Now that the New Year has begun, people have time to focus on other festivals and holidays coming up in the near future. The remarkable Thai Pongal festival is soon approaching, on January 14^th and people are preparing for the celebrations. Every year, people from Sri Lanka rejoice in the Thai Pongal festival to welcome the first day of the month of Thai in the Tamil calendar. While Thai is the first month of the Tamil calendar, pongal is a traditional sweet dish eaten on this day.

The Thai Pongal festival is unique in that it is independent of any one religious faith and is celebrated yearly by the Tamil population around the world wishing to take part in it. Thai Pongal is a festival that promotes unity and togetherness of the community. People pay their thanks to food producers and the farmers give their gratitude to the Sun and farm animals, and other factors that provide them a successful harvest.

After speaking with a number of Tamil individuals about the traditions and celebrations accompanying Thai Pongal, I have gained some valuable insight on the intricacies of the festival.

In comparing the festival of lights, Diwali, to the Thai Pongal festival, there seem to be some striking similarities. While Diwali is a time to celebrate the triumph of good over evil, Thai Pongal is a time to celebrate and give thanks to the cattle and other farm animals that provide us with food and vegetation.

Like Diwali and many other cultural festivals, Thai Pongal brings families together and focuses on the unity of people. Love and peace are central themes of holidays.

However, there is a difference in the traditions revolving around Diwali and Thai Pongal. During Diwali, there are sweets, decorating of homes, card playing and fireworks to commemorate the inner light within people. While Thai Pongal does include the traditional sweets and decoration of the homes, there are no fireworks going off on this day.

Nineteen year old Lawsan Thanapalan explained a lot about the Pongal tradition. “Thai Pongal is just the first part of the festival. It is followed by Maatu Pongal and Kaanum Pongal. On each day, we usually get up, shower, wear new clothes and go to the temple to offer prayers. We’re traditionally supposed to go to our backyards and boil a special kind of rice called ‘pongal’. We’re supposed to watch the water rise and pray to the sun and give thanks for a good harvesting season. We celebrate the sun’s movement. We share the food amongst each other and offer some to the sun to show our gratitude.” Thanapalan explained that the purpose of the festival is to celebrate new opportunities and a fresh start. “The prayers are led by the seniors, so in my case, by my grandma.”

Like Thanapalan, twenty year old Lisana Nithiananthan explained the significance of Thai Pongal by defining the role that family plays in its tradition. “After we make and offer the pongal dish to the Gods and do the prayers, we all go to the temple together. Then comes time for a family get-together.” After pressing the question of what Thai Pongal means to her, Nithiananthan explained that “it is like a Tamil Thanksgiving. You pray for a good year of harvest and thank the Gods and animals who make it fruitful.”

Given the information provided by Thanapalan and Nithiananthan, the unifying aspects of the celebration are clear. Families and communities join each other for a day of prayer, cooking, cleaning and eating.  Since Thai Pongal is not a religious holiday, it is open to all who wish to observe it and it is not discriminatory based on different beliefs that one may hold.

While Thanapalan and Nithiananthan have extensive knowledge of the traditions and celebrations revolving around the Thai Pongal festival, others do not have the same familiarity with their culture. Twenty year old, Shane Balasingam explains that he does not know much about Thai Pongal or any of its traditions. “My family doesn’t really celebrate it”, explained Balasingam. Upon asking for more information about the Sri Lankan holiday, Shane replied with “I don’t actually know anything about it, either. My family neither celebrated nor talked about it.”

Like Balasingam, twenty year old Sabeena Santhirakumaran revealed that she does not know too much about the Thai Pongal festival. Upon asking her about family traditions she may have been exposed to or any general information she has about the day, Santhirakumaran had nothing to say. Instead, she said “I don’t know much about it. Ask someone else.”

