Where did it (all) start...
Rewind to June 2006. A sunny, warm weekend, at the base of Wicklow mountains, in an idyllic village called Blessington, a few Kannadiga friends sat down for a Harate at Sunil Vasudev’s house.
One topic let to another, like it usually does! Sunil, Durgesh, Madhav, Prabhu and Basavaraju came up with the idea of creating a Yahoo group for all the wayward Kannadigas living in Ireland. Later on, they shared the idea with two other senior friends, Prakash and Harsha. They loved it too as much as the others.
Click here to watch the flashback video with Sunil and Durgesh
The idea gained wheels and in the next few days ‘Irishkannadigas’, our first Yahoogroup was created. The link was shared with friends, who later shared with their own friends. Before they knew it, the group grew. In a matter of a few weeks, the group was stronger with 25 enthusiastic members. The whole team was surprised and delighted.
Remember, it was the Summer of ‘06. What better way to celebrate than by a visit to the closest we can get to Jog Falls? Yes, Powerscourt Waterfalls! Our first ever Kannada Koota was organized at Powerscourt Waterfalls and Gardens. More than 50 people took part in this gathering of Kannadada Kanmanis!
Our love for Karnataka and Kannada only gained momentum from there on. We quickly planned to meet again for Ganesh Chaturthi. Harsha and Sonal, who lived in Allendale, Dublin, volunteered to host Ganesha Habba at their wonderful home. It was a wonderful feeling for all of us. The nostalgia, the heavenly sounds of Shlokas and the delicious smell of the Mrushtanna Bhojana was intoxicating!
We couldn’t stop at that, could we?! We decided to meet again and celebrate Kannada Rajyotsava. Any excuse to meet again! We decided to call it ‘Kannada Habba’. We booked a small hall in Palmerstown, Dublin. We practised songs, dances, plays and performances to entertain the group. We didn’t shy away from it all, even though some of us had never been on stage! The hard work soon bore fruit. We were the participants and of course we were the audience too. The show was a super hit! It was the best start for our Sangha that we could have ever imagined.
In 2007, it was time to feel more at home in Ireland. Mungaaru Male, already a big hit in India, was screened at UCI Cinema, Tallaght, on July 8th, 2007. We mobilised all Indian communities in Ireland, including The Indian Embassy in Dublin. It was a roaring success with more than 80 viewers. Our whistles and claps can still be heard in the halls of UCI cinema!
Click here to see the movie page that we created
The movie screening increased our visibility and more and more Kannadigas got to know about us. Today, we can proudly say that we are a 2000+ strong community. It all started 16 years ago in a duplex house over a few cups of Kaapi!
- Flashback from Durgesh Kalegowda.