Posts Tagged ‘Tamil History/Culture’


Grand Finale of Tamil Heritage Month 2014: Thamil Vizha

By Admin - January 14th, 2014

Grand Finale of Tamil Heritage Month 2014: Thamil Vizha

Tamil Heritage Month committee invites you to the Grand Finale of Tamil Heritage Month 2014: Thamil Vizha at J Clarke Richardson Collegiate

1355 Harwood Ave. N., Ajax, Ontario L1T 4G8 at 5:30 pm.
Tickets are $5/each and free for children 12 and under.

The program will be a stage show of various Tamil cultural performing arts! The performances are provided by the organizations that are part of the committee.

Please email info@tamilheritagemonth.com if you need more information.



Thai Pongal and Tamil New Year Wishes!

By Admin - January 13th, 2014

Thai Pongal and Tamil New Year Wishes!

On behalf of CTYA’s Blog Team, we would like to extend our warmest Tamil New Year and Thai Pongal wishes!

அனைத்து தமிழ் உறவுகளுக்கும் கனேடிய தமிழ் இளையோர் ஒன்றியத்தின் உறுப்பினர்கள் மற்றும் இயக்குனர்களின் சார்பில் எமது இதயம் கனிந்த தைப்பொங்கல் மற்றும் தமிழ் புதுவருட நல்வாழ்த்துகள்!

The Tamil month of Thai is a month of celebration, joy, and thanksgiving. Thai Pongal marks the beginning of a New Year for the Tamils. During Thai Pongal, Tamils celebrate by offering gifts to family, dressing in new clothing, and giving thanks to the natural elements.

From pagan festivals to modern-day festivals, ceremonies of thanksgiving remain an integral part of culture and tradition. Likewise, Tamils all around the world celebrate thanksgiving during the festival of Thai Pongal. Thai Pongal is a four-day long harvest festival where individuals offer thanks to nature for providing grain, the basic staple of the food chain.

The etymology of Thai Pongal can be traced to the meaning of its root words “pong” and “thai,” which mean “to boil” and “January” in Tamil. Thai Pongal marks the first day of a new year, and a new month of the Tamil calendar. On this day, farmers will thank nature, especially the Sun and the farm cattle for their allowing them to reap a bountiful harvest, and will harvest new crops including rice, cereals, sugar cane, and turmeric for the next season.

“Thai” holds much cultural and social significance; it has not only marks the beginning of a new year, but has traditionally been the month in where most weddings are held. The Tamils have traditionally been an agrarian society, as a result, the months of plentiful harvest was the months in which resulted in economic output. Thai being such a month meant that more families were able to bear the expenses of holding a wedding.

Maatu Pongal is a celebration that follows Thai Pongal in which farmers honour their cattle for its hardwork by giving it a bath and adorning it.

Thamils all over the world celebrate Thai Pongal by giving thanks to nature, making special dishes, giving gifts to family, and dressing up in new clothing. It is a cultural holiday and festival, thus it is celebrated by all Thamils.

Many believe that with the onset of a New Year, better pathways and beginnings will follow, thus the common phrase, “Thai piranthaal, vali pirakum.”

On behalf of CTYA’s Blog Team, we wish you and your families a prosperous and joyous Thai Pongal, and hope this year brings with it new opportunities, new beginnings and happiness.



The Struggle for Independence

By Admin - January 11th, 2014

The Struggle for Independence

This post is part of the Tamil Heritage Month Initiative. Tamil Heritage Month began to celebrate Tamil heritage, culture, and history. Throughout this month and January, we will be providing you with reflective pieces, educational material and poetry such that seeks to help us celebrate and understand our culture, roots and heritage.

Written By: Athithan Kurukulasingam

Growing up, I was brought up in a very nurtured environment. Structure and balance was a key component of my childhood. My dad instilled upon me his views and beliefs which predominately were very hard-line. He would let me know quite clearly what his views were and he expected me to comply to his wishes or face the consequences. My mother on the other hand, was the soft maternal figure who preached to me her ways in a more subtle manner. For her, it was more effective to catch me at an emotionally low point and comfort me with reassuring thoughts. She would enlighten me with the ins and outs of life and how one should strive to live as virtuous a life as possible. It is still a struggle for me today to distinguish who was more effective in their methods. I’d like to think that my mom, was but oh boy, did Dads beatings hurt. Comedic relief aside, I knew one thing from my childhood. I was raised thinking that family was the end all be all. You live for your family and you die for your family. I’m sure many of us still feel the same way; however, an interesting thing happens as you get older. The struggle for some sense of independence takes over.

