THAIPUSAM in SINGAPORE( 20th January and 21st January 2011)

   Murugan, Lord Shivan and Parvati's Son

Thaipusam is a Hindu festival celebrated on the full moon in the Tamil Month of Thai(January/ February) from 20 th January and 21st January 2011 this year.The word Thaipusam comes from the month name Thai and Pusam, which refers to a star that is at its highest point during the festival. The festival commemorates the occasion when Parvati gave Murugan a vel(spear) so he could vanquish the evil demon Soorapadman.

Devotees throughout Singapore and people around the world come to seek prayers from Lord Murugan to get his favour by taking part in the ceremonies like Kavadi Attam, Pal kudam and Mottai for Lord Murugan.They will have to get their tickets, book their Kavadis and decorate their kavadis for the big day.Family members too come to temple to support the "Kavadi Pillais" by singing religious songs pertaining to Lord Murugan and they chant "Muruganuku Vel Vel till the pocession gets over.

                                                      

  Kavadi   Attam

Kavadi  Attam is a dance performed by the devotees during the ceremonial worship of Murugan, the Tamil God of War.It is often performed during the festival of Thaipusam and emphasizes debt bondage. The Kavadi itself is a physical burden through which the devotees pray to Murugan to take away all their troubles.

Generally, Hindus take a vow to offer a kavadi to idol(Murugan) to weed away bad evil and gain favour of Tendavuthabani(Murugan). For instance, if the devotee's son is laid up with a fatal disease, he would pray to Shanmuga to grant the boy a lease of life in return for which the devotee would take a vow to dedicate a kavadi to Murugan.

                                                               "Mottai  for Murugan"

On the day of the festival, devotees will shave their heads and undertake a pilgrimage along a set route while engaging in various acts of devotion.They will carry various types of kavadi (burdens). Some devotees who want to do simple prayers will carry a pot of milk.Some other devotees will do mortification of the flesh by piercing the skin, tongue or cheeks with vel skewers which is said to be done fulfill the wishes that they pray to Lord Murugan for.

         PalKudam

In Singapore, Hindu devotees start their foot procession at the Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple in the early morning, carrying milk pots as offerings or attaching "kavadis" to their bodies. The procession travels for 4 kilometres before finishing at the Tank Road Temple.

To facilitate the event, the following roads will be closed during the stipulated timings:

S/N	Roads	Timing
a	Tank Road	From 7.00 pm on 19 January 2011 to 3.00 am on 21 January 2011
b	Extreme right lane of Serangoon Road in the direction of Upper Serangoon Road	From 8.00 pm on 19 January 2011 to 3.00 am on 21 January 2011
c	Petain Road (between Sturdee Road and Serangoon Road )
d	Kitchener Link (between Serangoon Road and the carpark exit of City Square Mall)
e	Hastings Road (between Serangoon Road and Clive Street )
f	Campbell Lane (between Serangoon Road and Clive Street )
g	Dunlop Street (between Clive Street and Serangoon Road )
h	Upper Dickson Road (between Serangoon Road and Clive Street )
i	Baboo Lane (between Serangoon Road and Block 2 of Baboo Lane )
j	The carriageway of Handy Road in the direction of Plaza Singapura (between Orchard Road and Penang Road )	From 9.00 pm on 19 January 2011 to 3.00 am on 21 January 2011
k	Extreme right lane of Selegie Road in the direction of Serangoon Road
l	Extreme right lane of   Prinsep Street in the direction of Selegie Road
m	Extreme right lane of Penang Road in the direction of Somerset Road
n	Slip Road of Prinsep Street from Selegie Road
o	The carriageway of Clemenceau Avenue in the direction of Penang Road (between River Valley Road and Penang Road )

In addition, the following roads will be converted to have 2-way traffic access to facilitate the movement of vehicles to and from Kampong Kapor Road and Jalan Rumbia respectively .