The question arises; do people know more about traditions associated with their nationalities if they are from families that take part in those traditions? It has definitely been something to think about when speaking with these four Sri Lankan individuals. Both Thanapalan and Nithiananthan had a great understanding of the meaning of the Thai Pongal festival and the traditions revolving around it. These two individuals explained that their families took part in the customs of the Sri Lankan festival. While Thanapalan and Nithiananthan had knowledge about the festival, both Balasingam and Santhirakumaran had little to no insight on the traditions that take place on Thai Pongal, or what the festival is about.

Speaking with these four individuals has made me think, are there aspects of my culture that my family has not celebrated that have led me to obliviousness about certain holidays? Ask yourself the question, how involved is your family in events associated with your nationality? Does your family’s lack of involvement in these occasions affect your overall understanding of your culture? If your family or you yourself do not have knowledge about a particular part of your culture, you do not have to continue to be unaware. Do the research, learn about different traditions and festivals; what you learn may actually surprise and interest you!

By Gagan Batra

Droves of people headed toward Ontario Soccer Centre on Saturday evening to celebrate Navratri. ‘Navratri’ means ‘nine nights’. There are many legends attached to the conception of Navratri like all Indian festivals. All of them are related to Goddess Shakti (Hindu Mother Goddess) and her various forms.

Navratri holds special significance for Gujratis and Bengalis and one can see it in the zeal and fervor of the people with which they indulge in the festive activities of the season.

Dandiya and Garba Rass are the highlights of the festival. And no wonder mean and women alike carried dandyas as they walked into brightly lit soccer field.

Swar Sadhana Music Lovers Club put together this very colourful festival in Vaughan.

“If I were to talk to those people who have the greatest stake in the future — mothers and fathers –  and ask them what they want for their families, their answers would all be the same. They would say, “I want good schools for my kids. I want good healthcare for everybody in the family. I want a strong economy that supports good jobs. I want to live in a world that’s at peace. I want to be able to practice my faith with a sense of security. I want to live in a community that is accepting and uplifting.”

Ontarians embrace the religious and cultural diversity that breathes life into our communities — diversity that is the foundation of our success. Muslim Canadians are a vital part of our cherished mosaic, and have done much to enhance the social, cultural and economic fabric of our province.

Eid-ul-Fitr is a very important event on the Islamic calendar. It is a time to cultivate a spirit of peace, fellowship and forgiveness. It is also a time to focus on the value of friendship and family relationships, the importance of charity and of helping those in need — and to appreciate how fortunate we are to be Ontarians.

It has been my fundamental belief that here in Ontario we have been commissioned by history to lead and to stand as a shining example, not just for our people, but for the world, which sometimes despairs of our ability to rise above our differences and to celebrate what it is that we have in common. So thank you for celebrating your faith, living up to your teachings, your precepts, and your understandings. It’s important, again, to all of us that we in Ontario find accommodation and find strength in our differences.

There will always be times when that diversity and our differences create barriers, whether in the workplace or in our communities. That is why our government has worked hard to provide all of us tools to overcome those barriers.  We have strengthened our Human Rights system by streamlining the complaints process and setting up the Human Rights Legal Support Centre, which provides crucial legal services to individuals throughout Ontario who believe they have experienced discrimination.  The Centre’s services range from legal assistance in filing an application at the Tribunal to legal representation on human rights applications.  These are offered in many languages. Together, we have come a long way to ensure that our diversity truly is our strength.

All the world’s great faiths and all the world’s wisest people have been telling us something for thousands of years now and sometimes we fail to heed an important lesson. And that lesson is this: what’s most important is not the colour of our skin; it is not the language that we speak; it is not the wealth that we accumulate; it is not the power that we wield; it is not the traditions that we cherish; it’s not the culture that we inherit. What’s most important is what we have in common. It’s our humanity. And if I were to talk to those people who have the greatest stake in the future — mothers and fathers –  and ask them what they want for their families, their answers would all be the same. They would say, “I want good schools for my kids. I want good healthcare for everybody in the family. I want a strong economy that supports good jobs. I want to live in a world that’s at peace. I want to be able to practice my faith with a sense of security. I want to live in a community that is accepting and uplifting.”

