ISSUE NO.

JANUARY 201352

JAN’13

TAMIL HISTORY

YOUTH CANADA

WORLD HISTORY

WORLD YOUTH

THAI PONGAL AND TAMIL NEW YEAR

PONGAL VIZHA

KITTU ANNA NINAIVUNAAL

TAMIL HERITAGE MONTH

THAI PONGAL

DR. MUHAMMAD YUNUS

STAY TUNED FOR FEBRUARY 2013

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A new beginning is linked with a wave of

opportunities and aspirations. The Tamil

saying ‘Thai Piranthaal Vazhi Pirakkum’

portrays the positive outlooks that are

closely associated with the New Year. In

2012, we have collectively worked together

and made many unprecedented accom-

plishments that reflect our stance in pre-

serving our identity. It proves that as a

community, we cannot be stopped. As

we embark upon this New Year, we must

radiate determination once again as we

build our people from all across the world.

The strength of the Tamil community is

immense and with the strength of our

youth, we can make sure that the future

of Tamileelam and our people remains

powerful and intact.

- TYO Canada

REACH E-MAGAZINE / TYO - CANADA ISSUE NO.2013 2TABLE OF CONTENTS/

JANUARY52

#52

DID YOU KNOW?

CHEF @ CHERAN

FACE-TO-FACE

YOUTH REFLECTIONS

QWERTY KEYBOARD LAYOUT

HOW TO MAKE: FISH CUTLETS

W/ RENISHAKI KAMALANATHAN

A NEW YEAR, A NEW BEGINNING

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THE REACH TEAM

EDITOR IN CHIEFTharchini, V.

CREATIVE DIRECTORShiyamdev, S.

WRITERSCaajani, V.

Jonathan, U. Laxana, P. Saruja, N.

FEATURED WRITERSKirunthuja, S.

REACH E-MAGAZINE / TYO - CANADA ISSUE NO.2013 3TABLE OF CONTENTS/

JANUARY52

TAMIL HISTORY

Thai Pongal and Tamil New Year

Thai Pongal is the second day of the 4-day

long harvest festival known as Pongal. It

falls on January 14th, which is also cele-

brated as the Tamil New Year. January 14th

, which is Thai 1st on the Tamil calendar,

was established as the Tamil New Year in

1921 by Tamil scholars under the leader-

ship of Maraimalai Adikal. It was decided

to be on the same day as Thiruvalluvar’s

birthday, causing the Tamil calendar to be

referred to as Thiruvalluvar Aandu from

that point on.

Pongal is an ancient festival that can be

traced back to the Sangam Age (200 B.C. –

300 A.D.) The festival originated as a Dra-

vidian Harvest festival and has a mention

in Sanskrit Puranas, and the celebrations of

the Sangam Era led to today’s Pongal cel-

ebrations. As part of the festivities, young

girls of the Sangam era fasted during the

Tamil month of Margazhi. Through a few

fasting rituals such as avoiding milk and

milk products, not using harsh words

while speaking, and not using oil in their

hair, they prayed for rain and prosperity.

The young girls celebrated the last day of

their fast with Thai bathing. According to

the Kaliththokai (literary work from the

Sangam era), the Sun was also worshipped

as a deity during these celebrations, and

according to stone inscriptions at Thiruvot-

tiyur, Pongal was celebrated as a harvest

festival between 985 and 1014 CE. All of

these historical celebrations have had a

large influence on the way Pongal is cele-

brated today.

The Tamil festival of Thai Pongal is a day to

worship the Sun and bring in the New Year.

Families come together and make the tra-

ditional sweet dish, pongal, which is a con-

coction of milk, jaggery and rice. Overall, it

is a festival to encourage social cohesive-

ness and unite people by bringing them

together in a common function to express

their thanks. It is an uplifting thanksgiving

festival.

Thai Pongal generally includes customs

and celebrations that are the expres-

sion of jubilation over life’s renewal. On

Thai Pongal, the family begins the day

early. Every member of the family gets

up early in the morning, bathes, puts on

new attire, and gathers in the front of the

garden to cook the traditional Pongal. The

front garden is pre-prepared for this cer-

emonious cooking - a flat square pitch is

made and decorated with kolam drawings,

and it is exposed to the direct sun light.

