With winter almost tucked up in the attic, it’s time to come out of our cocoons and enjoy this spring festival. Every year it is celebrated on the day after the full moon in early March and glorifies good harvest.

Holi is now a symbolic tribute to a legend from Hindu Mythology. The story is about an arrogant king who resents his son Prahlada worshipping Lord Vishnu. He attempts to kill his son but fails each time. Finally, the king’s sister Holika who is said to be immune to burning, sits with the boy in a huge fire. However, the prince Prahlada emerges unscathed, while his aunt burns to death. Holi commemorates this event from mythology, and huge bonfires are burnt on the eve of Holi as its symbolic representation.

This exuberant festival is also associated with the immortal love of Krishna-Radha, and hence, Holi is spread over sixteen days in Vrindavan and Mathura – the two cities with which Lord Krishna shared a deep affiliation. It is believed that when Lord Krishna was young, he often whined about his dark complexion and wondered why Radha was so fair. One day, his mother Yashoda playfully suggested that he can smear colour on Radha’s face and change her complexion to any colour he wanted. Fascinated by the idea, Krishna proceeded to do so and thus, introduced the festival of colours. Lord Krishna is believed to have popularized the festival by playing pranks on the gopis.

“It`s once again a time of the year, when you can holler, howl and scream, ‘Holi hai!’ with full social sanction. Holi demands big time planning. Buckets and barrels of strongly coloured water have to be concocted and water balloons filled to greet friends and neighbours. The gala time starts in the morning itself. People go around smearing each other with gulal (coloured powder) and coloured water. Children shoot jets of water from their pichkaris. A lot of people spend the day alternating between getting drenched and coloured, and consuming thandai (a marijuana-based drink) in large quantities as the day progresses. Singing and dancing to the beat of dholaks (drums) completes the picture,” says Sheela Sara, housewife. So get going, fill up your water guns to the brim and go on a wild shooting spree, this Holi.

“Adventures begin when one splashes coloured water, water balloons or simply turn the water pipes on!! My husband generally makes others squirm. So he uses pukka or fast colours mixed in water – or even paint. But it is a fact that this festival is enjoyed the most if there is a large gathering echoing with laughter, gentle pranks and jokes,” says Sheela.

You name the color and it is there. The more multi-coloured or horrible you are to look at, the better you feel. If only the eyes and teeth are visible, it is ideal. Then after we are done with playing colours at home we go house to house. The good thing about going from house to house and greeting neighbours and friends is that you get to eat special flour-based sweets like gujiya and malpua, and other savouries. It does not matter that you don’t really know the person in whose house you are wolfing down so many things.

And then comes Bhang! jai jai shiv shankar…. it’s that time of the year — when lusty voices of holi hai rent the air and bhang flows as high as cloud nine.  Culled from the leaves and buds of cannabis – the very intoxicating bhang helps to escalate the spirit of holi.

Thandai: “The name says it all! Thandai is part and parcel of Holi celebrations. This refreshing and healthy drink is to be served amid the play of colours. In fact, Bhang thandai sets the mood for the festival of colours. Drinking thandai in this season also goes with the weather, as it acts as a coolant for people in North India, where the temperature is usually high at this time,” says Atharva Khanna, a store owner at Gerrard street.

“There are no two ways about it — Bhang has become the official Holi drink. Lip-smacking bhang pakoras and bhang vadas are some popular snacks people look forward to on Holi,” adds Atharva. Sweets and kulfi made of ‘bhang’ known as ‘bhang ki barfi’ and ‘bhang ki kulfi’ are amongst these special preparations.

Colours of the cuisine:

Holi is also celebrated along with several interesting delicacies. Though the traditional recipes vary from family to family and place to place, one thing that remains the same is the zeal with which these delicacies are prepared for this occasion. Sweets are the vital element of Holi celebrations in any part of India. In fact, the festival of Holi is renowned for the umpteen varieties of sweets prepared on the occasion.

There are some universal sweets and dishes that are prepared throughout the length and the breadth in the country on this occasion. “One of the most popular desserts of Holi is ‘Gujhia’, which is a must for every Indian home during the season. Then, there are ‘papris’ and ‘dahi-bhalles’ that are prepared in majority of Indian homes on the occasion.

“The evenings are not as exciting. A good part of what’s left of the day is spent in that special room of the house – the bathroom. Scrubbing and scrubbing, and then scrubbing some more. It is an exercise that is repeated for days as it’s a normal sight to see people with patches of pink skin, green hair, purple hands and silver nails, for days and even weeks after Holi. Even the neighbourhood cows and buffaloes get their share of colourful patches, says Mrinalini, a resident of Brampton.

So let your hair down and do what you like, say what you like, meet, tease and play with colours with the people around you as Generation Next wishes you a colourful splashy Holi.

Author :Ramya Maheshwary

We need to thank our forefathers who started the trend of celebrating Holi at such a scientifically accurate time, also for incorporating so much fun in the festival. In India, spring season, during which the weather changes, is believed to cause viral fever and cold. Thus, the playful throwing of natural colored powders has a medicinal significance: the colors are traditionally made of Neem, Kumkum, Haldi (Tumeric), Bilva, Red Sandlowood powder and other medicinal herbs prescribed by Ayurvedic doctors.