That’s our shared responsibility in Ontario – to build something that is worthy of the dreams that we have for our families. I hope you have a wonderful Eid.

By Ontario Premier the Honourable Dalton McGuinty

Krishna Janmashtami marks the birthday of Lord Krishna, and is one of the most celebrated events in the Hindu calendar around the globe.

Lords Vishnu’s eight avatar as Lord Krishna believed to have been born in Mathura and this year it is celebrated on August 21^st, 2011. Lord Krishna’s birth signifies peace, destruction of evil and led us to salvation.

Lord Krishna’s devotees worship and celebrate his greatness all over the world.   Worldwide renowned Shri Mridul Krishan Shastri ji visited Hindu Heritage Centre in Mississauga to celebrate Krishna Janmashtami and performed Shrimad Bhagwat Katha.

Hindus across GTA came to be a part of celebration and rejoice Lord Krishna’s birth. Furthermore devotees of Lord Krishna at this event got an opportunity to connect with Lord Krishna himself and witness reenactment of Lord Krishna’s divine birth.

Lord Krishna was born to Vasudev and Devki, however scared from a prophecy, Lord Krishna was held captive along with his parents by Devki’s brother Kansa. It was then Vasudev was set free by God, in order to keep the prophecy true and highlight the end of evil by destruction of Kansa, by Lord Krishna himself. Lord Krishna took an avatar of an everyday individual, and his life consisted of many significant events which emphasized Lord Krishna’s cleverness, moral and intelligence. Such events in Lord Krishna’s life exemplify that trickiest and toughest problems can be solved through logic and intelligence. Hence Krishna Janmashtami highlights as one of the critical events in Hindu calendar and marks the triumph of good.

For the first time in the history of Masala, Mehndi, Masti, the organizers Abhishek Mathur, Jyoti and Syma had invited Sri Lankan performers to truly reflect the South Asian diversities in the Greater Toronto Area.

Surely the response was overwhelmingly with people from Sri Lankan community singing along with Bathiya and Santush. While Sri Lankan Canadians enjoyed folk songs in hiphop, rap and other genres of music, the other communities enjoyed the music and the rhythm of the universal language called music. What was also amazing were the similarities in the musics of South Asia. Anusha Sivalingam sang Hindi songs in Tamil. The dancers who accompanied her on the stage was also an additional proof that the culture of South Asian Canadians, our food, our dresses etc are the same with slight variations of course.

While many South Asian shows claim to be “South Asian,” Masala, Mehndi, Masti was the first show this season that came closest to the South Asian event. Afghani performers shared MMM’s stage with other artists. Only if Bangladeshi tunes or dramas were played in there too!

Surely, like many shows this was a free show, run by young professionals – many of who have full time jobs. There is very little doubt that it is difficult to showcase such diversity and it is hard to gather communities, however as we saw in MMM’s this year event, it’s very possible if the organizers make an effort to do so.

Understandably the share of Indo-Canadians among the other South Asian communities is larger as the population of Indo-Canadians is more than any other South Asian community. However, the burden to bring together all South Asian communities rests on organizers. By the same token public as well as sponsors (especially all levels of government) should demand the representation of all South Asian communities if the show is to be called a “South Asian” festival.

IIFA Buzz at Etobicoke

IIFA Buzz at Etobicoke

As part of IIFA buzz, CIBC organized a meeting with the press at its Albion and Kipling branch to warm up its employees and the South Asian community to join CIBC in becoming part of the IIFA celebrations this year in June. CIBC is offering people a chance to perform on stage with Bollywood mega stars. People can submit a minute long video at www.cibciifa.com. CIBC is also offering people a chance to put in entries at the same website to see the Bollywood stars up close by requesting the community to participate at CIBC IIFA Golden Ticket Contest.