It isn’t farfetched to say that the Tamil culture is a predominantly family oriented one. As I get older I still strive to live my life in a way where I can satisfy my parents wishes; however, the waters become more and more muddy each day. As a young man, I seek some form of independence that separates myself from my family for even a little while. The smallest of things can have a significant impact on a family’s relationship. To highlight this issue, I have a small story which can shine light onto this matter. As a kid, you’re dragged everywhere with your parents. Every birthday, wedding, family get together and so on and so forth. As you get older, you may need to miss some of those events that you previously went to as a family. It may be because you had something else to do or quite frankly you just don’t want to go to those events because you aren’t five anymore. This becomes a source of tension within your household because our parents want to still be that family that goes everywhere together and does everything together. They sometimes find it hard to believe that we actually have grown up. It isn’t even about growing up becoming independent and moving out. The Tamil culture is soft. I don’t mean soft in a negative manner. Small incidents have more emotional impact in our culture in my opinion. Another example of this took place in my household. When my siblings and I were younger, we would all have lunch and dinner as a family at the family table; however, as we got older we all started having these meals at different times and in different places. This was quite a distressing trend for my parents, as we got more and more independent, the more hurt they seemed to get.

So now the dilemma, how to satisfy the wishes of your parents while maintaining the independence you seek. It should be noted that every family is different and some deal with change better than others. What I found to be quite helpful is to find a balance. No matter how busy you get or how old you are, deep down you are still kids in the eyes and hearts of your parents. They will always love you and nurture you in an unconditional manner. Most of us will do anything to please our loved ones and I am no exception. As much as our parents should be understanding of our desires to grow up and act independently, we the kids, should at the same time, take a step back and be the kids we once were. Life is a vortex of time and space, it is forever spinning and you can never go back. When you were younger you started near the top and each round around the circle was quite large; however, as you get older and inevitably as does your loved ones, those rounding trips get smaller and smaller and eventually you’re sucked in. Issues we find to be a hassle in the present may no longer be so big later on in life when we too have our own kids and go through this repeated process.

I’ve mentioned time and time again that every family is different and so each one of us have our own way of pleasing our parents. For myself, simple things such as eating dinner as a family, staying home and chatting with my parents instead of going out, going to outings as a family can all make a difference. Our parents always have a reason for their methods. To us eating dinner as a family might not seem like a big deal but in reality it teaches us the importance of togetherness and family bonding. Going to all these family events is not just to annoy us, it teaches us about our family and our roots. We owe a great deal to our parents, they’ve sacrificed a lot for us and we should sometimes put our independence on the backburner and live for them. We have a whole lifetime to be independent but a significantly smaller portion to be a child to a parent.



Beyond a Beautiful Design: Kolam Significance

By Editor - January 10th, 2014

Beyond a Beautiful Design: Kolam Significance

This post is part of the Tamil Heritage Month Initiative. Tamil Heritage Month began to celebrate Tamil heritage, culture, and history. Throughout this month and January, we will be providing you with reflective pieces, educational material and poetry such that seeks to help us celebrate and understand our culture, roots and heritage.

Written by: Gayathiri Sivakumar

Kolams, decorative designs drawn with rice flour traditionally by women in front of their homes serve to be more than being aesthetically pleasing. Kolams have great cultural and medical significance.

Air Circulation and Cleansing – In some Tamil regions, prior to designing a Kolam, the area in front of the house is washed with water mixed with cow dung. Cow dung helps in killing insects and helps in air circulation.

Exercise – Women are typically the ones who have traditionally been the designers of Kolams. Women were also more likely than men to suffer back-pain due to household chores. Therefore, Kolam design forces a women to bend and balance, and served as a form of exercise to strengthen her backbone for the day’s work. This form is called the ‘Yogasana’, and is thought to be very strengthening to women.

Inviting the Gods – Kolams are thought to be inviting to the Gods, and drawing a particular Kolam is thought of as a welcoming to a particular God. Also, the intention and mood of the designer is important in welcoming the Gods, so it calls for a pure heart and happiness early in the morning.

Living Creature – The rice flour used in Kolam design serves as food for insects and birds. Drawing the Kolam at one’s house entrance is thought to be a symbol and action of a human’s concern for all living organisms. It was a representation of harmonious co-existence.

Meditation – Kolam was also thought of as a form of meditation and comfort for women. The “Sikkal Kolam”, a specialized Kolam was practiced as a way of providing women with assurance that they would be able to solve any problem that came in their lives. It was believed that the practicing of drawing the “Sikkal Kolam” provided women with the capability of better problem solving and clarity early in the morning by forcing them with creativity and outward thinking.