Haldi, Red sandlowood and Neem are used to make face packs in India. Traditionally, the dry colors used in Holi were prepared from Tesu or Palash flowers, which are first gathered from the trees, dried in the sun, and then ground up, and later mixed with water to produce orange-yellow coloured water. For wet colours, traditional flowers of Palash are boiled and soaked in water over night to produced yellow coloured water, which also had medicinal properties. Tesu colors help in improving the skin complexion, and makes the skin smooth. Legends say Lords Krishna use to play holi with Tesu flower colors.

There’s another interesting reason. By playing Holi one can increase his bodily capacity to withstand the scorching heat of the summer. Holi marks the end of winter. In winter the body experiences tardiness and people tend to get lazy. Holi is like a siren to get up from this laziness and brisk the movements for summer. Holi rejuvenates the human body. The dance performances and the music played during the festival rejuvenate the mind and soul.

Then there is Holika Dahan – which is another reason to play Holi. The mutation period of winter and spring, induces bacteria in the air and in the body too. So when Holika is burnt, temperature rises to about 145 degrees. And when people perform Parikrima – (making circles around the fire), the heat from the fire kills bacteria in the air as well as their bodies thus cleansing it.

During Holi, it is a custom for us to clean our house and remove clutter, thereby ensuring flow of positive energy. Therefore, it can be said that apart from rejuvenating the social ties, Holi provides a wonderful opportunity to let loose all the tension and de-stress the mind.

Author: Piyush Maheshwary

Dear stranger

—————-

Dear stranger

I thought of you today

I was lonely

And I missed you

I wondered in a fleeting moment

Did u wonder about me

Did u remember

Our little encounter?

Did your heart race?

Or did it give u solace?

Did u crave another rendezvous?

Or was I just another experience

Meant to be cherished at the moment and then forgotten

Or are you at this very moment

Composing a letter

Starting with “dear stranger”?

Stolen

——–

It was gone

In a heart beat

Before I knew what it was

I lost it

It scared me

Bewildered me

Too late

Tried to compose myself

Tried to be less flustered

But I was embarrassed

How could I be so careless?

Was I not wise enough to keep it safe this time?

I chided myself

But the deed had been done

It was gone…lost.

I was in love.

Once upon a time…romance was.

—————————————-

Romance is dead;

a thing of the past..

“The concept is timeless,”

my mother says.

I disagree.

It was glorified in the medieval times;

Knights dueling to impress the fair maiden,

a stolen look from the balcony,

shy smiles exchanged,

reeking slightly of ‘Romeo and Juliet’.

I know my parents had their fair share of romance.

And still do.

Which, by the way, I envy.

But now in this world of cynics,

it has been slaughtered and perhaps reinvented.

Romance is a compromise, a give and take.

Romance is spending too much money in a bid to make up for time not spent.

Romance is …romance is…

What I really mean is…romance was.

Author: Sanchari Sur

Colognes, perfumes, chocolate, flowers…these have been gifted so many times , they are usually expected. So how can you sweep your significant other off their feet AND do something new?

#1. Order a personalized novel starring
both of you as main characters

I decided I wanted to send my husband something that told our story, and that we could look back on. But I wasn’t in the mood to handcraft anything or hassle with shipping and posting. So I went looking online for custom, personalized gifts. Keychains and glass engravings aside, I finally found the perfect thing at www.bookbyyou.com! We were both into the older periods of history, so I chose the one titled, Medieval Passion, though there are many other titles. The re are many different genres one can choose from on the website, whether you want the story to be realistic to your current life or the farthest from it. The idea was great, and every so often, we will pull it from our bookshelf and read a few pages and mostly remember the good o l‘days. However, since I‘m more of the avid reader, I end up having to read it aloud. This gift is great for anyon e who loves to read, or if you love seeing your name in print and don’t mind reading aloud every night until you finish the novel.

#2. Act out a Fantasy

In the same way, my husband found that sending things is often way more exciting for the receiver. He knew that I often wished a letter in a bottle would magically come floating at the exact moment I was standing at the shore of a beach, and so spent hours finding the perfect poem online. Then he customized it by adding in things about me, my name, my favorite scent, whatever the poetry required. And then he found a website that allowed people to customize a message on parchment paper and the company would take care of rolling it up and fitting it into the bottle and shipping it. My box arrived with a note in a bottle, and a wooden case for the bottle that was designed with a world map. It’s very cool looking actually, any how, I was so excited to see what he had written to me that I did not have the patience to figure out the tools to get the cork open w ith (I don’t drink, therefore I had never invested in acork screw opener ). I took the bottle and smashed it against the pavement outside and grabbed the folded yellow note within . Although I regret breaking the bottle, I love how that lovely love letter lingers above my desk in my office where I can continually see it and remember.

#3. Gift an Experience

For his 29th birthday, I presented my gift to my husband through a slideshow. At the very last slide, I put a picture of a plane and then some text explaining that I had bought him a2-hour flying lesson gift certificate to be redeemed at a nearby flying school whenerer he wished. It was a very cold November and though he was ecstatic about being gifted an experience, he thought it best to save it until Springtime.This put the idea into his head that experiences were really an amazing gift idea and he bought me a spa package at an organic spa in downtown Toronto, two birthdays ago. I’ll never forget that oxygen facial. Or how I looked afterwards. 

