From the Desk of your PCA Team .....
We live surrounded by 27 different cultures in this school. So many different holiday’s and so many different celebrations are occurring around us. We tend to be inundated with the world around us in India. The Indian Subcontinent has multiple festivities ongoing every week, but apart from the Indian subcontinent, our friends from the 26 other countries also have things happening of which we are just beginning to scratch the surface.Hari Merdeka (Independence Day) – in Malayasia
August 31, 2015
I bet most of us did not even pay attention when it happened. August 31st is the national day of Malaysia commemorating the independence of the Federation of Malaya from British colonial rule in 1957. Tunku Abdul Rahman, the first prime Minister of Malaysia, lead a delegation of ministers and political leaders of Malaya in negotiations with Britain for Merdeka, or independence along with the first president of the Malayan Chinese Association (MCA) Tun Dato Sir Tan Cheng Lock and fifth President of Malaysian Indian Congress Tun V.T. Sambanthan. Once it became clear that the Communist threat posed during the Malayan Emergency was petering out, agreement was reached on 8 February 1956, for Malaya to gain independence from the British Empire. However, logistical and administrative reasons led to the official proclamation of independence in the next year, on 31 August 1957, at Stadium Merdeka (Independence Stadium), in Kuala Lumpur, which was purposely built for the celebrations of national Independence Day. The announcement of the day was set months earlier by the Tunku in a Melaka meeting of the Alliance.1
Janmashtami – in India
September 5th, 2015
Janmashtami is the annual birthday celebration of the Hindu deity Krishna, who is the eighth avatar of Vishnu. The festival is celebrated on the eight day (Ashtami) of the Krishna Paksha (dark forthnight) of the month of Bhadrapad (August-September) in the Hindu calendar. Each year on his birthday, reenactments of his life are done in different manners around India.
Raas-Leela, a dance of Raas, which is a group stick dance, still popular Gujarat during the Navaratri season. It is an enactment of the flirtatious aspect of Krishna’s youthful days. Many regions of India will celebrate Krishna by having Raas dances done till well past midnight, as Krishna was born at midnight.
The Dhai Handi, or breaking of the Ghee(clarified butter) pots in enacted as part of the mischievous BalKrishna (Bal – means child, Krisna). As a child, Krishna was a naughty child who was fond of Ghee. Krishna and his band of cowherds would go into the houses of residents of Mathura and steal the butter. Each night the lady owner, Gopi, would come to complain to his mother, Yashoda, that her son had been so naughty. Each night Krishna, would deny the stealing, but would get caught as the ghee would either be in his clothing or his hair, or on his face. The Gopis would complain, but the next day would leave ghee within some reach for Krishna to steal with his band of boys. The women of Mathura were fond of Krishna and his group of friends and indulged the children with ghee.
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| Raas-Leela |
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| Dhai Handi |
Today, teams of young men or women will form human towers to reach a high-hanging pot of ghee and break it – symbolic of the ghee that was broken by Krishna and his friends. The activity is never done alone, always in a group. 2
Labor Day – in USA
September 7th, 2015
Labor Day in the United States is a public holiday celebrated on the first Monday in September. It honors the American labor movement and the contributions that workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of their country. America was a country that was built on the labor work force that came from all over the world. Immigrants worked in fields to till the soil or later became a part of the Industrial Revolution and worked in the factories. The day is a day of honoring those who are the labor from past to present in the US.
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| Labor Day Parade in New York's Union Square, 1882 |
Celebrations of Labor Day were outlined in the first proposal of the holiday: A street parade to exhibit to the public "the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations", followed by a festival for the workers and their families. This became the pattern for Labor Day celebrations. Speeches by prominent men and women were introduced later, as more emphasis was placed upon the civil significance of the holiday. Still later, by a resolution of the American Federation of Labor convention of 1909, the Sunday preceding Labor Day was adopted as Labor Sunday and dedicated to the spiritual and educational aspects of the Labor movement.
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| Last Days of Summer in Chicago |
Now days, the Labor Day Holiday is celebrated as a nice three day holiday to spend with the family. Many families will take the "last days of summer" in spending family time outdoors. Being from Chicago, my favorite was spending time at the beach of Lake Michigan.
Like I would in Chicago, hope you all have a wonderful three day holiday and a wonderful weekend. Signing off this week....
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New Discounts
Nando's Restaurants - 10% off with a cover of Rs.1000 +
- Phoenix Mall
- Cathedral Road
Design Hotel, Phoenix Mall, Velachery
a) Breakfast from 7:30-10:30 a.m. daily - Net Rs.500/each
b) Morning Tea - from 11:00 - 12:00 a.m. - Net 200/each ***
c) Lunch - from 12:00 - 3:00 p.m. - Net 900/each **
d) Afternoon Tea - from 4:00 - 6:00 p.m. - Net 200/each ***
e) Dinner - from 7:00 - onwards - Net 1200/each **
**Lunch and Dinner's have to be scheduled in advance by two days, with a set menu. Menus vary based on guest choices.
*** Plain coffee and tea service with light cookies for snack. Additional snacks are chargeable at Net 75/snack.
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Upcoming Events
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Open Positions
There are still open positions on the PCA. We are looking for energetic persons whose goal is to enrich the lives of their kids through parent sponsored activities. We have open positions for Vice President on the Executive Team.If you are interested, please do give us an email at pca@aisch.org. To see all open positions, please see the side bar link of PCA Volunteers.
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