Teamwork – Kolam is an activity that was practiced by entire communities, and thus designs were shared among the women. This was thought to help provide unity, comfort and friendship for women.

Warding Away Evil – Our ancestors have thought of many ways to ward off veil, and it is believed that enclosing a Kolam is red helps ward off evil from entering the house. Some of the geometric connections in the Kolam itself are thought to ward off evil.

Kolams have now also been analyzed as a form of expressing pictures and math, to check out more, check out this recommended read!
The Kolam Tradition: A tradition of figure-drawing in southern India expresses mathematical ideas and has attracted the attention of computer science. (2002) Access here: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/27857597
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Thai Pongal Wishes from The Honourable Tim Uppal, P.C., M.P. Minister of State for Multiculturalism

By Admin - January 9th, 2014

Thai Pongal Wishes from The Honourable Tim Uppal, P.C., M.P. Minister of State for Multiculturalism

Minister of State (Multiculturalism) Ministre d’État (Multiculturalisme)

Greetings from the Honourable Tim Uppal, P.C., M.P.

I would like to extend my warmest greetings to those attending the celebrations at the Markham Civic Centre. On behalf of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, I would also like to wish all Canadian Tamils a Happy Thai Pongal.

Canada’s Tamil community members have served in all fields and have also greatly enhanced our pluralism with a vibrant and growing cultural presence. The Tamil Canadian community has been one of the fastest growing visible minority groups in Canada over the past thirty years. For the Tamil community in Canada, Thai Pongal is a time of joy and celebration. Thai Pongal provides an opportunity for all Canadians to reflect on all the contributions that Canada’s Tamil community has made to our country.

Thank you to all the volunteers and to the organizers of this celebration for putting their time and effort into making this event a success. Congratulations and please accept my best wishes for the future.

Sincerely,

The Honourable Tim Uppal, P.C., M.P. Minister of State for Multiculturalism



UTSG TSA 2014 THAI PONGAL

By Admin - January 8th, 2014

UTSG TSA 2014 THAI PONGAL

Inniya Thai Pongal Vazhthugal! Happy Pongal everyone! UTSG TSA is thrilled to celebrate this very important Thamil festival! Thai Pongal is a traditional thanksgiving event to celebrate another successful harvest season. Join us on Wednesday January 15th from 5pm-8pm at the Multi-Faith Centre for FREE FOOD, PERFORMANCES, GAMES and FRESHLY MADE PONGAL!!! Get the chance to learn more about Thai Pongal and its significance to the Thamil community! You don’t want to miss out!



5th Annual Tamil Heritage Month (2014) Opening Reception

By Admin - January 5th, 2014

5th Annual Tamil Heritage Month (2014) Opening Reception

The launch (opening ceremony) of Thamil Heritage Month will be on Thursday, January 9th at 6pm at Markham Civic Centre.

At the event, we will publish the official poster, calendar of THM 2014 events and handbook. We will also be launching the THM website and presenting the various proclamations from different municipalities.

Refreshments will be served.

Admission: Free (space limited and therefore RSVP required, please rsvp to info@tamilheritagemonth.com before January 6th)

We encourage everyone to wear cultural attire for the event.

Thanks,
Neethan Shan
Founder and Chair
Tamil Heritage Month initiative



What is Thai Pongal?

By Admin - January 5th, 2014

What is Thai Pongal?

What is Thai Pongal?

Thai Pongal is a four-day long harvest festival where individuals offer thanks to nature for providing grain, the basic staple of the food chain. The etymology of Thai Pongal can be traced to the meaning of its root words “pong” and “thai,” which mean “to boil” and “January” in Thamil. Thai Pongal marks the first day of a new year, and a new month of the Thamil calendar. On this day, farmers will thank nature, especially the Sun and the farm cattle for their allowing them to reap a bountiful harvest, and will harvest new crops including rice, cereals, sugar cane, and turmeric for the next season. A dish of Pongal is also prepared using freshly harvested rice by farmers, the pot of rice, milk and jaggery (pongal) is set to boil until it boils over the pot in beliefs that doing so will result in a bountiful year. Thai Pongal will be celebrated on January 14 this year.

What is Maatu Pongal?

Maatu Pongal is a celebration that follows Thai Pongal in which farmers honour their cattle for its hardwork by giving it a bath and adorning it.

Who celebrates Thai Pongal?