#4. Encourage his/her hobby

My husband loves cooking. If he weren’t in the automotive industry, he would be a desi Bobby Flay. Actually, he loves cooking meat and seafood and by cooking, I mean, grilling or bbq-ing. Even though we don’t have a bbq, he sets his butcher-cut rib eye steaks in a bowl of smoky marinade, then strategically place it on the grill in the oven and makes his own dinner. Or he’ll grill the perfectly done salmon, not too pink and not so flaky and overcooked that it’s falling to pies. of course, I make the lemon butter sauce; he doesnt have the patience for sauces. Anyway, in order to hype up the anticipation for spring and summe, I ordered a personalized apron for him. It says, “Ameer, Master of the Grill” with a cute picture of a bbq in red and black. Then I folded it up and put it into a basket along with a basting brush, chicken wing recipe cookbook, a Bobby Flay gourmet bbq cookbook and 2 chicken wings seasoning mixes, and arranged all the items in an aesthetic manner. The boy thought all he was getting was another dress shirt and tie to match, but he was so relieved and surprised to find something he could actually use! He is still waiting on his super-macho new bbq to arrive before using the rest of the stuff, but the basket has definitely inspired him to pursue his hobby more passionately.

#5. Make a Public Display of Affection

For our wedding anniversary, both of us were not in the mood to spend any money on things we didn’t have room for (we still have a lot of boxes waiting to be unpacked) and were hoping to travel to Spain and celebrate our 3 years. Since traveling will al most never be asurprise for my husband (I have to make sure he can take time off from his 24/7 job), I thought I would give him my greetings a different way this year. There were no Hall mark cards that perfectly summed up what I wanted to say anyway. I went through our wedding photos and picked out one that I loved best. Then I went to CP242 breakfast television website and noted the email address to which I could send milestone announcements. I uploaded our photo along with a sweet message and pressed send. They need 2 weeks notice in order to make any announcement, so I lied and said our anniversary was on July 21st. On the day of our anniversary, July7, I wished my husband and told him he would get his gift two weeks from that morning. A fter that, I kept my lips sealed. On the night of July 20th, It old him. I had to, other wise he would n’t set his alarm to wake up at 8am to WATCH the announcement. I was so nervous that they had found out I lied or that we didn’t make the cut to go on TV, that I went online to see what exact minute they usually did milestones, worried that we had some how missed it. At that same instant, I heard Melissa saying, “Happy Anniversary Iqra and Ameer…” and though the announcement only lasted a minute or less, it was SO worth it. I will always recall how Melissa said that she thought it was SO sweet, my message. Ameer went to work and told his co- workers who were very interested in doing something similar. For those of you who live in Toronto, I highly recommend this. You can do this for your significant other, for a family member or even your kids. Don’t worry about recording it, a ll milestone clips are posted online on CP24‘s website, and I believeare available for downloading. For those of you who live in different cities, check your local News station’s website for information on whether they have a similar opportunity.

Author: Iqra Azhar

PANORAMA India, celebrated the 61st Republic Day of India at the Pearson Convention Centre on January 31st, 2010. The event was jointly organised in association with the Consulate General of India, in Toronto to showcase India’s unique cultural unity in diversity. The day- long celebrations were conducted in a spirit of camaraderie that continues to motivate and inspire thousands of Indo-Canadians who call GTA their new home and who wish to remain in touch with their cultural roots and heritage in India .

Ms.Kala Pillarisetty, Co-chair of Panorama India, welcomed the guests and said events such as these serve not only as occasions of celebration to the Indo-Canadian communities, but offer an opprtunity to pass on the traditions and heritage to the younger generation.

India and Canda enjoy close friendly ties. As two vibrant democracies, India and Canada share several commonalities of pluralism, tolerance and diversity. In a special message to Panorama India, read out by his special envoy MP Bob Dechert, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said that “Canada stands besides India as a steadfast and faithful friend”. Advocating even stronger economic relations between Canada and India , the Canadian Prime Minister stated that Canada and India must forge stronger trade, investment and educational ties to build a more productive friendship. Outlining the many historical, cultural, social and economic ties between the two countries, Harper said, “These bonds are a solid foundation upon which we can build an even stronger, more productive friendship” and sought greater participation from the Indo-Canadian community in the economic development.

More than 10,000 people participated in the Panorama India`s Indian Mela and the 61st Republic Day celebrations. Crowds began to throng into the hall well before the scheduled time 11 a.m. to get the best seats in the house. Over 300 minutes of non-stop programming witnessed unprecedented participation, mainly from the second generation Indo-Canadians , which kept the audience enthralled and entertained.

Several political dignitaries attended the event including the Ontario Minister for Government Services, Mr. Harinder Takhar, Mississauga Mayor Mrs. Hazel McCallion, former Deputy Premier of Ontario Mr George Smithermann, Members of Parliament Gurbaksh Malhi, Dr Ruby Dhalla, Kristy Duncan, Bonnie Crombie and MPPs Mr.Bob Delaney, Mr.Vic Dhillon & Ms. Amrit Mangat . They were joined by the newly appointed and the first Indo-Canadian Senator Vim Kochhar, Dr. Alok Mukherjee , Chair of the Toronto Police Board and Consul General Mrs. Preeti Saran. Messages from Leader of the opposition Mr. Michael Ignatief and Ontario Premier Mr. Dalton McGuinty were also read to the audience.

