From the Desk of your PCA Team ....
Happy New Year and Welcome back to 2016! We all hope your holidays have been good and safe. We hope for those who were out of country, you had excellent vacations and those in chennai, you were safe.
This year we have one very new item planned for kids. We will be doing a junior Master Chef competition in conjunction with some of our hotel partners. There will be two divisions within this competition, from 8-11 for Section I and from 8-18 for Section II. Any child who participates, need not have any prior experience. Our hotel partners will host technique classes for our kids. Kids have to participate in at least 5 of the classes, more if they wish. The classes will have a fixed cost to them with light meals served for the kids. On April 9 & 10th of 2016, we will have our competition (locations and times TBD). If you wish to have your child participate, please look forward to a sign up sheet next week.
We will continue with our adult cooking demos to a max of two a month till the end of the school year. We have some 10 cuisines still to cover. We hope you will participate.
Next week is also going to be the PCA city tour which will cover Fort George. This is a British fort that is tucked away on the marina beach side, which one never will come to know about. It is a gem to be discovered. Please do join us on Wednesday the 20th of January for this.
This weekend marks a big calendar set of dates around the country. In Punjab, they celebrate Lohri, in Gujarat they celebrate Makar Sankranti and in Tamil Nadu, Pongal is celebrated. Take a few minutes to read about these three different festivals that are linked through one idea - the harvest.
For those who are celebrating this weekend - Happy Lohri, Happy Makarsankranti and a Happy Pongal.
LAHORI
Lohri (Gurmukhi: ਲੋਹੜੀ, Devanagari: लोहड़ी, Shahmukhi: لوہڑی) is a popular Punjabi festival, celebrated by people from the Punjab region of South Asia.] The origins of Lohri are many and link the festival to Punjab region. Many people believe the festival commemorates the passing of the winter solstice] as Lohri was originally celebrated on winter solstice day,] being the shortest day and the longest night of the year. In India, it is primarily celebrated in the regions of Chandigarh, Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu, and Punjab state.
Lohri Bonfire
Cut sugarcane, Semisolid sugar cane juice drying in another pan for preparation of Jaggery.
Lohri is traditionally associated with the harvest of the rabi crops. The traditional time to harvest sugarcane crops is January and therefore, Lohri is seen by some to be a harvest festival. The general time to sow sugarcane is January to March and the harvesting period is between December to March with a 12 to 18 month cycle. Sugarcane products such as gurh and gachak are central to Lohri celebrations, as are nuts which are harvested in January. The other important food item of Lohri is radish which can be harvested between October and January.
MAKAR SANKRANTI
Makar Sankranti is an Indian festival celebrated in almost all parts of India and Nepal in many cultural forms. It is a harvest festival.
Makar Sankranti marks the transition of the sun into the zodiacal sign of Makara (Capricorn) on its celestial path. The day is also believed to mark the arrival of spring in India and is a traditional event. Makara Sankranthi is a solar event making it one of the few Indian festivals which fall on the same date in the Gregorian calendar every year: 14 January, with some exceptions when the festival is celebrated on 15 January.
According to the Hindu (Indian) solar calendar Makar Sankranti is a festival celebrated at Mah 1st for the happiness of getting new crops for farmers. It also symbolizes the end of the winter solstice which makes the day last longer than night.
Makar Sankranti is regarded as marking the beginning of an auspicious phase in Indian (Hindu) culture. It is cited as the 'holy phase of transition'. It marks the end of an inauspicious phase which according to the Hindu calendar begins around mid-December. It is believed that any auspicious and sacred ritual can be sanctified in any (Hindu) Indian family, this day onwards. Scientifically, this day marks the beginning of warmer and longer days compared to the nights. In other words, Sankranti marks the termination of winter season and beginning of a new harvest or spring season.
All over the country, Makar Sankranti is observed with great fanfares. However, it is celebrated with distinct names and rituals in different parts of the country. In the states of northern and western India, the festival is celebrated as the Sankranti day with special zeal and fervour. The importance of this day has been signified in the ancient epics like Mahabharata. So, apart from socio-geographical importance, Makar Sankranti holds historical and religious significance. As it is the festival of Sun God, and he is regarded as the symbol of divinity and wisdom, the festival holds an eternal meaning.
PONGAL
Thai Pongal (Tamil: taippongal) is a Tamil harvest festival. Thai Pongal is a four day festival which according to the Gregorian calendar is normally celebrated from January 13 to January 16, but sometimes it is celebrated from January 14 to January 17. This corresponds to the last day of the Tamil month Maargazhi to the third day of the Tamil month Thai.
