JANUARY <strong>15</strong>, <strong>2018</strong> 20 Communitylink Auckland Muthtamil Sangam plans Pongal celebrations Venkat Raman venkat@indiannewslink.co.nz Auckland’s Muthamil Sangam, which marks its 17th Anniversary this year, is organising ‘Pongal Vizha’ (Pongal Festival) on Saturday, <strong>January</strong> 20, <strong>2018</strong> at Mt Albert War Memorial Hall, located at 773, New North Road, Mt Albert. Muthamil Sangam Secretary Karthik Ramanathan said that the Programme, scheduled to commence at 530 pm, will include cultural items, a ‘Pattimanram’ (Debate), and speeches. “We welcome members of our community to present cultural items at this annual event. Please contact Vice-President and Pongal Vizha Coordinator Maninilavan Arivukkarasu on 021-0375357 or email muthtamilsangam@gmail. com,” he said. About Thai Pongal Thai Pongal is celebrated on the first day of the month of Thai on the Tamil calendar. The day normally falls between 12th and <strong>15</strong>th of the month of <strong>January</strong> in the Christian calendar. Thai is the first month of the Tamil Almanac, and Pongal is a dish of concoction of rice, moong dal, jaggery and milk. This festival is celebrated by Tamilians irrespective of their religious leanings. Pongal is therefore known as ‘Festival of the Tamils.’ The Commonwealth of Virginia in the US has declared <strong>January</strong> 14 as ‘Pongal Holiday,’ although not a public holiday. Telugu-speaking People of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh mark ‘Bhogi’ a day prior to Pongal and celebrate ‘Pedda Panduga’ on Pongal Day. The third day is known as ‘Mattu Pongal’ (Worship of the Cow) among Tamilians and ‘Kanuma Panduga’ in Telangana and Andhra. The fourth day is observed as ‘Kannum Pongal’ and ‘Mukkanuma’ respectively by Tamilians and Telugu-speaking people. Most Hindus celebrate the four-day festivities as ‘Makar Sankranti.’ Thanksgiving Ceremony Thai Pongal is essentially a Thanksgiving ceremony with farmers celebrating the harvest season, paying tributes to Mother Nature, the Sun and farm animals (mainly cattle) for their assistance in reaping good yield. Pongal is also a festival to encourage social cohesiveness and unite people by bringing them together at a common function. Tamil literature has substantial information about the Festival, while songs dedicated to Pongal are also popular. Customs & Celebrations Thai Pongal is an expression of jubilation over life’s renewal. On this day, farming families rise early, and after bathing, wear new clothes and gather in front of their home garden (known as Dance School to pay tribute to Lord Shiva ‘Ohm Namah Shivaya’ on Feb 17 in Lower Hutt The Supreme Power of Lord Shiva, known as the ‘Destroyer of all Evils,’ and some of His manifestations will form the core of a dance production called, ‘Ohm Namah Shivaya,’ to be held in Lower Hutt next month. Organised, choreographed, produced and directed by Prabha Ravi, Director, Natraj School of Dance, the dance drama is scheduled to be held on Saturday, February 17, <strong>2018</strong> twice- once at 330 pm and again at 7 pm at the Little Theatre located at Laings Road, Lower Hutt, Wellington. The following is a report sent by Prabha Ravi: This year’s thematic production is in praise of Lord Shiva, the Third Deity of the Trinity, with Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu. The Sanskrit word ‘Shiva’ means Auspicious or Pure. He is also known as Lord Nataraja, the Lord of Dance and Cosmic Dancer. Centre of the Universe His dance of creation is said Prabha Ravi (Supplied) to have been performed in Chidambaram, an important Shaiva Centre in South India, a place that is identified with both the centre of the universe and the human heart. The forthcoming Dance Drama will see various forms of Lord Shiva and his Tandavams. The gestures of the dance would represent Shiva’s five activities (Panchakritya): Creation (symbolised by the Drum), Protection (by the ‘fear-not’ pose of the Hand), Destruction (by Fire), embodiment (by the Foot planted on the ground), and Release (by the other Foot held aloft). Over 50 students of Natraj School of Dance will be performing in this year’s production. The two-hour performance will involve children as young as five years of age to adults. This year two professional dancers from USA and Australia will also be performing at the show. Transcending Time Bharata Natyam is an art that transcends time and age. <strong>Indian</strong> classical dance is not merely moving