Mahesh Shetty
BANA President
Shrini Shetty
Vice President
Deviprasad Bhandary
Vice President
Jairaj Hegde
Vice President
Divya Shetty
Treasurer
Veena Shetty
Secretary
WHAT WE DO
BANA is the Bunts Association of North America, formed to help North American Bunts stay connected with others in their community who had likewise made the move across the Atlantic. Biennial BANA conventions have served as joyful reunions for the North American Bunt community. And now, as BANA expands into its third generation, we are also evolving into a resource for American Bunts to maintain a connection with their ancestral culture.
​
As the BANA mission statement goes, "Honor the past, create the future."
OUR HERITAGE
The Bunts are a community found mainly in southern coastal Karnataka and bordering areas in Kerala (Tulu Nadu). The word Bunta in the Kannada language implies a soldier. This is derived from the Sanskrit word Bhata meaning powerful man or a warrior. The Tulu equivalent is Bunte or Bunter (plural), which means Protector.
​
Bunts are mostly found in the present day Dakshina Kannada, Uttara Kannda, and Udupi districts of Karnataka, the Kasaragod district of Kerala and also in Mumbai and Bengaluru.
​