The highlight of the day was the selection of the first Panorama India Indian Idol. After more than a month of planning and after 3 elimination rounds, the judges and the audience crowned Ferzana Bohra as the First Idol. And Anusha Shivalingam, was the runner-up. The audience were on their feet during the grand finale, performed by Melange Entertainment Group accompanied by the top 10 Idol finalists.

In his vote of thanks, Panorama India’s Co-chair Ajit Khanna, said “‘Panorama India, which organised the event, strives to showcase Indian culture and strengthen ties between the various cultural organisations of India in Canada as well as strengthens ties between the two countries. Today’s event, a record breaker for Panorama India, helped generate a tremendous amount of pride for both the participants and the 10,000 strong audience. “

‘You are such a Twitter junkie!’ A friend stated somewhat emphatically.

‘Who? Me?’ I asked looking back inadvertently, thinking that someone else was addressed.

‘Yes! You with your 4,500 tweets!’ Smiles poured and I blushed. I always blush when my obsessions are being noticed.

That is true, I am a Twitter addict. My day begins by logging into Twitter. I go through all the tweets and lists. For me it is like a cluster of news channels. All the important news and links to articles appear on my timeline that helps me pick and choose the item that I like to read. It saves time when I am in a hurry. I post my own tweets when I have something worth sharing. And that is my daily ritual. Now, the question is that what keeps me hooked to Twitter. Initially, like many other people I too couldn’t digest the idea of an SMS-based social network where one was bound to share messages in 140 or less characters. I would mock that why I was supposed to share as to what I was doing?  At that time Twitter used to ask ‘What are you doing?’ – A question I find quite intrusive – as compared to the current and more acceptable one ‘What’s Happening?’ I shunned Twitter within a week of joining due to gruesome boredom that existed there.

I came back to it a few months later when I realized that almost every newspaper, magazine and TV channel besides some prominent brands and names had Twitter accounts. So was I missing something? As I said earlier, Twitter is basically a very simple message based forum. But the user can make it useful and alive keeping his/her interests in view. So if you are a news junkie, want to publicize your creative work or a product, simply enjoy reading statements of notable authors, news anchors and celebrities or like to share your views then Twitter is the place for you.

Although sophisticated sites like Facebook and My Space changed the meaning of networking but in my view Twitter has an edge over them for a couple of reasons. First, I call Twitter a non-personal tool of sharing messages. One can share messages of general nature with the whole world without fear of compromising privacy. Second, the best thing about Twitter is that it doesn’t get on one’s nerves. You might have 100 followers but if you aren’t following them then your timeline wouldn’t be cluttered with unwanted tweets. So this means that you have full control as to what should appear in your homepage’s timeline. One can also skip replying to any tweet if it isn’t worth answering.

Unlike other social networking sites one doesn’t need to have ‘friends’ on Twitter. The followers can better be termed as readers who subscribe to one’s tweets only if they are interesting or informative. One of the reasons of its popularity is the availability of several Twitter applications. That allows users to update or check it on the move form one’s handset. Did I mention that I sign into Twitter mostly from my cell phone?

Through Twitter any news can spread in no time due to ‘retweet’ and the hash tag (#) features. It’s good in a way but on the flip side users often trigger false rumors. Like a few months back the rumor about American poet, Maya Angelou’s death originated from Twitter. Similarly, recently someone spread the false news about Johnny Depp’s death. It’s wise to confirm the news from two or three different sources before forwarding or ‘retweeting’ it.

Twitter is home to numerous Indian and Western celebrities. In the Indian movie industry Twitter seems to be the craze of season as in the last two months several popular actors like Shahrukh Khan, Farhan Akhtar, Deepika Padukon, Priety Zinta, Abhishek Bachchan and Shahid Kapoor joined the Twitter bandwagon. Twitter serves not only as their publicity tool but also provides them a direct contact with their fans and viewers and an instant access to public feedback. Besides, these actors can counter the rumors relating to them that the Indian tabloids frequently publish.

I am following almost forty Indian celebs. Do I need to get a life? Maybe not, because these actors don’t just blabber though I have to confess that most rubbish tweets are by Shahid Kapoor (shahidkapoor). His eloquence evaporates on Twitter due to a heavy use of internet (slang) language. The most entertaining tweets are by Preity Zinta (realpreityzinta). She is a truly vivacious person. Pooja Bhatt’s tweets are thought provoking (PoojaB1972). Shahrukh Khan (iamsrk) tweets like a morning bird and his tweets have the congeniality factor. Abhishek Bachchan (juniorbachchan) is spontaneous while the classiest tweets are by Rahul Khanna (R_Khanna).

Fatima Bhutto (fbhutto) is also on Twitter. Is she the ‘real’ one? Perhaps yes! But I am still in denial about her account being ‘real’ given her politically incorrect and eccentric tweets. Such as this one on the ban of minarets in Switzerland, ‘I feel so much safer now that minarets are banned in Switzerland. Architecture can be so terrorist-y. So dangerous, so Muslim.’ ‘Though if I was Swiss, I’d have totally banned algebra first.’

