AKKA was born in February 1998, at the first world Kannada
sammelana-98 held in USA at Phoenix, AZ. The spirit
of more than 800 Kannadigas at this conference was
all encompassing like a great family re-union. In
the words of Harish Kumar, one of the founding members
of the steering committee, "the Phoenix Sammelana
set the Gold standard for Kannada Sammelanas in USA
and that all future Sammelanas will be judged by
that gold standard". A group of 9 prominent
kannadigas who believed in the need for a central
organization were selected from across the country
by the Chairman of the conference Mr. Seetha V. Ramaiah
and formed a steering committee. This committee elected
the office bearers of AKKA and got its constitution
drafted by Seetha V. Ramaiah.
The constitution was reviewed and adopted by
the members of AKKA at the time viz. the members of
the steering committee in a tele-conference call meeting
in February 1999.
The group of Kannadigas attending the Sammelana
was so enthused by the great synergy generated in
the Phoenix
Sammelana, they volunteered under the leadership of
Jayram Nadig to conduct the World Millennium Kannada
Conference, WMKC-2000 in Houston Texas. AKKA approved
Houston Kannada Koota’s request for the next
world Kannada sammelana in the millennium, and under
the leadership
of Jayram Nadig and Houston Vrinda. We had more than
2000 people attending this Sammelana, one of the most
talked about events for kannadigas with a most successful
sammelana in Houston.
AKKA became a household word both in USA and Karnataka
and became a symbol of pride for Kannadigas everywhere.
In recognition of AKKA's successful efforts in promoting
Kannada arts and culture in America, the Government
of Karnataka awarded the Rajyothsava to AKKA in December
2001.
Enthused by the success of the Houston Sammelana
another group of enthusiastic Kannadigas pledged at
the Houston
Sammelana to host the second AKKA Sammelana in the year
2002, in New York. Due to various reasons known and
unknown, the New York Kannada informed AKKA about six
months later that they would not be able to host the
2002 World Kannada Sammelana.
This left us with just about one year to prepare
for the world Sammelana. Against heavy odds, and great
doubts,
the Kannadigas from the Detroit Area extended their
full support to me and to AKKA and pledged to hold the
2002 sammelana in Detroit, Michigan, which even scaled
greater heights, with more than 4000 kannadigas attending
the conference. We all owe a great debt of gratitude
to the Kannadigas of Detroit area.
And we are carrying forward the momentum generated
by the gathering and networking of such large number
of kannadigas, and are planning very earnestly to have
the biggest and best sammelana in the magical city
of Orlando in September 2004.