On the occasion were also present Raza Hasan, Senior Vice President CIBC, Venki Raman, CIBC Etobicoke Vice President, Branch Manager Marina Wahabi, Anil Ferro, IIFA marketing director and Mitul and Vaibhav from Shiamak Davar group.

Published on April 21st, 2011

Dancers at IIFA Buzz Brampton event

IIFA Buzz Brampton Festival is the name given to City events that will lead up to the IIFA awards taking place June 23 to 25 in Toronto. It is the first time the prestigious awards will be held in North America.

More than 400 members from Brampton’s South Asian community were on hand to join the celebrations, which featured a presentation of the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards, the IIFA Buzz Brampton Festival, South Asian food, music and dance.

“I am so happy that Brampton will be playing a role in this wonderful event,” says the Honourable Preeti Saran, Consul General of India in Toronto who addressed invitees. “IIFA not only provides an opportunity to showcase Indian culture, it offers South Asians living in Canada, an opportunity to be proud and to celebrate their heritage.”

Steve Solski, Manager Arts, Culture & Theatre, City of Brampton

Brampton’s IIFA Buzz Brampton Festival events are presented by CIBC and supported by the Government of Ontario through the Celebrate Ontario program. “Speaking on the festival, says, Sabbas Joseph, Director, IIFA. “We are thrilled that the City of Brampton will be participating in the IIFA Celebrations this year. It further fulfils IIFA’s objective of showcasing new destinations and cultures and we hope to see people from the city participate and give us their support.”

“Our government is proud to support IIFA celebrations in local communities like Brampton so more people can share in the excitement of this spectacular weekend,” says Michael Chan, Minister of Tourism and Culture. “This is a tremendous opportunity to showcase Brampton and all of Ontario as a diverse and dynamic place to live, visit and do business. I encourage everyone to join the celebration and participate in the IIFA Buzz Brampton Festival this June.”

Senior Vice President CIBC, Raza Hasan

“The IIFA 2011 program and IIFA Buzz events will not only shine a spotlight on the very best of the Indian film industry from around the world, but, as importantly, it will showcase the diversity, pride and passion of Canada’s South Asian communities, and Canadians of all backgrounds,” says Raza Hasan, Senior Vice President, Retail Lending and Wealth Risk Management at CIBC. “Our sponsorship of IIFA is just another example of how CIBC, together with our employees and clients, embraces Canada’s diversity. At the same time, we are excited to honour the cultural, artistic and business contributions of the global South Asian community.”

The month of June promises to be a busy one for fans of Indian cinema. IIFA Buzz Brampton Festival events include everything from “Bollywood Under the Stars” movie nights to a South Asian-themed Farmers’ Market and Flower City Parade on Saturday, June 18.

“It is a thrill for the City of Brampton to participate in such an incredible event as IIFA,” says City Councillor Vicky Dhillon. “With more than 100 thousand South Asians living in our City, we are honoured that we will be able to celebrate this heritage and introduce the rich South Asian culture to our greater community.”

Published on April 21st, 2011

With news about higher unemployment rates, lesser jobs every other week if not every other day, listening to Amar Sethi say that “I have always had a job.  Whatever it has taken, I’ve done it.  I have found a home at Mercedes Benz Canada and I am in it for the long haul.  It has taken me a while to find a place to call home and Mercedes Benz Canada has given me that warm and fuzzy feeling I have been searching for”.

This is the true spirit of South Asian hard work that is applauded and relished by Canada. And Amar Sethi, a sales professional at Mercedes Benz in Markham lives and breathes it. Amar has worked in corporate Canada for more than ten years as a sales professional; six years with Sony Canada, three years with Future Electronics in Montreal and now in his second year with Mercedes Benz Canada.

