The 41st Annual General Body was held on Saturday and Sunday, the 15th and 16th of October 2011 at Thiruvananthapuram. The two-day state conference was held at Ulloor S. Parameswara Iyer Nagar (Panchajanyam Kalyana Mandapam, Fort P. O., Thiruvananthapuram). Delegates from all over Kerala attended the two-day AGB held at the capital city of Kerala. Dr. V. Ramalingam has been re-elected as the State President of Kerala Brahmana Sabha unanimously. The 41st AGB became a landmark in the history of Sabha by electing C. G. Kiran from Kozhikode unanimously as the ever first State President of Yuvajana Vibhagam in the Delegate Meeting held in the afternoon. Dr. K. V. Saraswathy got elected as the State President of Vanitha Vibhagam.
Unlike in the previous years, the AGB was conducted in two days for a better time management. On 15th October 2011, Peethambara Kurup MP, inaugurated the meeting by lighting the Nilavilakku. In his inaugural address, he said the representatives of the Kerala Brahmana Sabha should have a seat in the Dewaswom Boards in the state. The community members should unite together to have their rights established in the present condition. Dr. V. Ramalingam, State President presided over the meeting. R. Ramachandran Nair IAS (Ex-Chief Secretary of Kerala), Janardana Iyer (Chairman, Sarada Educational Society), Dr. M. Sambasivan (Ex-State President, Kerala Brahmana Sabha), Dr. Latha Ramakrishnan (State President, Vanitha Vibhagam) and H. Ganesh (District President, Thiruvananthapuram) were also present on the occasion. A music-dance night in the name ‘Sargam 2011’ was staged by the Yuvajana Vibhagam of Thiruvananthapuram after the meeting. The three hour programme of the youngsters showcased a heart-throbbing performance.
Ceremonial welcome to Dr. V. Ramalingam
Dr. V. Ramalingam was received at the West Fort Gate next day on 16th of October 2011, before commencing the Delegate meeting. The volunteers of Sabha gave him a ceremonial welcome with Poornakumbham in the venue. Thousands participated in the procession accompanied by festival umbrellas, panchavadyam and nagaswaram to receive the State President.
41st Annual General Body - Delegate Meeting at Ulloor S. Parameswara Iyer Nagar
The Delegate meeting of the 41st AGB was presided over by Dr. V. Ramalingam, State President. The session passed the Report and Accounts presented before the members after detailed discussions and proceeded to election. Dr. V. Ramalingam got elected unanimously in the elections and he then nominated P. Ananthasubramaniam as General Secretary, K. G. V. Pathy as Treasurer, Mohandas S. and A. Sankarasubramanian as Joint Secretaries (Head Quarters). The other office bearers elected are as follows. Vice Presidents: N. Hariharan (South Zone), Dr. P. S. Raman (Central Zone), N. R. Krishnamurthy (North Zone); Secretaries: R. Suresh (South Zone), N. R. Parameswaran (Central Zone), C. D. Parameswaran (North Zone). G. Mony, Returning Officer conducted the elections and the new office bearers declared by him took charge immediately. P. Ananthasubramaniam, General Secretary delivered the vote of thanks.
Annual General Body - Delegate Meeting of Vanitha Vibhagam
In the afternoon session, Honourable Speaker of Kerala Legislative Assembly, G. Karthikeyan inaugurated the Delegate meeting of Vanitha Vibhagam and Yuvajana Vibhagam. “The Brahmin community is not too far from the mainstream and there is no point in having an alien feeling. We are living in a democratic society where numbers influence the decisions of the rulers. The organization should timely fight and interfere in the issues of the member’s rights when it is reduced or lost when shared. Also Brahmins should be keen on keeping your moral and values in life, and should live by uplifting the rich tradition and culture that you own” – he said. The meeting was presided over by Dr. Latha Ramakrishnan, State President of Vanitha Vibhagam. Dr. V. Ramalingam presented a memento to G. Karthikeyan on the occasion. Radha Rangan delivered the welcome address and Adv. Sujini Venkitachalam said the vote of thanks.
The official proceedings held thereafter and the Report and Annual Accounts were passed after brief discussions and debate. Dr. K. V. Saraswathy from Alapuzha unanimously got elected as State President of Vanitha Vibhagam and she nominated Adv. Sujini Venkitachalam as Secretary and M. Muthulekshmi as Treasurer.