The cooking begins by putting a clay pot

with water over fire, and the milk, rice and

jaggery are set to boil. The spill over of the

Pongal during the boiling is the moment

of climax, as the spill over of the milk is an

auspiscious symbol of abundance. The

pongal is then served with fruits (banana

and mango) amongst the family, and later

shared with neighbours, friends and rel-

atives. It is believed that the rice is cer-

emoniously cooked on the Thai Pongal

day because of its importance as a potent

symbol of auspiciousness and fertility. The

evenings are spent by attending cultural

events or visiting relatives and friends.

Although every household makes the

food, sharing each others Pongal is one of

the important features of the event. While

we celebrate and hope for a prosperous

New Year for our friends and family, we

share the Pongal with everyone around us

hoping that the New Year brings prosperity

to everyone as a whole.

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WORLD HISTORY

Dr. Muhammad Yunus

“EACH OF US HAS MUCH MORE HIDDEN

INSIDE US THAN WE HAVE HAD A CHANCE TO

EXPLORE. UNLESS WE CREATE AN ENVIRON-

MENT THAT ENABLES US TO DISCOVER THE

LIMITS OF OUR POTENTIAL, WE WILL NEVER

KNOW WHAT WE HAVE INSIDE OF US.”

Muhammad Yunus referred to as the

“Banker to the Poor”, is a banker, econ-

omist, and recipient of the Nobel Peace

Prize. As a professor, he helped to coin the

concepts of microcredit and microfinance

with the objective of freeing those stuck

in the limitations of poverty through loans

that suit their abilities. Without such credit,

these individuals were unable to get tradi-

tional bank loans due to being destitute.

His concepts and ideas were exercised by

the Grameen Bank, which was established

in 1983 in Bangladesh. Today, inspired

by his revolutionary idea, more than 100

countries are following the Grameen Bank

model.

In 2006, Muhammad Yunus and the

Grameen Bank received the Nobel Peace

Prize “for their efforts to create economic

and social development from below”. His

vision has become a reality for not only

those in Bangladesh, but also in several

other countries. They believed that credit

is a human right, and every individual has

the potential and the right to a decent life.

Microcredit has proven to be beneficial for

those struggling with poverty, and also for

woman as microcredit acts as a support-

ive tool against repression. The concept

of microcredit is the stepping-stone for

Muhammad Yunus’ vision of a poverty-free

world.

He had pursued post-secondary educa-

tion in Bangladesh and then received

a Fulbright scholarship that he used to

study economics at Vanderbilt University.

Muhammad Yunus received his PhD in eco-

nomics from Vanderbilt University in 1969

and joined the Middle Tennessee State

University as an assistant professor in the

next year. Later, when he returned to Ban-

gladesh, he was the head of the economics

department at Chittagong University.

Professor Yunus was respectably

appointed by the UN secretary general

to be a member of the International

Advisory Group from 1993-1995 for the

Fourth World Conference on Women. He

extends his services to the community

and world through organizations such

as the Global Commission of Women’s

Health, the Advisory Council for Sustain-

able Economic Development and the UN

Expert Group on Women and Finance. His

services have been recognized and he is a

recipient of several international awards

such as: the Mohamed Shabdeen Award

for Science (1993), Franklin D. Roosevelt

Freedom Award (2006), Presidential Medal

of Freedom (2009) and numerous others.

While he is recognized with several awards

and achievements, Professor Muhammad

Yunus continues to work with and for the

community and shows that his commit-

ment to the people is ongoing.

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YOUTH CANADA

Pongal VizhaSCARBOROUGH, ON

The Tamil Heritage Month ‘Pongal Vizha’

took place on January 13th, 2013 at the

Canada Kanthasamy Temple. The event

illustrated the traditional Thai Pongal cel-

ebration, including the making of pongal.

Many different individuals from the Tamil

community had come together to take

part in the event. It was inspiring to see the

community come together to celebrate

Tamil tradition.

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JANUARY52

Kittu Anna NinaivunaalSCARBOROUGH, ON

On January 19th 2013, the Tamil com-

munity marked the 20th anniversary of

Colonel Kittu and nine other martyrs who

had sacrificed their lives for our nation. The

commemoration had included a variety

of dance performances and empowering

speeches.