Twitter gathered the popularity momentum in 2009 and that mania will rule the lives of celebrities and common people alike for a long time. It would not be surprising if terms like ‘twitterverse’, ‘retweet’ and ‘tweeps’ etc. make their way to the English lexicon just as ‘unfriend’, a reference to an act of deleting someone from the list of friends on Facebook, was named the New Oxford American Dictionary’s ‘Word of the Year’.

Before I wrap up I have to make one last confession. The excessive use of Twitter is taking away my ability of explaining things as I had tweeted not long ago, ‘I can’t explain because I’m used to talking in 140 characters only’, but no worries ‘twitterature’, that is humorous reworking of the classic literature in twenty tweets or less, is getting famous. So this means I would still be able to tell stories. It should bring smile, yes, Twitter means sharing your witty, sarcastic, deep and instinctive quotes that are known as ‘twotes’ in the jargon of new media.

Author:Ayesha Umar

It’s a festival when the sky gets dotted with kites, and the earth is adorned with `muthyala muggulu’ (Rangoli). Read on as Generation Next gives you an insight about Sankranti.

All families are seen on the terrace cheering as their kites soar high, mothers and grandmothers make sure the supply of sesame-seed sweets don’t run out – that is how parts of India celebrates Makar Sankranti, the harvest festival!

Sankranti is perhaps the only festival with amazing colour and vibrancy, and also varied in terms of celebrations. Spread over three days – Bhogi, Sankranti and Kanumu – the festivities mark Sun’s northward journey called “Uttarayanam”. This turn in the sun’s course takes place at the point of time when it enters the zodiac sign of Makara or Capricorn. The day-duration increases and the night decreases from the day of Sankranti. It is the harbinger of more light and sunshine in life and lessening of its darker aspects.

Inspite of the fast changing times with people migrating from villages to bigger cities in search of greener pastures and with cities expanding, the spirit behind the way we celebrate our festivals has not changed. Bhogi, the first day is marked with gaiety and is celebrated on the eve of Sankranti or Pongal in all its entirety with traditional practices and customs which have been followed since our forefathers. “We get up early in the morning at 4 a.m, and lit a bonfire on the occasion of Bhogi, symbolizing ringing out the old to ring in the new. Old brooms, baskets, clothes, junk firewood, broken wooden furniture are all thrown into the fire signifying the cleansing of the house and a fresh start to the New Year. Life is seen as a continuous renewal,” says Deepti Gupta, a Customer Service Executive at Bell. 

Then after Bhogi, it’s Sankranti. Women get busy with drawing `rangoli’ outside their homes. In fact, they decorate their vaakili’ (the entrance to the house/front porch) with muggu/kolam/rangoli’ and decorate it with marigold and pumpkin flowers during the entire festive period. Muggu is artistic intricate pattern drawn with hand on a washed surface using rice flour or chalk powder and decorated with colors and flowers and bring out the richness and uniqueness of Indian tradition and culture. Every muggu is reflective of the art and artistic capabilities that each woman possesses and is a celebration of life. It`s done to welcome good luck.

Another attractive feature of Sankranti is Gobbemmalu – “we, young girls make round balls of cow dung called gobbis that are decorated with vermilion, turmeric and flowers, and place them in the middle of the bright muggus in the front yards. After nava dhanya puja, then we gather to sing and dance around these gobbis,” explains Deepti.

All said and done, the chirpy voices of young girls clad in traditional colorful `langa-voni’ enliven the surroundings.

“Then on this day my mom is usually busy with the kitchen work! Since it`s a Harvest Festival, new rice is boiled in milk to make a sweet called chakkerapongali, the special cuisine of the festival. This preparation is then offered to Sun God as thanks giving. There is a strong belief that the poor must be given alms on this day to bring prosperity. So my family gives gifts to the poor as a charitable act,” says Deepti.

Kite flying has been associated with this festival in a big way. “The entire sky becomes a showcase of colourful kites of various sizes and shapes. It is a day when every family can be seen outdoors ‘cutting’ each other’s kites. Kites of myriad hues, shapes and sizes decorate the skies from dawn to dusk during this festival. The vast panorama of the sky dotted with thousand of kites becomes a wonderful sight to see,” says Ankit Patel, who owns a store in Gerrad Street.

“Lots of prestige issues were considered. Boys indulged in business intelligence the likes CIA will never know. Who can ground the best “Manja” (glue mixed with superfine ground glass, that is coated on the kite string and helps cut the opponents string). Which house had the best kite! Things like this mattered a lot.” 

“It is a joyous day, with a bright sun, clear skies and breezes strong enough to lift innumerable kites aloft. It is in fact a celebration to mark the end of winter, when the heat of summer is still to come. Besides the primary kite flying, we also enjoy the cuisine. To be in any one of these places during this festival is to feel the heart and pulse of India and its people. We gather on terraces or rooftops and engage in kite flying. There is music in the air and traditional delicacies are especially prepared for this day,” says Ankit.

The third day is Kanuma. It is a celebration by an agrarian community. All the three days, rich and poor alike, have a good time. Kanuma is the third day of the festival, Sankranti. It is primarily a festival of farmers. On this day farmers decorate their cattle and treat them with deep respect to show appreciation in helping them plough the fields. All said and done it is an occasion of family gatherings and merry time. So get set for Sankranti sambaralu!

