News & Announcements

Dec 2012

• On Saturday December 22, 2012, CNS celebrated Pillayar Nonbu at the Northwood Community Centre in Toronto. The function was organized by Dr. Muthulakshmi and Dr. Aruna. The event officially began with Subi conducting the Bhajan, with both kids and adults participating. For the actual Pillayar Nonbu function, Mr. Manian, Dr. Valliappan, Dr. Kannappan, and Mr. Annamalai distributed the ellais to all the families attending. In total, 100 ezhais were given out. We also welcomed three new families who were joining us for the first time at Pillayar Nonbu. Afterwards, a Yelam, or auction, was conducted by V Pal in which over $13,000 was raised for the CNS Education Fund. For dinner, we were served pot-luck style, with a wide variety of traditional dishes. Thanks to everyone for their contribution!
  Every two years, at the Pillayar Nonbu function, we choose new members to serve on the CNS committee. As such, we would like to thank V Pal and his committee for a job well done for the past two years and we welcome Mr. Suppiah, along with the new committee members, for the 2013-2014 term. Photos of the event, have been posted in the Photo's section of this page. Hope everyone is having a good holiday, and all the best for 2013 year!
• Meena & Srinivasan have been blessed with twins. The babies, both boys were born at 5:30 PM today, Dec 2, 2012. Meena, Srini and Divya are very happy with the new addition to their family. We wish them the very best!

Nov 2012

• Nagarathars celebrated Deepavali on Saturday, Nov 17, at the Northwood Community Centre. Over 80 members attended this years event. The event started off with both kids and adults singing the national anthems of both Canada and India. This was followed by recital of Bharathiyar Padalgal by several children. Alagu and Sindhu Senthinathan entertained the audience with spectacular dance performances. Muthuraman gave a speech on teaching money management to children. Adults then participated in a 'Neeya Naana' style debate with Dr Yegappan performing the role of 'Gopinath'. The topic that was debated was about the challenges faced by parents in raising children. One section argued that raising children was difficult in the yesteryears whereas the others argued that it is difficult these days. It was a good debate, the only thing lacking was that no one expressed their points of view 'emotionally', like the original show. The final event of the night was an audio-visual quiz organized by Kannan Muthiah, our quiz master. Pot luck dinner was served at the end. CNS would like to thank the Social and Youth Committees, specifically Kannan Muthiah, as well as all voluteers who made this event a memorable one. Special thanks to Ramanathan Sethuraman who volunteered to act as the MC for the night. Photos of this event have been posted to the 'Photos and Video' section within this page.

Sep 2012

• The grandchildren of Dr. P. Valliappan and Mrs. Meena Valliappan celebrated their grandparents 50th Wedding Anniversary on Sunday September 2, 2012 at Payal Banquet Hall in Mississauga. It was a joyous milestone, which was celebrated by family and friends. Dr. Valliappan gave a speech about his 50 years of happy married life. The grandchildren put together a grand show, consisting of skits, speeches, poems and dances for their grandparents and guests. There was a game for kids called "How well do you know Uncle & Aunty?" The couple's game was quite entertaining and hilarious. It was called "How well do you listen to your wife?" Then Dr. P. