I have never been to a fashion show in my entire life. And, being a woman of the twenty first century who has some moderate ideas about the latest fashions, I feel appalled to admit that. However, my no-fashion-show-experience changed on Saturday, February 27^th, when I attended University of Toronto’s Rock the Runway 2010.

It was not your average run-of-the-mill university fashion show (I know, I know. I haven’t been to a show before, so how do I know?). For one, the show was held at the ROM (Royal Ontario Museum), and the settings and design surpassed anything York University has ever seen (source: overheard conversation at the show). Being a York student myself, I should stand to contradict this, but I was blown away with the professionalism in their display. And, they were running on time!!! In my experience, that’s a rarity for York shows.

The show started off with eye candy MC Brendan Beamish whose quirky humour set the tempo of the evening. The show included top brand names like Club Monaco, Bedo and French Connection, with the endorsement of a fantastic jewellery line by Gay Isber (who is also the officially jeweler for ROM). We were also treated to J(two) unisex shirts and Juju shoes, as well as AllieOop bags. The headliner designer was ‘Mis. James’, whose clothes, in my opinion, were made for ultra thin anorexic models, and which also made me wonder how she made it to the headliner slot. Oh well, I did say my sense of fashion was moderate. However, what stayed on in my mind long after the show was over was the musical performance by two jazz musicians that came right after the intermission: a jugalbandi of trumpets.

So, how did the show come about? In 2007, some UofT students (Fatima Yusuf, Juliana White, Heather McCann and Randy Alexander) from Woodsworth College had a vision. They wanted to raise money for War Child Canada, in a fun and engaging way that would bring the student community in Toronto together in the effort. And, it worked! Being their third consecutive year organizing the show, they have managed to move to a 600 attendee event (from just 100 students in their first year), consisting of fashion aficionados from UofT, York and Ryerson, raising over $20,000 in the past two years. As the story goes, the show gained so much popularity over the past two years that this year they had to move the location from Bata Museum to the ROM. It was a first for both Rock the Runway and ROM, because this was ROM’s first fashion show.

But fashion show aside, the cause behind the show is what is compelling. War Child Canada is a “Canadian charity dedicated to providing urgently needed humanitarian assistance to war-affected children around the world. War Child Canada helps generate awareness, support and advocacy for children’s rights everywhere”. The organization has a major role in providing assistance and generating awareness for the support of children in places like Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Georgia, Sri Lanka, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Northern Uganda, Sierra Leone, and Darfur. Overall, it is a cause that needs more attention, and Rock the Runway does precisely that through an approach that is both appealing and important to our current sensibilities. This is one show that I definitely won’t be missing next year, as fashion for a good cause is a far better excuse than any.

Author: Sanchari Sur

Agarwals Based in Canada celebrated Holi at Hindu Heritage Centre, 6300 Mississauga Road. The function attracted extremely good attendance. It included Childrens cultural program, Rangoli competition, Holi songs with Tabla, delicious food with tea and Thandai. For future activities, please contact agarwalsbasedincanada@gmail.com

South Asian Studies Students Association, organized a music and dance exhibition with live performances, displaying the history of the Kathak and Odissi dance traditions, featuring Chitralekha Odissi Dance Creations and Joanna De Souza. This event was a part of the Language Series, which is, inspired by the Bangladeshi nationalist language movements marked by the Feb 21 Language Martyrs’ Day (now International Mother Language Day).

Ritesh Das, founder of Toronto Tabla Ensemble, and disciple of Pt. Swapan Chowdhuri plays a tabla solo, accompanied by Kathak dancer Joanna de Souza. De Souza, a student of Pt. Chitresh Das, demonstrated bol, the spoken language of rhythm in South Asian music traditions| Photo Credit: Naushad Ali Husein

Joanna de Souza and Ritesh Das shared their 20 year old passion and vast experience in north Indian dance and music with audience and students at the Robert Gill Theatre on Friday, Feb 26. .

Joanna de Souza who is perhaps the only Canadian born artist to achieve a Master’s Degree in kathak dance through Prayag Sangit Samiti, Allahabad, India, enchanted the audience. Her study of kathak, which began in 1978, continued under Pandit Chitresh Das. Since her return to Toronto, she has gained reputation as an excellent kathak dancer, teacher and choreographer. Her traditional and collaborative works have earned her a variety of nominations and awards.

Ankita Sarker, student at Chitraleka Odissi Dance Creations demonstrated *abhinaya*, the art of expression and story-telling in the ancient East Indian dance form of Odissi.|Photo Credit: Sanjid Anik

Ritesh Das, composer and musician, has studied tabla with gurus Pandit Shankar Ghosh, Ustad Zakir Hussain and most extensively with Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri. He has toured throughout the US, Canada and India, and performed with many of India’s great music and dance innovators. Since moving to Canada, he has established himself as an extraordinary teacher of tabla and founded the Toronto Tabla Ensemble in 1991. His tabla beats inspired the audience and every listener praised his talent.

The event was a great success full of entertainment and social networking. The performances were indeed enchanting and praise-worthy as Globe and Mail described:

“Odissi is considered the most lyrical and sensual of the South Asian dance styles. The art form brings to life temple dance sculptures in a series of beautiful poses linked by intricate footwork and hand movements. Devraj’s clever spin on this living sculpture is to elaborate on traditional Odissi movements-in other words, to make the dance more complicated and ornate, a concept embraced in the word “pallavi”. The “science” part is anchored in the complex mathematics of the musical structure of the raaga, or specific number of beats of the music. The resulting dance is like watching Odissi in fast-forward. Traditional poses flash by like telephone poles from a passing car, while the siblings execute Devraj’s demanding physicality with awesome speed.”

Thaevening the audience experienced their magical performance and later networked with others who share their interest.

By staff writer

Born in Mississauga and not any exotic place, Sasha Kalra is the President of South Asian Alliance at University of Toronto St. George campus. Studying Political Science and International Relations, Sasha is still struggling with what field to choose: journalism, politics, law, agent for celebrities, or business administration. Talking out loud, Sasha sort of went through elimination process of what professions he does not like, however there are a number of considerations including how good a program is at each university, what parents are recommending, aptitude and of course money.

Free samosas and bar-be-cues attracted Sasha toward South Asian Alliance. Not highly motivated to join SAA, Sasha, initially got involved to embellish his resume. He has learned to work with a team and finds it “fulfilling.” Another advantage is “meeting a lot of new people, I mean, I won’t have met you if it wasn’t for SAA,” Sasha says. As an individual Sasha is funny, intelligent, smart and it is obvious that he knows how to get people engaged otherwise it would have been hard to be the president of SAA.

The first time around, Sasha was unable to run for executive team of SAA because of a class, however as most South Asian organizations, SAA was back to election phase after a semester, and here was the opportunity Sasha had missed earlier.

SAA at St. George has 12 executive members with two presidents. I had to ask why there are two presidents when every country has one president. Sasha joked, well “there is a prime minister and a president.” On his defense he did note that he gets along very well with the co-president of SAA.

In every organization, there are members who are not fully committed and willing to give time that they had promised to other members of the organization. SAA at St. George is no different. However the way to deal with is “we sit them down, we don’t scorn them down, we don’t tell them off, but again if they keep screwing down..we had to cut execs in the past if they do not work in the group or put their weight” says the President.

On the Election Day, 30 to 100 people show up out of a 900 membership list. One of the reasons is “everyone is in the library by themselves and doing their own stuff and then there are 40% international students at our campus.” In spite of the high numbers of international students from South Asia, many international students do not join the South Asian club. Why? “International students, I have noticed, don’t like to join these clubs..they are like I’m in Canada, why would I join a South Asian club, I’ve been in India my whole life. Local kids join because they have no social life, they are lonely.”

Strictly an apolitical body, SAA chose not to join Drop the Fee rally outside Premier Dalton McGunity’s office last Fall. UTSU funds all student clubs. UTSU asked all student bodies to join the rally. An added incentive given to execs of student organizations was to have $5 for every member brought in. Individually Sasha believes that rallies like Drop the Fee exude socialism, and, so he does not support them at an individual level either. “They want the government to fund everything,” he says.

Being an executive of SAA means you have to have a lot of time and energy. Every two weeks, the Alliance aims to do an event whether it is a fund raiser or a skating event.

Doing good things in the community is top priority for SAA. Other than that, the conversation among members of SAA is “God I missed that class, can I have notes from that class.” Focus on education is the top priority of these students.

SAA organizes events like poker. Revenue generated from such games is donated to charity organizations. Of course there are angry people at the end of the poker game, “but everyone is happy at the end because you see your friends’ win and be happy. Then sometimes we have faculty members come play poker with us. It’s kinda funny to watch them lose to their own students.” These charity organizations are local as well as international. They have donated to Canadian Cancer Society, Sick Children Hospital; we did a run for CIBC Run for the Cure and so on.

One of SAA’s biggest events is a formal that attracts more than a thousand South Asian students from universities and colleges across GTA. However, in this event students of Bangladeshi and Sri Lankan decent were nowhere to be seen. “Our membership is open to all South Asians, but I don’t know why they don’t join. Our President is Bengali this year and last year it was Tamil, but I should think about it” says Sasha, but are the execs of SAA really outreaching to Bangladeshi and Sri Lankan students is a real question.

As a President of SAA, Sasha believes that “coordination” is a huge challenge. “Dividing work” is another issue. “Essentially when everyone is doing everything, that leads to so much confusion,” Sasha says.

A few years ago, there was rivalry among members of different student bodies, however “now we don’t care, we are friends with everyone and all we care about is our campus,” says Sasha.

As a student of Political Science, Sasha follows politics closely. He is not satisfied by MP Michael Ignatieff’s leadership. “He’s a talker and charming, Stephan Dion wasn’t a great speaker but his policies on climate change were really good, Bob Rae should be the leader of Liberal Party,” but that’s just Sasha’s humble opinion.

By: Asma Amanat

Many of my previous articles in Generation Next have focused on specific dates and what they mean to the larger society as a whole.  This one might just be the most important.  In an effort to harness the energy, imagination and initiative of the world’s youth in overcoming the challenges of our world, the United Nations proclaimed the International Year of Youth for 2010.

Throughout the year, the UN is calling for the full and effective participation of youth in all aspects of society.  The celebration encourages all sectors to work in partnership with youth and youth organizations to better understand their needs and concerns and to recognize the contributions they can make to society.

In its resolution proclaiming the Year, the UN General Assembly called on governments, civil society, individuals and communities worldwide to support activities at local and international levels to mark the event.  It also encourages young people to dedicate themselves to fostering progress, such as the attainment of the UN Millennium Development Goals, which seek to eliminate a host of social ills, including extreme poverty and hunger, maternal and infant mortality, and lack of access to education and health care, all by 2015.

It is interesting to note that young people today enjoy a level of freedom and individual empowerment that youth throughout the centuries could have only dreamt of.  It wasn’t too long ago that adults regularly believed that young people should only be seen in public, and not heard.  Thankfully, we’ve moved beyond these outdated forms of thinking.

They say that youth are the leaders of tomorrow.  I actually kind of disagree with this statement, because it essentially says that kids have to grow up first to really make a difference.  I don’t think you have to wait until you’re an adult to make change.  Why can’t you start right now?

In fact, history is filled with examples of young people working together to create positive change.  This includes the vitally important youth participation that took place in the Civil Rights movement, the peace and environmental movements, and the struggle for the rights of students all over the world.

Currently in the early 21^st century, we see tens of thousands of kids using personal blogs and such networking sites as Facebook and YouTube to spread the word about making positive change.  Whether it’s about poverty, human rights or global warming, knowledge and information can be shared among millions of young people all over the world with just a few clicks of a mouse, and is propelling kids into action with an enthusiasm never seen before.

Several international events are already scheduled throughout the year, including the Fifth World Youth Congress from July 31 to August 13 in Istanbul, and the World Conference for Youth in Mexico City from August 24 to 27.  Both gatherings will focus on youth and sustainable development.

So what are we waiting for?  This is our year to make a difference!

Author: Bilaal Rajan

Holi celebrates the arrival of spring and the end of winter and provides a refreshing break from the mundane norms of society.  During this period Hindus celebrate by throwing coloured powder (gulal) and water on each other.  Holi is a celebration of joy and hope and brings with it vibrant colours, jubilation, and harmony.  Holi is celebrated on the full moon day in the month of Phalguna.  People are in their joyous spirits and celebrate Holi all day by throwing coloured water and power at each other.  Sweets are also distributed to family and friends during Holi.

There are many stories about the origin of Holi.  The best known story is that of Prahlad.  Prahlad was the son of King Hiranyakashyap, who declared himself to be the most powerful king in the universe, and the only person who was to be worshipped.  However, his son Prahlad continued to worship Lord Vishnu and steadfastly refused to acknowledge the supremacy of his father as God.  After many attempts to convert Prahlad, King Hiranyakashyap decided to kill his son.

King Hiranyakashyap attempted to dispose of Prahlad many times, but in every instance where Prahlad was about to die, Lord Vishnu saved Prahlad from sure destruction.  After many of these endeavours, King Hiranyakashyap decided to seek the assistance of his sister, Holika, who had the boon of immunity from fire.  King Hiranyakashyap decided that Holika should hold Prahlad on her lap, and enter a bonfire.  But, with God’s grace, Prahlad survived, while Holika burnt to ashes!  To commemorate this incident, conflagrations are created to symbolize the burning of Holika.  The incident reminds us that truth, faith and goodness will always prevail, even though one may first have to go through many hardships.  It also serves to remind us that God is our savoir, and will always be with us in our moments of need.

The Hindu calendar is based on the movement of the moon.  There are 12 lunar months.  Holi is a celebrated in the lunar month of Phalguna (late March-early April) and is celebrated over several days.  The first day is called Holi proper.  On the evening of Holi proper bonfires are lit, marking both the end of winter and the beginning of spring.  The burning of Holika is done during this time and proceeds from the seasonal harvest (grains, coconuts, etc) are offered to the flames.  The second day is called Dhuleti or Rangapanchami, and over the duration of this second day, people throw coloured powder and water at each other.  Rangapanchami can be broken down into 2 words-ranga, which means colour, and panchami, which means fifth day.  Holi was originally a 5-day festival, and the fifth day was called Rangapanchami-in earlier times it was celebrated on the fifth day of the fortnight.

India is a vast country with many different regions.  Hindus from these various regions celebrate the same festivals, but in a multitude of different ways. The tradition of colour throwing dates back to the time of Lord Krishna and Radha.  When he was young, Lord Krishna was extremely mischievous and loved to play tricks on people.  One day, he decided to liven everyone’s moods and started throwing coloured power at Radha.  She retaliated, and soon everyone joined in on the fun.  The trend was set, and ever since that day colour throwing has become an integral part of Holi.

Author: Ravi Purushuttam

A broad smile on their faces, a bounce in their step, and a twinkle in their eyes…is how one would describe every single person in Canada during Spring time. India’s most celebrated choreographer and artist, Shiamak Davar, adds a new flavour to this year’s spring with SPRING FUNK^TM, a first-of-its-kind initiative in Canada. The Spring Funk^TM classes will be conducted at all centres of Shiamak’s Institute in Canada i.e. Vancouver and Toronto.

Shiamak launches Spring Funk^TM on popular demand post the phenomenal success of his previous batches, Summer Funk^TM and Winter Funk^TM. With Spring Funk^TM, Shiamak once again provides all in Canada a unique opportunity of learning the latest Bollywood blockbuster dance moves and showcasing them in a professionally run event complete with majestic sets, rich costumes and innovative props. Shiamak’s Spring Funk^TM will be staged across Canada: Toronto – 14^th March 2010 and Vancouver: 11^th April 2010.

What makes Spring Funk^TM even more special is that besides having spectacular acts by the students of Shiamak’s institute, it will also have heart-rending performances by Shiamak’s Victory Arts Foundation (VAF) – the non-profit wing of Shiamak’s organisation committed towards spreading the joy of dance to children with special needs. With Spring Funk^TM the special children will be given an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of performing like stars in front of a huge audiences reinforcing Shiamak’s belief Have Spirit. Will Triumph^TM.

