering efforts towards forming NEKK were first initiated byMr. S.N. Subba Rao who was a student at Brown University. He was supported by Dr. E. R. Suryanarayana and late Mr. S.K. Srinivasa. Since then it became an organization with a President, Secretary and a set of Executive Committee (EC) members. Mr. S.L.N. Rao was NEKK's first elected President. Each year election was held for a set of new office bearers. NEKK gained strength due to some excellent efforts by the members and the Executive Committee and gradually was able to provide cultural and entertainment programs.
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About the same time, an interesting function was held in New York. The New York Kannada Koota hosted the first North-East Kannada Sammelana in 1976. That year was also a landmark since the Sammelana provided an opportunity for kannadigas of Northeastern region of USA to come together and develop friendship. The Kannada fraternity became larger and more open. Dr. Mekri , the popular and reknown eye surgeon, came from India to attend the conference as a Chief Guest. We can proudly say today that what started as a small organization has now become a viable part of Kannadigas’ life in New England. NEKK celebrated its 25th anniversary / silver jubilee celebrations in 1998.
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To bring a sense of festivity into otherwise routine lifestyle, NEKK has been organising four major gatherings as part of its activities for the year. Ugadi is celebrated during spring followed by an annual picnic in summer. The next major gathering is for Ganesha Chaturthi Celebrations and finally Kannada Rajyothsava celebrations which also includes Deepavali and Childrens Day is celebrated in November.
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