Our Mission:
ಕನ್ನಡ ಭಾಷೆ ಮತ್ತು ಸಂಸೃತಿಯನ್ನು, ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದ ಹಿರಿಮೆಯನ್ನು ಟೊರೊಂಟೊ ಪ್ರದೇಶದಲ್ಲಿ ಪ್ರೋತ್ಸಾಹಿಸಿ, ಬೆಳೆಸುವುದು ನಮ್ಮ ಕನ್ನಡ ಸಂಘದ ಮುಖ್ಯಧ್ಯೇಯವಾಗಿರುವುದು.
Kannada Sangha Toronto (KST) works to promote, preserve and celebrate the cultural and linguistic heritage of Kannada and Karnataka in the Greater Toronto Area.
Kannada Sangha Toronto (KST) is a not-for-profit corporation established under Provincial laws of Ontario a NGO to celebrate the rich linguistic and cultural heritage of Kannada and Karnataka.
KST was established in 1973 and has provided a platform for Kannada speaking people to connect and celebrate the traditional festivals, cultural and sports. KST has organized several community outreach programs and undertaken initiatives like food-drive, tree plantation. KST caters to all segments of our community like seniors, newcomers, women and youth. While KST strives to keep seniors engaged by conducting focussed programs, we provide opportunities for our youth to get engaged in community events and stay connected to our culture and language in Canada.
KST has grown from a couple of hundred people 20 years ago to almost 500 members and more than 1200 subscribers. KST is a vibrant and active organization that promotes and takes part in other Canadian and Indian national festival celebrations like Canada Day, Multi-cultural Day, Indian Independence Day and Indian Republic Day festivals. KST has won many accolades in such events.
KST is open to all members of the public. While we want every Kannada speaking person to become member of KST, we also encourage non-members to take part in our events. This website is a platform for fellow Kannadigas and the public to connect with the community.
Some of the regular events conducted by KST are:
- Ganesha Habba
- Seniors / New-Comers Day
- Nada Habba Dasara
- Casino Trip in Winter
- Cultural Day
- Yugadi (New Year Day for Kannadigas)
- Picnic
KST has adopted to the ongoing Pandemic situation has conducted most of its regular programs and also added some new programs to its calendar during, namely, Kannada Rajyotsava, (Karnataka State Formation Day) on November 1st and Multi-cultural / Canada Day along with our annual Picnic. We hope this will become a new tradition and included as part of our regular events in future.
Thanks to a special grant received from the Canadian Red Cross and Government of Canada ‘s ESDC, KST conducted 13 programs in the month of October and November 2020, which was very well received by our community and Kannadigas all over the world as these events were broadcasted on our Facebook and YouTube channels.
About Kannada and Karnataka:
Kannada language is more than 2000 old and is one of the first and few languages that has been conferred with the status of “Classical Language”. Kannada is the official language and spoken predominantly in the State of Karnataka and adjacent states to Karnataka like Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Kannada has won Eight Jnana Peetha Awards, the highest literary award in India. There are different dialects of Kannada spoken within Karnataka.
Karnataka, the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in southern part of India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as the State of Mysore, it was renamed as Karnataka in 1973.
It is the eighth largest Indian state by area, the ninth largest by population and comprises 30 districts.
The two main river systems of the state are Krishna and its tributaries (Bhima, Ghataprabha, Vedavati, Malaprabha, and Tungabhadra) in the north, and the Cauvery and its tributaries (Hemavati, Shimsha, Arkavathi, Lakshmana Thirtha and Kabini) in the south. Both these rivers flow eastward and fall into the Bay of Bengal.
Though several etymologies have been suggested for the name Karnataka, the generally accepted one is that Karnataka is derived from the Kannada words karu and nadu, meaning elevated land. Karu nadu may also be read as Karu (black) and nadu (region), as a reference to the black cotton soil found in the Bayaluseeme region of Karnataka. The British used the word Carnatic (sometimes Karnatik) to describe both sides of peninsular India, south of the Krishna River.
The first of four Shankar Mutts established by Adi Shankaracharya is in Sringeri, Eight Mutts established by Sri Madhavacharya in Udupi, Anubhahava Mantapa established by Sri Bashaveshwara hundreds of years ago and many such other important historical places of our culture are all in Karnataka.
Karnataka is a great destination for tourism with many places of interests from pristine beaches on the West coast to hill stations and many UNESCO declared heritage sites like Hampi or Sahyadri forests! Belur, Halebedu, Aihole. Shravanabalegola temples are world renowned for their architecture.
Kannadigas have contributed to all spheres of life like Politics, Religion, Sports, Art and Culture. Sir M. Visheshwarayya , whose birthday is celebrated as “Engineers Day” in India, the first human computer, Shakuntala Devi are Kannadigas. Famous sports persons like Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, Prakash Padkone, pioneers in Indian Information Technology industry like N.R. Narayan Murthy and Azim Premji are some of the other famous Kannadigas.
Karnataka is known as peace loving place where people from different parts of India and world following different cultural and religious practices live together and a true example of Unity in Diversity.
Please watch our award-winning video Namma Karnataka:
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