     Author: Ramya Maheshwary

In a society of feelings, one cannot quite categorize the feeling of love – are we victims or patients of love? History tells tales of love’s pain and pleasure and even though all of us have experienced this feeling, we cannot quite understand it. Perhaps this is precisely where the feeling is felt, felt beyond understanding and outside the grasp of definition. For long I have struggled with this feeling, unsure of how to understand it and make sense of it for all of its nonsensical tendencies. Until I unexpectedly absorbed the voice of the Indian musician Kailash Kher and realized how the feeling of love in and of itself is an understanding.  I still do grapple with love and wonder about its ways. However, the music of Kailash  has gifted me a lens which I would like to share. There is a lesson in this musician’s works that has allowed me to come out of a particular state of mind, a state in which I only saw worth in that which I thoroughly understood. And I find it necessary to share this lesson for I believe that it will not only help us come to terms with love, but will also add a new dimension in our reception of music.

As a medium, music does not matter solely because of the message. The medium of music alone can lead to a message which very few know how to tell. I am sharing Kailash with you because I know that many of you may not understand the message directly – the lyrics are in non-western languages. However, it is the medium of music – melody and voice – which brilliantly delivers and leads to messages that many of us feel and are yet to understand , in this case the message of love.

South Asia has a rich musical heritage and musicians have created productive diversity through a single passion. Kailash studied a number of these genres and his works voice the impact of a thorough education. He has achieved fame through many genres but when I heard his voice speak the lyrics and thoughts of famous South Asian mystics, I felt a work that set him  in an atmosphere apart. Initially his voice floated into me when he when he lent it to the lyrics of  “Allah Keh Bandey”  ( Being of God ) and then his album “Khailsa” presented a lesson in love which I so desperately needed. The mystics of South Asia have performed musicals drawing attention to various human experiences and musicians such as the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan have carried on this performance to grand effect. Kailash’s work in Khailsa may not be on par with many before him, but his work certainly brings a message that asks us to realize that music and love is about much more than understanding. It is about feeling, feeling which is about living. So if you do pick up his works, you may or may not comprehend the lyrics and that is irrelevant for   it is in the melody that you will find the message.

For a start, I testify to my ignorance and admit that I myself have no clue of the meaning of his album’s name. But it is not about the denotation of the language but about what it connotes. Music is not produced by lyrics alone. In fact it is the accompanying melody in which meaning can be found to mean and mean differently for different beings. His works engage in a conversation with our hearts, mostly in Hindi and sometimes in other South Asian l languages. Since I do speak a few of these languages, I have been able to understand the lyrics of songs such as “ Teri Deewani” ( Your Devotee ) and “Kaisay Meh Kahoon” ( How do I say ). But then I heard the work in “Nai Harwa”, a work in language that I do not know and much to my surprise  the sweetness of the voice spoke to my heart, creating a feeling of understanding. The lyrics meant little to me and it was the voice which spoke to me. For some strange reason I felt the voice and was made to feel the unique feeling of love and the understanding of the heart. I cannot quite put a language to this feeling and you really need to hear it in order to feel and understand it. The medium holds such a powerful message and it truly teaches a lesson in how we come to appreciate music. Music is about taking down walls and creating connectivity amongst those who feel. The lessons and feelings that follow are points of understanding that the world urgently needs. For those of you who are human and hence have felt love in some way, it would be a revolution in your life to take a sip of the Khailsa message. They say that the language of the heart is one and universal : Khailash explains why so. This feeling ultimately prodded me into thinking deeper and I then decided to come back to the lyrics which I understood. I came to an understanding that I could never have conceived.

In “Teri Deewani” and “Kaisay Meh Kahoon”  he explains and draws the person in love as a person who has taken flight from the body. The physical barriers are no more and the real human inside us finds its destined match. He sings to kick away the transient life for the never ending love and the songs  are separate classes on the same lesson-two different songs with two connective messages. The songs explain how love is beyond the love that the physical body knows of. Height, weight, colour nor caste define whom we love and in the video of “Teri Deewani” the “oddest” couples are shown to be in love, fighting all odds to be with their beloved. For people in love, the song explains how two people in love have not fallen but stand in the world to pursue their love and greater goals. Two lovers cannot live without each other and whatever the reason this love is not to be comprehended by any other than them both. Lovers live for one another  and in this intense love, the song says, “…lovers happily walk the plank.”  The song continues with many messages and coupled with the song “Kaisay Meh Kahoon” Kailash explains how the world has in many ways abused love and must understand the true meaning of love and its connection with feeling, humanity’s one binding property. A person in love cannot be understood by a set of eyes but instead what the song says, is that the real love is the matching of two people who have found their real selves.. We are people trapped in a cover of sand and love can let us free, and though Kailash himself seems to speak of love between opposite sexes, it is obvious that we finally have a South Asian soul speak of love beyond the skin.

I agree that he may well be making love into an exotic which it is not. But then he has used melody and music as a message in a superb style and he deserves our attention.I leave the rest to your choice. The message of love is nothing new but the delivery of it makes all the difference here. This is music for all ears.

 Author: Ali Abbas

What is only 5 hours long, has lots of dancing, lots of love and lots of violence? That is right, a Bollywood movie! According to my version of the Oxford dictionary, Bollywood movies are just what I described them as and your typical movie always has or had the mentioned ingredients or movie makers ‘masala’! But with time, Bollywood is seeing steady refurbishment and now the industry is dishing out movies that truly reflect a changing society! Let’s study the change.