Thamils all over the world celebrate Thai Pongal by giving thanks to nature, making special dishes, giving gifts to family, and dressing up in new clothing. It is a cultural holiday and festival, thus it is celebrated by all Thamils.

What is the significance of Thai Pongal?

Thai Pongal is a highly socially significant holiday to the culture and tradition of the Thamil people. Thai Pongal is a day in where farmers thank nature for its bounty, and harvest a new set of crops for the new season. It marks the beginning of a new season, and beginning. Furthermore, the month of Thai has traditionally been the month in where most weddings are held. The Thamils have traditionally been an agrarian society, as a result, the months of plentiful harvest was the months in which resulted in the greatest economic output. Thai being such a month meant that more families were able to bear the expenses of holding a wedding.

New Beginnings

Many believe that with the onset of a New Year, better pathways and beginnings will follow, thus the common phrase, “Thai piranthaal, vali pirakum.”

This post is part of the Tamil Heritage Month Initiative. Tamil Heritage Month began in 2010 and seeks to celebrate Tamil heritage, culture, and history. Throughout this month and January, we will be providing you with educational material and poetry such as this that seeks to help us celebrate and understand our culture, roots and heritage.



A Cup of Greetings

By Admin - January 4th, 2014

A Cup of Greetings

Written By: Renishaki Kamal
One ring. One knock at the door.

My feet scurry down the steps to turn the knob and welcome the faces that have yet to lose their secrecy.
As the door opens, my face lights up as the reflection of those on the other side.
The door swings open and they all feel freed and welcomed in, in to a home that feels like their own.
“Come in, come in. It’s so wonderful to see you” as I lead the way to our living room with floral print sofas and a burnt burgundy coffee table.
My mother would turn to me as my father sits down, joining the guest as he continues to greet them. She gives me the signal. That eye blink, not a wink. It’s time for some chai because it’s always tea time and it’s the way to greet guests to our homes and hearts.
No matter the weather outside, it’s always an essential to sink in the sofas with some milk tea and side dish; oil drenched deliciousness! Chai, milk and sugar adds the sweetest touch to every conversation about others, others outside of our little circles but in the big circle we are apart of.
Who cares about the conversation, if the chai’s good the feelings at farewell will be left with a time noted for the next gathering.
Chai in the morning, chai in the afternoon. After a meal, before a goodnight. Why not?
If you ever come over, do come over, don’t worry about the chai, just bring good conversation!
#tamiltraditions

This post is part of the Tamil Heritage Month Initiative. Tamil Heritage Month began in 2010 and seeks to celebrate Tamil heritage, culture, and history. Throughout this month and January, we will be providing you with educational material and poetry such as this that seeks to help us celebrate and understand our culture, roots and heritage.



To Family

By Admin - December 23rd, 2013

To Family

Written By: Kayalvizhi J.

When my brother was a child his word was ‘Akka.’ He would say Akka in this super cute way. With his chubby cheeks and bubbly self, he was the cutest little brother anyone could have. Yesterday, I told him a few of the many stories of him as a baby – from the way he would imitate Rajanikanth punch dialogues, to the way he would always cry to be held if he saw my sister or I, and of time he would hide behind us if he was afraid. Now that he is a grown teenager, far taller than me, he laughs when we tell him these stories.

Last night, my father, my mother, my brother and I stayed up just rehashing these old family memories – and I must say, it was very enjoyable. It was really something we did because my dad could not watch TV, my mom could not cook, my brother could not play his video games, and I could not use my laptop. While the blackout was a huge inconvenience, it brought us all together. We sat and talked, and had a good time doing so. Technology has become such a huge part of our lives that our reliance on technology has divided us. We are all electronically connected through social media, but our face-to-face interaction has decreased. Spending time with family is important. The bond of family, culture, and values can only survive through family time, and we need to make undivded time regularily to spend with our families. We sometimes forget that in the end, we work to spend quality time with family, but we work too hard that we don’t spend enough time with our loved ones.

There is nothing that brings people together like a crisis. The togetherness of family, the care and love everyone has for one another is most evident in times of crisis. The way a relative cares for whether you ate, the way a friend calls to see whether you have a safe place to sleep, all show you that you have people who love and care for you. We often take for granted the good people we have in our lives, but in times of crisis, we see who cares really. While this storm brought down electricity, heat and water, it brought with it gave us something invaluable – a provided us an opportunity to show our families and friends how much we care. It provided us an opportunity to bond with our families. Christmas has always been a big deal in my family, but this year, I feel like the blackout has brought together the real spirit of Christmas – family and love.