your body to a rhythm. It is a discovery of your roots, philosophy, mythology, language, culture and many other facets of life. Every child develops one’s personality and mind by learning this dance. Many youths have benefited immensely through the dance school in learning this valuable art. Editor’s Note About the School and Master Natraj School of Dance is marking its 19th Anniversary this year, which in essence is a tribute to its Founder and Director. The school specialises in teaching Bharatanatyam, and a number of its students have performed at community events in Wellington. More than 500 students have thus far been trained in Bharata Natyam at their School. Ms Ravi has performed in Canada, Sri Lanka, India and New Zealand. Customer service beyond the call of duty inspires Amitabh Mehta This is a heart-warming, feel-good story from Noel Leeming (of The Warehouse Group) Store at Sylvia Park, the largest shopping complex in New Zealand. This story sets an exceptional example in customer service. This is about Viraf Todywalla, who has inspired us, with his motto of optimising customer satisfaction, even if it means extraordinary efforts. Ray Hookway, an elderly customer, visited our Store and purchased a Panasonic Blu-Ray Player recently. Thereafter, he spent a lot of time but could not get it working. Technical Assistance He visited the Store again and explained his concerns to Viraf. Viraf Todywalla at Noel Leeming, Sylvia Park, Auckland Viraf reported to Sonu Singh, Manager on Duty, who realised that Mr Hookway needs assistance but no technician was available for the next two days. He requested Viraf to help the customer. Viraf visited the residence of Mr Hookway on the same day and found that the customer’s existing old Panasonic Television had become faulty, which needed repair and hence was not connecting with the Blu-Ray Player. During the conversation, Viraf learnt that the elderly customer had recently undergone knee-replacement surgery and watching television was his main source of entertainment. Viraf informed Mr Hookway about the situation. He felt sad about the fact that Mr Hookway could not watch the film (DVD) that he had purchased to watch until his television was repaired. To make it worse, it was a Friday. ‘Muttram’) to cook the traditional Pongal. A square pitch is made and decorated with Kolam drawings, and is exposed to the Sun. A fire wood hearth is set up using three bricks. Pongal is cooked in a clay pot. Other ingredients used in cooking Pongal are chakkarai (brown cane sugar) or kalkandu (sugar candy), milk (cow’s milk or coconut milk), roasted green gram (payaru), raisins, cashew nuts and few pods of cardamom. Chakkarai Pongal is the sweeter version of Pongal. Traditionally, Pongal Day is the day of release of new Tamil films, at least one of which would feature a major star. Over the past 20 years, she has also supported a number of community organisations including the Filipino community, the Multicultural Council of Wellington, the Wellington Tamil Society, the Upper Hutt Multicultural Council, the Wellington Mutamizh Sangam, Wellington Malayalee Association, Wellington Malaysian Association, Asia New Zealand Diwali Festival and ethnic celebrations hosted at New Zealand Parliament and for New Zealand Police. Last year, she was on the Queen’s Birthday Honours List and presented with Queen’s Service Medal (QSM) for her contributions to <strong>Indian</strong> Arts and ethnic communities. She is also a recipient of the Hutt City Mayoral Civic Award for her leadership in the field of fine arts. For further information about ‘Ohm Namah Shivaya’ and tickets, please contact Natraj School of Dance on 021-817252; Email: natrajschoolofdance@ gmail.com Viraf went home and took his personal 55” television, all by himself and installed it with the Blu-Ray Player for Mr Hookway. On the following day, he realised that he could not arrange for the repair of Mr Hookway’s television through Noel Leeming, as a normal procedure, since the television set was not purchased from them. No Panic at Panasonic Therefore, Viraf contacted Panasonic and explained the situation. Panasonic agreed to consider the issue as a special case. Viraf was happy that he could help someone in need while following Noel Leeming’s core value of ‘Making Kiwi Lives Better.’ The Television set was repaired and delivered to Mr Hookway just one day before his 83rd Birthday, which made him a very happy customer.
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