Thai Pongal is one of the most important festivals celebrated by Tamil people] in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the Indian Union Territory of Puducherry, Sri Lanka, as well as Tamilians worldwide, including those in Malaysia, Mauritius, South Africa,USA, Singapore, Canada and UK. Makara Sankranthi corresponds to Thai Pongal, the winter harvest festival celebrated throughout India.
The day marks the start of the sun’s six-month-long journey northwards (the Uttarayanam). This also corresponds to the Indic solstice when the sun purportedly enters the 10th house of the Indian zodiac Makara or Capricorn. Thai Pongal is mainly celebrated to convey appreciation to the Sun God for providing the energy for agriculture. Part of the celebration is the boiling of the first rice of the season consecrated to the Sun - the Surya Maangalyam.
History
The origins of the Thai Pongal festival may date to more than 5000 years ago. Epigraphic evidence suggests the celebration of the Puthiyeedu during the Medieval Chola empire days. Puthiyeedu is believed to represent the first harvest of the year. Tamil people refer to Pongal as "Tamizhar Thirunaal," the festival of Tamizhs.
Etymology
Thai refers to the name of the tenth month in the Tamil calendar, Thai (தை). Pongal usually means festivity or celebration; more specifically Pongal is translated as "boiling over" or "overflow." Pongal is also the name of a sweetened dish of rice boiled with lentils that is ritually consumed on this day. Symbolically, pongal signifies the gradual heating of the earth as the Sun travels northward toward the equinox.
This day coincides with Makara Sankranthi which is celebrated throughout India.
Name | Region |
Thai Pongal | Tamil Nadu, Sri Lanka |
Andhra Pradesh, Bengal, Kerala, Bihar, Jharkhand,Goa, Karnataka, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Telangana Uttar Pradesh | |
Uttarayana | Gujarat and Rajasthan |
Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab | |
Assam | |
Maghe Sankranti or Makar Sankranti | Nepal |
Pongal dish
Steaming rice for Pongal
Besides rice and milk the ingredients of this sweet dish include cardamom, jaggery, raisins, Green gram (split), and cashew nuts. Cooking is done in sunlight, usually in a porch or courtyard, as the dish is dedicated to the Sun god, Surya. The cooking is done in a clay pot that is decorated with coloured patterns called kolam. Pongal has two variants, one sweet and one savoury. The dish is served on banana leaves.
Cooking pongal is a traditional practice at Hindu temples during any part of the Temple Festival in Tamil Nadu.
pongal festival,sree krishna surya
Days of the festival
Margazhi Kolam
Though rarely followed in cities, most villages in Tamil Nadu mark the arrival of Pongal festival a month before (Margazhi - mid December to mid January) by embellishing the floor space of their dwelling entrance with decorative patterns called Kolam - drawn using rice flour and different colour powders- by female members of the family on or before dawn. Traditionally dwellings are whitewashed with in the month of Margazhi to welcome the auspicious Thai Pongal.
Bhogi
The day preceding Pongal is called Bhogi. On this day people discard old belongings and celebrate new possessions. The disposal of worn-out items is similar to the traditions of Holika in North India. The people assemble at dawn in Tamil Nadu to light a bonfire in order to burn the discards. Houses are cleaned, painted and decorated to give a festive look. The horns of oxen and buffaloes are painted in villages. In Tamil Nadu, farmers place medicinal herbs (neem, avram, sankranti) in the northeast corner of each field to protect crops from diseases and pests.
Bhogi is also observed on the same day in Andhra Pradesh. In the ceremony called Bhogi Pallu, fruits of the harvest such as regi pallu and sugar cane are collected along with flowers of the season. Money is often placed into a mixture of treats and is poured over children. The children then separate and collect the money and sweet fruits.
This day is celebrated in Punjab as Lohri and in Assam as Magh Bihu / Bhogali Bihu.
Thai Pongal
The main event, also known as Thai Pongal, takes place on the second of the four days. This day coincides with Makara Sankranthi, a winter harvest festival celebrated throughout India. It marks the start of the Uttarayanam, the day of the sidereal solstice when the sun purportedly enters the 10th house of the Indian zodiac i.e. Makara or Capricorn.
In the Tamil language the word Pongal means "overflowing," signifying abundance and prosperity.