S/N	Roads	Timing
p	Veerasamy Road (between Kampong Kapor Road and Serangoon Road )	From 8.00 pm on 19 January 2011 to 3.00 am on 21 January 2011
q	Oxley Rise (between Clemenceau Avenue and Jalan Rumbia)	From 9.00 pm on 19 January 2011 to 3.00 am on 21 January 2011

http://www.travbuddy.com/blog/archives/281-Cultural-Festivals-and-Celebrations-Thaipusam.html

http://www.hindudevotionalblog.com/2011/01/thaipusam-festival-2011-thai-poosam.html

Indulge in the Healthy Pongal

“Pongal is the festival that calls for reunion and more food. During this time, its important to watch what you eat as the calories one can gain can make a huge difference in boosting or lowering your self-confidence” says B.Kavitha,(23),a dietitian with Inshape health and Fitnez Gym.

Having studied BSc Nutrition and dietetics at Quaid-E- Millath College for woman, she surely is an expert in offering health advice. She offers some valuable tips on how to prepare Pongal with less calorie content. The usual Pongal is made of jaggery, rice, milk, raisin and cashew nuts. She suggests abit of alterations to the ingredients and the way you might want to prepare them in order to maintain your figure the way it is. When preparing Pongal for a nuclear family of four people, one should use less carbohydrate contents like Jaggery which can be limited to 25g.It is best to avoid ghee, use skimmed milk. Roasting cashews with oil in stove is a no no. A better alternative to cashews is almonds, walnuts which can be roasted using the oil less method, oven. The use of oven itself saves you from gaining 300 calories extra. Oil roasting of cashews amounts to (600 kcal). Oven Roasting will amount to (300kcal) intake. Side dishes are a temptation. There can be safe options for that too she says with an assuring smile.

 Vadais which are prepared the usual way can be done in a different style which helps our body gain fibre, protein,iron,vitamins. This is a useful tip especially for anaemic people. Simply add vegetables like carrot, cabbage and beans.This is a healthier option when comparing to normal masala vadai which carries a (130kcal/100g) by itself. This brings to mind how much one has to work out in the gym to burn them off which is not the smart way.

 Desserts too can be prepared to match up with the healthy pongal. Instead of adding sugar(398kcal/100g), add palm sugar(karuppatti), (320kcal/100) as an alternative. It also provides iron. This approach helps you to safely indulge in the priceless payasam. Taste is even better when you use palm sugar and there’s no need to worry about the payasam colour changing to brown or black.

Having said enough about preparing a healthy pongal, she also talks about “Kaanum Pongal” where chennaites will go out to watch how pongal is celebrated in and around Chennai, they should pick food with low calorie food. When purchasing chicken prepared outside, you can prefer tandoori or grilled chicken as they do not have much oil content in the chicken which makes for a safer option for you to dine in during this festive season.

 Drinks are a no miss during festive season which top up any meal. That too can be switched to a healthier option she brims with self pride. Instead of picking up soft drinks, you can safely indulge in eating sugarcane which has various beneficial properties that might just make you raise an eyebrow. Sugarcane strengthens the teeth and prevents toothache. What is more? Kavitha says you will get the same calories. Instead of soft drinks you can drink tender coconut water (24 kcal) which means you are still as fit as a fiddle during this festive season.

http://www.top-indian-recipes.com/blog/3-sweet-pongal-recipes-for-sankranthi/

http://www.vegcorner.com/oats-sweet-pongal/

Revisit traditional arts and culture: Chennai Sangamam 2011

                                                     
Chennai Sangamam ,also known as the Tamil Folk art festival where chennaites  recount our indian tradition and culture once again. This is an annual event organized by Tamil maiyam, a non-profit trust in Chennai that promotes art and culture in association with the Department of Tourism and Culture of the Government of Tamil Nadu. It is happening on the dates 12^th January till 17^th January. The programme will see over 2500 performers consisting of folk artists, dancers, singers and other performers from different parts of the state and will take their art to the streets. The various performance items are held in 11 locations in Chennai crossing over 56 types of programmes as given below. 

Sangamam 2011 is celebrated in conjunction with the Pongal festival.During the five days, as mentioned above lots of traditional arts and cultural programmes are lined up just for Chennai people to enjoy and it is an event aimed to create awareness among the Urban people about our Tamil arts and culture.The event  being the  5^th edition of Chennai  Sangamam was inaugurated by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, M.Karunanithi. Do you know he has donated close to 1 crore to Chennai Sangamam?