Many South Asian students switch majors in almost every year of their 4-year-bachelors degree at university, torn between what they want as a career and what they enjoy learning. Amar’s advice to today’s youth is “most of us just need to concentrate and to find a goal and work hard to get there. If you’re dedicated, determined and persistent, you’ll achieve it.  The key is to find what you love to do.  It can take years of work in different industries, but you will know when you have found it.  I knew the moment Mercedes Benz Canada offered me employment.  I could not ask to work for a better company.  Mercedes Benz motto is “The best or nothing.”  I am proud to be a part of that elite crowd. Work shouldn’t feel like work. It should feel good and you should want to genuinely do what is expected of you,” Amar advises.

Sales and after-sales service is not easy, but Amar has a natural knack for it that is genuine in many ways. “A good sales person doesn’t consider it a job. It’s just a natural approach to things. Some people are cut out for it, some people are absolutely not. I do my best to provide my clients with the service they want and deserve.” He adds “I am here to help my clients get into a Mercedes Benz” he says simply.

While diversity is cherished in the work place, the concern remains that South Asians do not climb up to the top levels of management in big corporations. Amar’s reflective response is “anywhere I have wanted to be, I’ve made it to be. Doors have never been closed in my face. I believe that if I did not get somewhere it is because I wasn’t ready for it. With Mercedes Benz Canada, I am looking forward to any and all challenges.”

The South Asian community has “very large buying power. Our community is a little more conservative which can be a good thing,” Amar says.

Amar’s success comes not only from his great sales experience, but also through the extensive sales, marketing and service training he has completed over the years. He truly cares for his clients and builds a very unique relationship with each and every one of them.

As a kid he says his parents were “cool” with him. “My parents have taught me a lot. Hard work will pay off, just be honest and sincere in whatever you do.  Good things come to good people. “

His trips to India have been frequent and added a perspective to Amar’s life. “I have a different appreciation of life…I have different appreciation for relationships, I have different appreciation for the luxuries we have,” he says.

While having access to hot running water is not really a luxury, but for many in India it is nothing short of a treat.

So was there a clash of culture?

“It’s a different culture,” he concedes, however “Canada is my home. I am Canadian. Born and raised with a little extra spice, I am aware and considerate of my culture” “I am an Indo-Canadian,” Amar adds after a short pause.

Engaged to be married, Amar considers himself “a hopeless romantic.” He is is looking forward to being “the family man”. Cooking elaborate dinners is one of his passions and something he is quite good at, but strongly believes that “the cook doesn’t clean”. The principle of his life is simple and inspired by his mother:

“To be successful, you must have respect and show compassion for others”, and this is exactly what Amar practices in his day to day life.

As for the South Asian community, Amar cherishes it deeply. When asked, what more can we do as a community? Amar says “support each other and be kind to one another. When we see another South Asian working hard, let’s do what we can to help, why not support someone from our own community. When we are united, the sky is the limit”.

Amar Sethi is a sales consultant at Mercedes-Benz in Markham.  Expect to see his warm smile and professional attitude when you enter the Markham dealership. Stay tuned for his weekly specials.

Mercedes-Benz Markham

8350 Kennedy road

Markham, On.

L3R 0W4

905-480-5096

Author: Asma Amanat

I turn on my radio, sing along RDB and wonder where they started from. I think about the journey they have taken through the land of notes and tunes, and how they have arrived at the final destination to give us super hits. To quench my curious thirst, I met Manj from RDB at his studios in Mississauga. The humble Manj (the middle brother) stepped out of his recording studio and our brief meeting took off in their aesthetically furnished conference room.

RDB rose out of England and spread all across the desi-globe. This band of brothers shares a strong unique bond of a unanimous struggle.  The ups and downs that kept them together and the worry they caused their father was never understood better by anyone but them.  The three brothers pursuing a career that has a rapport of more failures than success, was enough to make their father stay up  nights thinking about the abandoned  glorious careers his sons would have had in medicine and law.  But the strong brotherhood convinced him that nature had defied the law of probability and all three are blessed with musical talent.