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JANUARY52

Tamil Heritage MonthSCARBOROUGH, ON

Tamil Heritage Month 2013 was very suc-

cessful. Throughout this month of January,

the Tamil Canadian community cele-

brated Tamil Heritage Month by partak-

ing in various initiatives. The opening

ceremony of Tamil Heritage Month was

held on January 8th, 2013 at Toronto City

Hall, and the closing ceremony was held

on January 27th at Canada Sri Ayyappan

Temple. During this month, the Tamil com-

munity took some time to come together

and appreciate the beautiful Tamil culture,

heritage, and history through a variety of

performances and expressions that illus-

trated our rich culture.

REACH E-MAGAZINE / TYO - CANADA ISSUE NO.2013 8YOUTH CANADA/

JANUARY52

Thai PongalUNIVERSITY OF TORONTO – SCARBOROUGH

UTSC Tamil Students’ Association (UTSC

TSA) held their annual Thai Pongal cele-

bration on Monday January 14th, 2013.

The event was very colourful and everyone

who had taken part had really taken an

active role in representing Tamil culture

through performances and food.

RYERSON UNIVERSITY

Ryerson University Tamil Students’ Associa-

tion (RyeTSA) held their Thai Pongal event

on Thursday January 17th, 2013. RyeTSA

celebrated Tamil culture by spreading

awareness and wearing cultural attire.

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO - ST.GEORGE

UTSG Tamil Students’ Association (UTSG

TSA) held their annual Thai Pongal cele-

bration on Wednesday January 23rd, 2013.

They took great pride in showcasing Tamil

culture and heritage be celebrating the tra-

ditional festival.

REACH E-MAGAZINE / TYO - CANADA ISSUE NO.2013 9YOUTH CANADA/

JANUARY52

DID YOU KNOW?

QWERTY Keyboard LayoutA BRIEF HISTORY OF THE MOST COMMONLY

USED KEYBOARD LAYOUT

Did you know that the Sholes and Glidden

typewriter was the first typewriter that was

commercially successful?

In 1868, Christopher Latham Sholes

designed the Sholes and Glidden type-

writer with the assistance of Carlos

S. Glidden and Samuel W. Soule. The

QWERTY keyboard layout was also first

designed and used in this typewriter.

Did you know that the name of the

QWERTY design is a direct reflection of the

arrangement of the letters Q-W-E-R-T-Y

that are found in the top-left portion of the

alphabet keys on the typewriter keyboard?

It was initially a layout that was produced

for the Sholes and Glidden typewriter

but it got sold to Remington shortly

after. Originally, the typewriter keyboard

was arranged in an alphabetical format.

However, after finding that the keys would

jam quite often, Sholes had created the

QWERTY keyboard layout so that the type-

writer would not jam often, as the letters

would be strategically placed on opposite

ends of the type bars. Hence, letters that

are commonly paired together would be

placed at appropriate distances.

Did you know that the QWERTY layout

was used to reduce the amount of jams

that would occur during a normal typing

session? Even though the QWERTY layout

had decreased the typing speed, there

weren’t as many jams and this proved to

be efficient.

In 1878, Remington had introduced a

second model of the typewriter where

they had added the shift key that gave

writers the option of using both upper

case letters and lower case letters. This

modification to the typewriter had really

helped make the typewriter much more

successful.

Did you know that today, QWERTY is the

most commonly used keyboard design?

REACH E-MAGAZINE / TYO - CANADA ISSUE NO.2013 11DID YOU KNOW?/

JANUARY52

FACE-TO-FACE

YOU DEVOTE A LOT OF YOUR TIME TAKING PART IN EXTRACUR-

RICULAR ACTIVITIES IN ADDITION TO YOUR SCHOOLWORK. AS THE

ARTS UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT SENATE AND THE VICE PRESIDENT

ACADEMIC, WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES? HOW

DO THINK THAT ROLES SUCH AS THESE ENRICH YOUR OVERALL

ACADEMIC CAREER?

I love making use of all the time I have in between classes for my

school work and meetings, I love being busy rather than having

nothing to do. As a Senator and VP Academic on the Arts Student

Union at the University of Waterloo, I have the responsibility of

being the voice for the Arts Student body and addressing their

concerns in regards to academics; program requirements, profes-

sor-student ratio and relationship, program improvements, etc.