Shiamak has been successfully conducting dance classes in Canada since the past 9 years; educating, entertaining and empowering all the dance aficionados in the country. Shiamak’s Summer Funk^TM and Winter Funk^TM are unique programs, training amateur dancers to perform like confident professionals. Shiamak’s Institute trains, energizes and reaches out to people from all walks of life. Aged 4 to 74 years, SDI students attend dance classes in the age groups of 4-6 years for kids, 7-12 years for pre-teens and 13 years and above for adults. Spring Funk^TM aims to do all this and much more…

Spring Funk^TM classes will be conducted at Toronto (Markham, Mississauga, Brampton, Downtown, Scarborough, Woodbridge & Vaughan) and Vancouver (North Vancouver, Richmond, Downtown Vancouver, Surrey, Burnaby)

Hundreds of Bangla community people and many South Asian people have united to pay homage to the immortal Ekushey February 21, 2010 and the International Mother Language Day under the banner of the United International Mother Language Day Celebration at the Bangladesh Centre, Toronto.  The great ceremony will begin with placing of floral wreath at Shaheed Minar (Ceremonial Monument) by the members of Bengali community at Bangladesh Centre, 2670, Danforth Avenue, Toronto. Bangla Community will pay the glowing tributes to the great language martyrs. More information is available from Ms. Chaman Ara,  Telephone  416 686 3980 and Mr. Pronobesh Poddar, 416 458 3280.

Bangla literature demands justice here and now. In this respect the message of UNESCO declared, “We pay tribute to the people of Bangladesh, whose passion for their own language has inspired the designation of 21^st February as the International Mother Language Day. As UNESCO marks 21^st February, the International Mother Language Day, we and millions of Canadian nationals sincerely requested the Right Honorable Stephen Harper Prime Minister of Canada, to designate the International mother language Day in the Canadian Government Calendar.

Toronto is the most culturally diverse city in the world, and is home to people from 170 countries, who speak more than 100 languages and dialects. Together they create a vibrancy and spirit that make our city truly unique. One of the remarkable parts of the function will be Rabindranath Tagore’s song sung by Ms. Colettee Peters who went to Calcutta to study Bangla and Tagore’s songs. Ms. Peters highly appreciated the Bangla language and songs.

Our South Asian community is an important and vital part of Toronto’s cultural mosaic, strength and success – something of which we are all extremely proud.  Homage will be paid to Martyrs of Bangla Language and People demand that the Government of Canada should recognize UNESCO’s International Mother Language Day.

Author: Mr. Sona Kanti Barua is an international author of several books and former President of the Bangla Sahitya Parisad (Bengali Literary Association) Toronto.

On Feb 15^th at Donald M. Gordon Chinguacousy Park, families in Brampton came out to see and do lots at the park on the Family Day. There were Ice Walls to paint, roast marshmallows, shoe slide and wagon rides, relay and kick sled races, family soccer game, ring toss and crafts. Children enjoyed themselves while playing a game of ICE x’s and o’s. Snow tennis and snow golf was another great winter experience for the participants. Families cheered and watched the ski and snowboard competition and went for “try-it” curling. It was also an amazing opportunity to watch the pros turn a chunk of ice into a work of art!!

By Staff Writer

Panaroma Board of Directors 2009-2010

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 .

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. By 1 p.m. there was no standing space left in the the huge Pearson Convention Centre with a seating capacity of 6000 seats. 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 Bob Delaney, Vic Dhillon & Amrit Mangat . They were joined by the newly appointed and the first Indo-Canadian Senator Vim Kochhar, Dr. Alok Mukherjee , Chairman 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.

Consulate Gernal

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. Second place went to Anusha Shivalingum, with Kajori Chakravorty and Dhiraj Barla getting placed third.

The audience was on their feet during the grand finale , performed by Melange Entertainment Group accompanied by the top 10 Idol contestants.

Panorama’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 ” .