The Incredible, Romantic Hulks Of

Bollywood

In the past a Bollywood film maker would speak to himself of his upcoming chart busting movie like this-my movie must  have the framework of a stupid Romeo and Juliet. The hero must fall in love at his college or the road and must crazily seek  the heroine’s heart with stunts and songs. But wait! What about the time? Well then, the heroine will never fall for the hero but for one day when he jumps from the ground floor to the 100^th floor to save her from being attacked from bad, bad boys! She then will spend sleepless nights and endless days to thank him, but whenever she does the hero’s hippo like ego refuses to pay attention to her. All will seem over when suddenly the hero hears of her being forcefully married to a rupee hoarding cousin who studied in the states-AMRIKA-bringing out the lion in him-this is when we shall have an interval, around about two and a half hours from the start!

Then the hero will storm the temple and create a noise during the wedding and the girl will commit the cardinal sin of going against her father and jumping into the awaiting hands of the hero. He will then rush her off to safety but they will not live happily ever after! The father will disown his daughter who has shamed his pride and will send the evilest of the town in search of the boy to beat him silly!

As hero and heroine head to home singing and dancing like they just do not care, the villains begin their work and begin a regular series of fights till the final championship battle, when winner takes all-the girl! The fight begins and the hero all alone super man’s through his attackers with a “POW” and a “WHACK” and a “DUZZ” effect on them until one of the evil doers takes out a gun and shoots! The tension is high; the bullet is fired and caught by the hero! Another is fired and slit into two by a knife, killing two attackers who were coming from behind. It is now just one villain and the hero, but somehow the villain shoots and hits the hero on his heart, leaving him to die a cold death and his Juliet to cry a painful “NO” or “Nahiiiiii!”. She is dragged away into the tinted padmini car when suddenly the hero comes back from the death and kicks the villain to death! I will end it with a song and credits! And yes, let me have 10 to 15 songs?

A perfect industry quaking movie that will attract throngs of movie watchers to the cinemas.

The Production Line

Funny isn’t it how so much of Bollywood’s past reflected something along the lines of the above? To us students, such an industry would really not mean much to us, let alone have us interested. But India’s undeniably a role-model nation, a nation with active people and this action has come with a revamp of the entire bollywood production line! Movies from Bollywood are now exemplary examples of our daily lives and apart from mere entertainment, the movies are now teachers and thinking promoting instruments that get you to reflect and ponder-songs and dancing have not changed though, but improved to reflect the changing times.

Bollywood movies now are close to home- it is hard to think that rosy romance and vicious violence is all that exists in our lives and the movies now are constructed to address our lives. Movies from bollywood now address topics from taboo to global-sex, injustice, racism, cheats and various social issues. Movies like Kalyug-an expose on the pathetic porn market- or even Salam Namaste- a story of an unmarried cohabiting Indian couple in Australia-reflect and respond to the times and result in the production of movies with meaning, a rarity once upon a type! There is hardly any repetition in story lines and directors seem to be digging into the society and coming up with novel ideas. Films like Black and Rang De Basanti, transport real life onto the cinema screen and as viewers we are given a chance to see the result of situations which could happen on us! Of course, your love stories always prop up from somewhere, but they are a lot more life like and reality based and bare it all, to say the least! And the violence is improving from superman and robin to WWF takes- it is getting to be real, but will take some time!

To me, Bollywood’s buzz is worth every minute now and the movies it gifts the society are worthwhile. I was particularly fazed by the movie Baghbaan- a movie on ungrateful children-and like me many of you stand to see and learn a great deal. And if Hindi is not your tongues talk then subtitles give you an extra reason to watch and learn….so go ahead and walk through the woods of Bollywood-an exploration through our lives!

Author: Ali Abbas

Imagining a female with the power to penetrate sounds stupid – perverted and hardly wise – and Abida Parveen would agree, after all, “There is fun in being stupid…why should we say we are wise when there is no fun in it?”

Abida Parveen is definitely not a part of a Torontonian’s daily doze of commodities but the veil signified in her name and her work with the nonsensical should tempt you into looking through: think of her as Allison Hinds dressed in a Shalwar Kameez. Parveen was born a female in 1954 in the Pakistani province of Sindh, a space renowned for its Islamic mysticism and stifled discourse on females.  Parveen did grow some balls when she realized the penetrative powers of her voice. She can be read as an interesting chapter on females penetrating males and though her process may be self-centered and not entirely convincing, she is an alternative non-white, non-western example of female movement. In a society that used condemnation as a source of protection, Parveen took a bold step by not letting the shame control her. Instead, she ventured out “shameless” thereby exposing what was truly shameless in the society around her.

Before analyzing Praveen’s penetration through patriarchy, we need to venture into her backyard to dig up the backstage struggle she has endured. Parveen is a celebrated singer of the Qawwali, a devotional discourse of the Sufi tradition of Islam. Islam has approximately 72 sects and Sufism borrows from many of these in establishing a path to God, Tariqat, for the human being, Salik. Sufism was a movement encouraged by Islamic thinkers who felt disoriented with worship, Ibadaat, with the goal of eventually dying and achieving a materialistic ideal of paradise, Jannat. There was a thirst for a direct union with God and thus unlike other dominant sects, Sufism does not emphasize mandatory acts of worship, Wajibat, but instead looks to create a personal rapport, beyond the copybook of reason, for the human with God. In the words of an eleventh century Sufi preacher, Abu Said, the desire of feeling the love of God begins when one takes a single step, “…the step out of yourself”. This step is also what moved the work of the famous poet Rumi.