Anything that needs to be addressed to the Faculty and the Univer-

sity as a whole are dealt with by me and other student representa-

tives from other faculties who sit on various committees to call for

action. Being involved with such roles help me make the most out

of my undergraduate career and degree.

Renishaki Kamalanathan

IN YOUR WRITING, YOU FOCUS A LOT ON THE PLIGHT OF THE TAMIL

PEOPLE. YOU HAVE ALSO WRITTEN AND PERFORMED MANY ORIGI-

NAL SONGS IN TAMIL EXPRESSING THE STRUGGLES OF THE TAMIL

CIVILIANS, AND YOU PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO TAMIL WOMEN.

WHAT IS IT ABOUT TAMIL WOMEN THAT AMAZE YOU?

Born and raised in Canada, my parents have been quite traditional

and have taught me a lot about my culture. I’m not a feminist, but

the inequality and double standards always bug me. During the

time of protests and the annual remembrance days, most songs

are about ‘strong men going out to fight for our freedom’ because

of their physical strength and so forth. There aren’t many songs on

how strong the Tamil women were, how they mentally prepared

themselves knowing that they needed to flee the war zone making

sure her children are safe and knowing that her son or husband

might or might not return alive. Or even of those women who

became freedom fighters and took pride in being the very first

female freedom fighters in the world. Despite the cultural rules

and standards, the ‘patience’ and the ‘mental strength’ of a Tamil

woman amazes me the most and that’s why most of the songs I

have written thus far in regards to the struggle have commended

the women.

REACH E-MAGAZINE / TYO - CANADA ISSUE NO.2013 12FACE-TO-FACE/

JANUARY52

YOUR INTEREST IN WRITING STORIES AND

POETRY IS ADMIRABLE. HOW DO YOU THINK

SUCH PIECES OF WRITING CAN BE HELPFUL TO

DIFFERENT PEOPLE? WHAT IS IT ABOUT WRITING

THAT INSPIRES YOU TO KEEP WRITING?

I believe ‘expression’ is really important and

time seems to be the littlest thing we all have.

Writing helps me express my thoughts when

I need to, and the story lines are timeless so it

can be shared and be understood from any

perspective at any time. I love connecting with

people and learning about their experiences;

each and every one I meet inspire me. Writing

helps me express thoughts that I can never

really explain in person or in spoken word,

the concreteness of writing it down on paper

where the thought process is from my mind/

heart directly to paper instead of transcribing

a person’s reactions with my original thoughts.

YOU HAVE A PASSION FOR HUMANITARIAN

CAUSES AND CALLS FOR ACTION. WHY DO YOU

FEEL THAT IT IS IMPORTANT TO SPREAD AWARE-

NESS AND TO TAKE ACTION? DO YOU THINK

STUDENTS CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE?

Perhaps it is because of my cultural back-

ground. Even though I have been fortunate to

not have experienced the civil war first hand, I

am still able to find the empathy and a passion

for humanitarian causes. I love all people and

everyone deserves a chance of well-being. With

the knowledge us students gain through our

passion-driven choices, we are all able to con-

tribute in some way, shape, or form to the well-

being of all people. As students, our education

helps us build perspective, these perspectives

help us build innovations, and these innova-

tions help us make a difference.

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR FUTURE

GOALS? HOW DO YOU PLAN TO USE

THESE GOALS TO ENHANCE THE

TAMIL COMMUNITY?

My future goals are abundant and

I know helping those around me

and those in developing countries

is at the top of my list! Travelling

to places and working on various

humanitarian projects with

NGOs will lead me to Tamileelam

someday to call for action and

help conserve my Tamil culture

and community in a place that

I can call our motherland. Until

then, I will continue to educate

and inspire those around me of

the pride I take in being Tamil.

REACH E-MAGAZINE / TYO - CANADA ISSUE NO.2013 13FACE-TO-FACE/

JANUARY52

CHEF @ CHERAN

• Ingredients:• 3 potatoes • 2 cans of tin fish• 1 onion• 6 green chilies • 3 eggs• bread crumbs• ¼ teaspoon salt

How to Make:Fish Cutlets

REACH E-MAGAZINE / TYO - CANADA ISSUE NO.2013 14CHEF @ CHERAN/

JANUARY52

1

3

5

7

2

4

6

8

Bring a pot of water to

a boil. Just boil enough

water to cover the

potatoes. Leave the

potatoes in the pot until

they are tender. Cool and

peel the potatoes.

Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a

pan under medium heat.

When the oil is hot, add

the onions and green

chilies and fry until the

onions are golden brown.

Soak the balls in egg

whites.

Fill a pan with enough oil

to cover your cutlet. Once

the oil is hot enough, add

in the balls and fry until

they become golden

brown.

Open a can of tin fish and

drain the water. Debone

and shred the fish into

smaller pieces.

Mix together the tuna

fish, onions, chili peppers,

mashed potatoes and salt

into one bowl.

Make small balls with the

mixture.

Coat them with bread-

crumbs. Repeat if desired.

Enjoy!

REACH E-MAGAZINE / TYO - CANADA ISSUE NO.2013 15CHEF @ CHERAN/

JANUARY52

YOUTH REFLECTIONS

A New Year means new beginnings for a lot of people. It is a time

most people take as a chance to start over; either fixing their past

mistakes or challenging themselves to new goals in life. Although

many people start off strong, they quickly lose interest in their

newly accepted goals and begin to fail. One of the reasons to this

is because we don’t have the right motivation. As a Tamil youth,

growing up I had a lot of pressure from my parents to excel in

school but not enough motivation. I had to join extra-curricular

activities both inside and out of school, private tutoring for classes

I didn’t need, and study at home. On top of all this, I had a social

life I couldn’t maintain due to the limited freedom my parents

allowed me to have. Obviously not all parents are like this, but I

believe the vast majority can relate to my situation. That’s why the

resolution you set for yourself in the beginning of the New Year is

very crucial. You need to be able to manage your time well so you

can do all the things you need to do and have some time left over

for yourself.

Some of the classes my parents made me join were classical

dancing and singing. At first, I wasn’t too interested in them and

found it useless for me. However, now I understand it wasn’t just

about the dance and songs, it was meant for me to uphold our

culture and identity as a Tamil. In today’s day and time, everyone

is slowly evolving into the western society and losing touch with

their roots. Our roots are our identity and we can’t just let go of

it so easily. For a lot of people, letting go of their identity meant

fitting in with the non-Tamil kids at school. Although these times

are changing now and more kids these days are proud to be Tamil,

there are still a few that are ignorant to this notion. This can either

be because their parents failed to teach them their roots or did not

practice it enough for the child to understand its importance. I can

proudly say my parents did a wonderful job in exposing me to my

culture and helping me understand my identity as a Tamil. This is

not just by sending me to various cultural classes of course, but by

teaching me our history every step of the way.

Not only for the people that have migrated to countries around

the world, but also the people who continue to reside in a Tamil-

speaking country, the ancient language is being forgotten. English

has been taking over in so many countries forcing us to speak less

of our own language. Parents encourage their children to speak

English at home so they will be prepared when they start school.

What parents are failing to understand is that children are capable

of learning many languages simultaneously and how crucial those

years of childhood are. The children are being exposed to English

in schools, television, computers, and everywhere outside of the

home. They speak to their friends and school mates in English and

slowly forget their mother tongue. Once they begin job hunting,

a major qualification is for the candidate to be fluent in English.

While learning other languages is beneficial, it’s just as important

to know your own language. Being able to speak Tamil is definitely

a major step to keeping up with our identity.

If we continue practicing the way we are today, it may only take

a matter of a few generations for us to forget Tamil. I know we

are already a few days into the New Year, but who says a resolu-

tion must begin on January 1st? Any given time that you decide to

make a difference is the start of a new era in your life. I’m proud to

be Tamil, are you?

A New Year, A New Beginning

REACH E-MAGAZINE / TYO - CANADA ISSUE NO.2013 16YOUTH REFLECTIONS/

JANUARY52

Speak OutAs Tamil youth in Canada, we have the ultimate

duty of educating others, as well as ourselves of

the suffering of the Tamil people. Understanding is

crucial. And with understanding comes awareness,

the most essential step in the path to progress.

Join TYOOur doors are always open to new members that

are looking to make a difference for Tamils around

the world.

As an organization with the interests of Tamil youth

at heart, TYO provides opportunities for Canadian

Tamil youth to network, contribute, and develop

their skills in various areas as well.

Interested in getting involved?

Please contact us at

CONTACT@CANADATYO.ORG

Or visit us at

WWW.FB.COM/CANADATYO