Annual General Body of Yuvajana Vibhagam
The Delegate meeting of Yuvajana Vibhagam was held at Colonel. Viswanathan Nagar presided by D. Harinath. Since an ad-hoc committee was in charge of the Yuvajana Vibhagam, a consolidated Report was not presented; instead individual districts presented the reports and passed. Dr. V. Ramalingam addressed the session. After G. Mony briefed on the election procedures, C. G. Kiran from Kozhikode was unanimously elected as the State President of Yuvajana Vibhagam. He nominated Ramkumar K. B. as Secretary and Arun Kumar A. S. as Treasurer of Yuvajana Vibhagam. Dr. P. S. Raman (State Vice President), S. S. Iyer (Ex-State President, Kerala Brahmana Sabha), Mohandas S. (State Joint Secretary), S. Sankar (District Secretary, Kottayam) and D. Harinath (State Co-ordinator, ad-hoc committee) felicitated the newly elected office bearers. Ramkumar K. B. said the vote of thanks.
Cultural Competitions for children
Earlier on Saturday, 15th of October 2011, the Cultural Competitions for children of the age group 8 to 15 were held at Ulloor S. Parameswara Iyer Nagar (Panchajanyam, Fort, Thiruvananthapuram). Her highness Aswathy Thirunal Gowri Lakshmi bayi delivered a mind blowing address by inaugurating the competitions. Among the 8 great civilizations in the World history, ours is the only one which is in practice even after so many years of invasion and disruption, because it is safe in the hands of you Brahmins, said Aswathy Thirunal. You should be able to keep your morals and values coupled with the rich tradition and culture that you possess in this present age too, even though it is challenging – she added. Dr. V. Ramalingam presided over the meeting. S. Udayalakshmi (Municipal Counciller, Fort Ward), S. Anantharama Iyer (President, South Zone), H. Ganesh (District President, Thiruvananthapuram) and P. Ananthasubramaniam were also present on the occasion.
The competitions were held in two categories for boys and girls. The district level winners participated in the competitions held in five – Kolamidal, Slokam Chanting, Manthram Chanting and Bhajana – disciplines. The following won the prizes.
MANTHRAM CHANTING - GROUP A
FIRST - Navaneeth H. (Kollam)
SECOND - Kailasapathy G. (Palakkad)
THIRD - Sankara Narayanan (Kozhikode)
MANTHRAM CHANTING - GROUP B
FIRST - Ramakrishnan V. (Ernakulam)
SECOND - Subramanian R. (Thiruvananthapuram)
THIRD – Sreenath (Palakkad)
SLOKAM CHANTING - GROUP A
FIRST - Shradha G. (Ernakulam)
SECOND - Saikripa S. (Ernakulam)
THIRD - Chaithanya R. (Palakkad)
SLOKAM CHANTING - GROUP B
FIRST - Sruthi S. (Kottayam)
SECOND - Vijayalakshmi (Thiruvananthapuram)
THIRD - Pavithra C. V. (Ernakulam)
KOLAMIDAL - GROUP A
FIRST - Saimeena (Thiruvananthapuram)
SECOND - SAIKRIPA S. (Ernakulam)
THIRD - Bhavadarshini M. S. (Thiruvananthapuram)
KOLAMIDAL - GROUP B
FIRST - Sreeja M. Krishnan (Palakkad)
SECOND - Divya S. (Kollam)
THIRD - Aparna S. & Pavithra C. V. (Ernakulam)
BHAJANA - GROUP A
FIRST - Navaneeth H. & Party (Kollam)
SECOND - Gayathri & Party (Palakkad)
THIRD - Dasarathi & Party (Thiruvananthapuram)
BHAJANA - GROUP B
FIRST - Lakshmi Hariharan & Party (Palakkad)
SECOND - Subramanian & Party (Ernakulam)
THIRD – Suchithra Narayanan & Party (Thrissur)
Closing Ceremony
The closing ceremony was inaugurated by V. S. Sivakumar, Minister for Transport and Dewaswom. In his inaugural address, he assured the Brahmin community that the Government will not initiate any actions that will adversely affect the people who live in and around Sree Padmanabhaswami Temple for any security reasons. K. Chandrika (Mayor, Thiruvananthapuran Corporation), V. Sivankutti MLA, O. Rajagopal (Ex-Minister for States) and H. Ganesh (District President, Thiruvananthapuram) addressed the gathering. The meeting was presided over by Dr. V. Ramalingam, State President of Kerala Brahmana Sabha. The winners of the cultural competitions were given certificates and cash prizes of Rs. 7500, 5000 and 2500 for First, Second and Third positions respectively. The personalities among the community who have outstanding achievements were also honoured on the occasion. Deenabandhu P. Thanu Iyer, Deena Dayanidhi Radha Narayanan and elder couples of the community were also honoured on the occasion.
Venue, Food & Accommodation – Thanks to the organizing committee
The architecture of the dining hall (used as ‘Nelpura’ of royal family) and some of the locations arranged for accommodation (like Veda Gramam) was attractive and had the royal touch of Travancore. Arrangements made for food and accommodation gave quite good response from the Delegates came from different parts of Kerala. Altogether the organizers deserve a pat on their back for the smooth and good conduct of a grand event.