During the festival milk is cooked in a vessel. When it starts to bubble and overflow out of the vessel, freshly harvested rice grains are added to the pot. At the same time other participants blow a conch called the sanggu and shout "Pongalo Pongal!" They also recite "Thai Pirandhal Vazhi Pirakkum" ("the commencement of Thai paves the way for new opportunities"). This is repeated frequently during the Pongal festival. The "pongal" is then served to everyone in the house along with savories and sweets such as vadai, murukku, paayasam.
Decorations
Kolam drawn in front of houses
Tamils decorate their homes with banana and mango leaves and embellish the floor with decorative patterns drawn using rice flour kolams/rangolis are drawn on doorsteps. Family elders present gifts to the young.
Newly cooked rice and savouries prepped for celebrating pongal.
The Sun stands for "Pratyaksha Brahman" - the manifest God, who symbolizes the one, non-dual, self-effulgent, glorious divinity blessing one and all tirelessly. The Sun is the one who transcends time and also the one who rotates the proverbial wheel of time.
Maatu Pongal
Maatu Pongal is celebrated the day after Thai Pongal. Tamils regard cattle as sources of wealth for providing dairy products, fertilizer, and labor for plowing and transportation. On Maatu Pongal, cattle are recognized and afforded affectionately. Features of the day include games such as the Jallikkattu and taming wild bull.
Kanu Pidi is a tradition for women and young girls. During Kanu Pidi women feed birds and pray for their brothers' well being. As part of the "Kaka pidi, Kanu pidi" feast women and girls place a feast of colored rice, cooked vegetables, banana and sweet pongal on ginger or turmeric leaves for crows to share and enjoy. During this time women offer prayers in the hope that brother-sister ties remain forever strong as they do in a crow family.
On this day celebrants bathe and decorate their cattle with garlands. Cows are decorated with manjalthanni (turmeric water) and oil. Shikakai apply kungumam (kumkum) to their foreheads, paint their horns, and feed them a mixture of venn pongal, jaggery, honey, banana and other fruits. In the evening people pray to Lord Ganesh. One ritual is to light a torch of coconut leaves and carry it around cattle three times and then run to the border of the village to drop it. This is believed to remove the evil influences caused by the jealousy of other people over the cattle.
Kaanum Pongal
Kaanum Pongal, the fourth day of the festival, marks the end of Pongal festivities for the year. The word kaanum in this context means "to visit." Many families hold reunions on this day. Brothers pay special tribute to their married sisters by giving gifts as affirmation of their filial love. Landlords present gifts of food, clothes and money to their tenants. Villagers visit relatives and friends while in the cities people flock to beaches and theme parks with their families. Celebrants chew sugar cane and again decorate their houses with kolam. Relatives and friends receive thanks for their assistance supporting the harvest.
In Andhra Pradesh, Mukkanuma, the final day of Sankranthi festival, is celebrated by worshiping cattle. Mukkanuma is famous among non-vegetarians. People do not eat non-vegetarian dishes during the first three days of the festival, saving them for the day of Mukkanuma.
Here is signing off this week....
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Event Change
PCA Ball Date Change
We have had to change the PCA ball from April 9th to May 7, 2016. We have had to do so for the following reasons:
1) we needed a location which could house up to 350+ persons as this is the 20th anniversary ball. Thus we look forward to even more participation this year.
2) we needed something which fit into a budget of rs.3500-3800/ticket for food.
3) we wanted a place that gave us either liquor in the meal price, or was going to give us good pricing for drinks overall.
4) we needed a place that gave us a good selection of food.
Given these requirements, our teams did a lot of research collecting different price quotations from multiple hotels. Two hotels only give us the space - Leela and ITC. For our original date, April 9, 2016, ITC was booked. We approached Leela and got a price that was well out of our budget. Thus we approached ITC, and got a price, which fulfilled all of the requirements, but a month later. Thus as a group of nearly 30 persons, we decided that we will choose ITC on May 7th.
We look for you all to join us for the PCA on May 7, 2016.
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Upcoming Events
January 18, 2016 - ES/MS ASA Registration in Person at 8.45
January 18, 2016 - New Parent Orientation at 8.45January 18, 2016 - KPA Meeting at 2.30
January 19, 2016 - MS Parent Coffee at 8.45
January 20, 2016 - Early Dismissal
January 21, 2016 - ES Sports Day KG-2
January 21, 2016 - PCA Introductory Tech Training
January 22, 2016 - ES Sports Day Grade 3-5
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Community Events
AISC connect magazine comes in the month of April every year. It is a magazine for the parent community. We will be sending out emails requesting articles for this magazine soon.