From the Desk of your PCA Team .....
This week we had our first PCA City tour for the year. The tour was lead by Julie Jacob and Jeayean Jang to go to St.George Fort. To give you some history of the Fort:
Fort St George (or historically, White Town) is the name of the first English (later British) fortress in India, founded in 1644 at the coastal city of Madras, the modern city of Chennai. The construction of the fort provided the impetus for further settlements and trading activity, in what was originally an uninhabited land. Thus, it is a feasible contention to say that the city evolved around the fortress. The fort currently houses the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly and other official buildings. The fort is one of the 163 notified areas (megalithi
The East India Company, which had entered India around 1600 for trading activities, had begun licensed trading at Surat, which was its initial bastion. However, to secure its trade lines and commercial interests in the spice trade, it felt the necessity of a port closer to the Malaccan Straits, and succeeded in purchasing a piece of coastal land, originally calledChennirayarpattinam or Channapatnam, from a Vijayanagar chieftain named Damerla Chennappa Nayaka based inChandragiri, where the Company began the construction of a harbour and a fort. The fort was completed on 23 April 1644, coinciding with St George's Day, celebrated in honour of the patron saint of England. The fort, hence christened Fort St George, faced the sea and some fishing villages, and it soon became the hub of merchant activity. It gave birth to a new settlement area called George Town (historically referred to as Black Town), which grew to envelop the villages and led to the formation of the city of Madras. It also helped to establish English influence over the Carnatic and to keep the kings of Arcotand Srirangapatna, as well as the French forces based at Pondicherry, at bay.
The Fort is a stronghold with six-meter high walls that withstood a number of assaults in the 18th century. It briefly passed into the possession of the French from 1746 to 1749, but was restored to Great Britain under the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, which ended the War of the Austrian Succession.
The Fort now serves as one of the administrative headquarters for the legislative assembly of Tamil Nadu state and it still houses a garrison of troops in transit to various locations at South India and the Andamans. The Fort Museum contains many relics of the Raj era, including portraits of many of the Governors of Madras. The fort is maintained and administered by the Archaeological Survey of India as a ticketed monument in the state of Tamil Nadu.
Next week, February 2nd, is Groundhog Day. It is a tradition celebrated in the US. As the folklore goes, if the the groundhog will come out of hibernation on this day. If he sees his shadow, he will scurry back into his burrow. This marks the fact that there will be a much longer winter and shorter spring. The opposite if he does not see his shadow. Groundhog day was celebrated and revered, as during the spring, many farmers would get their fields ready for planting in early summer for the summer crops. Today, as the society has moved away from agriculture, Groundhog day is a day marked by all for the end of winter. Thus, the heavy winter jackets will be packed and put away till the next. Groundhog day in many cities, carries much attention by the media. Much of it is to celebrate the past time of the folk lore of the day. If you want to read about the way NY looks at it http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2016/01/groundhog_day_2016_a_look_back.html. Apart from the media creating hype about the day, Hollywood, has created many movies called Ground Hog Day, which have been a spoof on this pastime. Many of the leading men of the movie are chasing a ground hog on a golf course. The ground hog is doing what he does - dig holes.... well one can imagine what havoc that can reak on pristine green golf course! The series of movies are great to be enjoyed for thier slap stick comedy with the family. One can look up info about the series here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groundhog_Day_(film).
On a more serios note, some historical original of Groundhog Day are:
The first documented American reference to Groundhog Day can be found in a diary entry, dated February 4, 1841, of Morgantown, Pennsylvania, storekeeper James Morris.
Last Tuesday, the 2nd, was Candlemas day, the day on which, according to the Germans, the Groundhog peeps out of his winter quarters and if he sees his shadow he pops back for another six weeks nap, but if the day be cloudy he remains out, as the weather is to be moderate.
From England, the poem:
If Candlemas be fair and bright,
Winter has another flight.
If Candlemas brings clouds and rain,
Winter will not come again.
From Scotland, the poem:
If Candlemas Day is bright and clear,
There'll be two winters in the year.
From Germany, the poem:
For as the sun shines on Candlemas Day,
So far will the snow swirl until May.
For as the snow blows on Candlemas Day,
So far will the sun shine before May.
If you would like to read more about this day, click on the link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groundhog_Day
Signing off for this week.......
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Community Events
Connect Magazine
AISConnect magazine comes out in the month of April this year. It is a magazine created by the parent community for the parent community. If you have an interest in writing, editing, creating layouts for this magazine, please email us at pca@aisch.org.
Junior Master Chef
We will have a Junior Master Chef competition here in Chennai. If your children have an interest or want to develop an interest in the culinary arts, please fill out the form below. Knowledge will be taught by chefs to the children, as they will have to participate in some of the cooking classes that will be offered. Look for forms to sign up, coming up next week.
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Upcoming Events
February 2, 2016 - Week without Walls
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 BALL on May 7, 2016.
February 2, 2016 - Week without Walls
February 2, 2016 - PCA Meeting in BBT at 8.45
February 2, 2016 -KPA Meeting at 2.30
February 3, 2016 -SAISA Badminton, Boys Soccer and Girls badminton begins
February 4, 2016 - SAISA Tennis
February 5, 2016 -SAISA Art
February 5, 2016 - NESA Winter Training Institute
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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 BALL on May 7, 2016.