Kuly, Manj and Surj started their pursuit of music by dreaming of becoming DJs. They played music by utilizing any household item that would produce any tune: broken bowls, spoons, tapes, and torn out speakers were their best weapons in this battle to convince their father. Finally, he gave in and bought his sons new speakers and CD players to pursue their crazy dream.

Manj recalls that the first time they Dj-ed was on Surj’s 18^th birthday party. That event opened the doors for them to the world of producing music and DJing at events of all sorts. From that point on they became full fledged wedding DJs.  The over flowing bookings and response from the audience made them think about making their own songs. Manj says, “We were playing people’s songs and started thinking that why shouldn’t we make our own. So, we made a mini studio and did two songs. We would play them everywhere we went.”

Getting their foot through the doors of the music industry through DJing, they started noticing the response of the audience, “We wanted to make songs that would get people on the dance floor and then we worked on keeping them there. We would go back to the studio and take out the part that made people’s hands go down on the dance floors.”

Constant editing and re-editing gave rise to a strong brotherhood and talented musicians for the world to witness.

Manj talks highly about his father and says, “Dad never wanted us going clubbing ever, but then we started as a group and people started talking about us. He felt proud and advised us to take it all the way to the top. He told us not to leave it half way. We discussed what we were planning to do and he gave us his blessings.”

This gifted group found their inspiration from the one who sired them, “Our dad is very religious and he used to do hymns in Gurdwaras so we learnt Bajaa and Tabla at [a] very young age and that’s where we get our inspiration from.”

The band of brothers expanded and Nindy joined in after her marriage to Manj. Manj ran into Nindy in Toronto and moved here. He laughs and recalls, “I had no idea she had another talent apart from making me roti.” Manj heard his wife sing along a song while driving and brought her straight to the studios. With a little more encouragement he made a song and sent it to his brothers in England to hear her out.

“Aaja Sajna” came into being and Nindy was their female singer from then on.

When Manj came to Canada, he faced all the struggles any new immigrant has to face. He lived in a basement initially with his wife and had to rebuild his career as a singer in this new land. “It was a hard experience to be very well known in England and not to be recognized at all in Canada. It was a big ‘thappar’ in the face. It was a wake-up call to restart everything.”

It was a hard struggle but a reality check at the right time.

Talking about their appearance in Bollywood, Manj says that we had no idea we would make it there until Akshay Kumar called us. It was our music that got us a break.

RDB is thankful to Akshay for bringing them into Bollywood. But Manj says that this success hasn’t changed us as people, “We are still the same ones we were, still making our music and doing out thing. Bollywood hasn’t gotton to our heads.”

Manj loves the fact that the entire family is a part of RDB. It gives them an opportunity to have quality family time even when at work. “We do the shows together, we travel as a family. Work never got into family life because it became our family life.”

The dad that initially opposed clubbing and a career in music later became the secret weapon of this band. The birth of RDB helped him discover his hidden talent as a poet and he writes their songs.

Manj says that it is sometimes hard for us to discuss things with our dad that are opposed to our cultural values. When we described the plot of “Kambakht Ishq” to our dad and asked him to write the song, as a father he kept on arguing, “But that’s so wrong. The guy has to fall in love and marry the girl he loves at some point.”

He further says, “As a group we try to keep neutral, we don’t want to be political activists or anything of the sort. When we are given a project we just give it our best.”

Traveling all across the globe and hearing about identity crisis at every turn, Manj says that they discovered who they are. “We are technically not from anywhere. We are Indian because our forefathers were from India. Although we were born in England but we are not English either, we are nor white, we are not British. And now I live in Toronto. I am not from India, I am not from England, I am not from Canada. But wherever I am from is who I am. The best way to describe it is that I am a believer in all cultures and all countries.”

He further says, “One thing that can bring everyone together is music. There are going to be fine lines around religion and wars are based on religion. But music is in every religion and brings people together.”

Manj finally says to all the fans out there to watch out for their new album, “World Wide” coming this summer with the first single by Nindy Kaur.

Author: Saniya Zahid