                                          Promotional posters for Chennai Sangamam 2011
                                      
An inaugural dance drama, Prasanna ramaswamy’s Vanam Vasapadum stole the limelight with its strong message on honour killings.This drama was meant to condemn casteism. The dance drama alone, has close to 200 artists and technicians attracting the audience attention. The drama opened with two transgender artists while another has orthopaedic disability performed acrobatic dance moves in another scene.    It is the longest and biggest festival in India.

Some pictures that show the various programmes:

                                            Karakkattam

                                          Kuralin Kural-Thematic Classical Dance

                                                      Bharthanatium

 Programmes 2011:

Programme Name	Performed by
Mangala Isai	Students of Music College
Carnatic Vocal	Sri Harish N
Chennai Silambaattam, Sakkaraththaazhvaar Oyilaattam, Bommai Vedam, Karadi Vedam	Gopu Kathambam. Aarumugam Parai,
“Kuralin Kural” – Thematic Classical Dance	Smt. Sheela Unnikrishnan’s Sri Devi Nrithyalaya
“Fusion in a totally new avatar”	Zinc Fusion Band
SareGaa – “Desiya Kavigalin Kavigal”	Children Choir
Villuppattu	Velavan Sangeetha
Folk dance	Oorambu Natya Palli
“Thamizhukku Amudhenru Per” – Carnatic Vocal	Dr.R Ganesh
Classical Fusion dance	A vigna
Flute recital	Isai Mazhalai Master. Visweshwar
Kokkilikkaattai, Maadu Vedam	Paavaadairaayan Pambaiyaattam
“Dasavatharam” – Dance Drama	Sri. Zakir Hussain & Group
Poikkaal Kuthirai, Puli Vedam	T hangavel Chendai
”Heart Beats” – Music Ensemble	Ghatam Sri. Karthick
Devotional Choir Music	Kunnakudi School of Music
Story Telling Session	“Kadhai Sollum Sangam”
Nadhaswaram	Innjikudi Sri.E.M. Subramaniam
Cine Music	“Aattam Paattam Kondattam” – Sri. Kanagaraj & Group
Vocal Music	Physically Challenged persons
“Vibrations” – Rhythmic Concert	“Vibrations” – Rhythmic Concert
“Mahabharatham” – Theru Koothu – Part I	K annappa Thambiran
World Fusion Music	Oxygen
Islamic Hymns	Sri. Irayanban Kuthos
“Isai Vanavil” – Rhythm concert	Umayalpuram . K.Sivaraman
“Isai Payanam”	S mt. Charulatha Mani
Logu Innisai Geetham	Lite Music Troupe
Andhra Pradesh Pot Dance	Aakruti

Do you know? The idea to have it in the open parks, beaches and streets was an inspiration from the Bangaluru Habba celebrations .The events that mark the festival include traditional and folk music shows folk dances, martial arts, classical music and dance performances, street plays, drama / theater etc. Apart from these, food  component got added in the second edition of Chennai Sangamam in 2008 where food outlets catering traditional Tamil cuisine also became part of the celebrations.

The idea of organising a festival during Pongal showcasing the culture of Tamil Nadu was  conceived by Kanimozhi, M Karunanithi’s daughter, (Member of Parliament, Tamil Nadu).

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Venues:

§                                 Anna Park – Royapuram

§                                 Tower Park- Anna Nagar

§                                 Thiru Vi Ka Park – Shenoy Nagar

§                                 Natesan Park – T- Nagar

§                                 Sivan Park – K.K.Nagar

§                                 Periyar Vilayatu Thidal – Valsaravakkam

§                                 Lady Wellington – Marina

§                                 Elliots Beach- Besant Nagar

§                                 Nageswara Rao Park – Mylapore

§                                 Murasoli Maran flyover Park- Perambur

§                                 Wimco Nagar – Tiruvottiyu

http://chennai-roundup.sulekha.com/blog/post/2009/01/chennai-sangamam-12th-monday.htm

http://lovegoal.wordpress.com/page/3/