Sufism streams from the works of  saints such as Lal Shabaz Qalandar, each of whom have served as guides, Murshids, in mapping their followers’, Mureeds, path. Sufism has numerous variations and each Murshid prepares a drink at “his” tavern, precisely the bar at which we meet Sufism’s dilemma with females and Parveen’s peaceful, penetrative approach to this gender/genital panic. Although Sufism is a path that excludes none, the female has continued to live behind the scenes and it is in the Qawwali that Parveen troubles this condition.

Sufism has developed the Qawwali as a spiritual narrative with intense lyrics, Sufiyana Kalaaams, intended to create an ambiance, Sama’, for the devotee to achieve a state of ecstasy, Kefiat, to focus on God.  This performance has remained male dominated with a group of males exercising their vocals to the narratives. Female participation has always pinched the Sufi space and spiritual leaders, Sheikhs, have hesitated to bestow upon females the role of the performer, Qawwal. Parveen grew up in such a space and her father, Ustad Ghulam Haider, was a renowned performer.  Given this entrapment it is worth examining how Parveen worked within a non-female zone, a society of “keys and locks” to unlock the various doors placed ahead of a female.

Praveen’s journey into the Qawwali commenced as soon as she began to defy “nature”. Mimicking her father’s shadow she exhibited a stubbornness to resist and accompanied him to his performances. Her father performed at shrines and spiritual seatings, Majlis, and her attendance marked a polite knock on the closed doors of opportunity. Her father recognized her passion and allowed her to submerge herself in the thoughts, Khayal, of the lyrics. She displayed an arrogance to pursue her path and though the Qawalli remained confined to males she ventured undeterred and eventually penetrated through the male zone, using her voice to hunt the males down into listening. Far from being locked by culture she worked within it in a shameless process of reclamation to ensure that her voice was respected. Parveen later married a male producer from Radio Pakistan – no surprises there – and she now has a global audience that is eager to intoxicate their senses, Haal, with her works. Incredibly, religious sects, consistently welcome her to perform at annual celebrations, Urs. She is a regular speaker at Universities and now commands a power over the male, performing with a male choir, Sangaat, that breathe her air.

To any female, Parveen’s process is an example of how one can remain within a culture and not flee it because of questioning or simply being, “…you gather from mobility, you see, this universe is for us to learn, you can even learn from a stone.” Females must break free from a double-consciousness because if they are to retreat into invisibility we would hear echoes of Gautam Malkani’s construction of the character Samira Ahmed in Londonstani. Can you imagine life as a performance of two conflicting scripts?  Accepting one’s own body is thus the primary step before one steps into the public space to be a realized body.

Such politics resonates in Torontonian “Muslim Refusenick”, Irshad Manji who too  grabbed the system by the balls. Though she lives under the threat of the bullet, she has chosen to bite it to the bitter end. Just like Manji, Parveen did not flee from the troubles ahead of her and she worked within a system, causing it to change. Salaam, a Muslim queer community in Toronto has set the ball rolling on an identical process and they have confronted tradition by voicing their existence. Such a process is healthy and academic Fawzia Khan explains working for change within one’s system as necessary for females to reclaim the social world they find themselves in.

With the world’s space coalescing ever so quickly, there is no space of safety for females other than where they find themselves: females must make their safety from their danger. Parveen’s achievements have come in an extremely volatile space and it stands as an emblem for the power located within females. Brute force does not penetrate to change and for female penetration to be productive, the movement must be calculated and concise, just as Parveen’s. Her approach has pinched Muslim spaces and her phenomenal performances with the lyrics of Baba Bulley Shah have brought attention to the life of a saint who was once stupid. Interestingly his shrine in Kasur, Pakistan, is one of the only sites at which transsexuals, Hijras, perform devotional dances, Dhamaal, without any restrictions. Such confrontation rewrites a culture and Parveen’s stance as a soft, Sufi soldier brings her to make statements that penetrate beyond belief, “ Male and female does not even come into it…in the Sufi’s terminology, if someone is not male, he is called a female.”

Neither does Parveen run away from her roots nor does she nourish blindly. Instead she works within it, in a give and take relationship that helps preserve identities as well formulate new ones.

Praveen forgets that her song is being glossed over by the exotic and being pushed into a specific sphere: not too many people know of Parveen and as depictions of Islam continue to fit negative stereotypes, her work with it may not extend beyond her own benefit. Parveen’s process may only have moved a stone away from her path but for the other Muslim females the stones remain. It could be that Parveen’s process has a short-term power, a power to let only her own identity flourish. Perhaps this is why, she often sings of a reunion with Bulley Shah , “…where everyone is blind.”

Nonetheless, at least in Parveen we see the sense in stupidity and now we must confront the irrationality of a rational Toronto. Females of Toronto, work with Toronto and penetrate it : ROLL IT GYAL!

Author: Ali Abbas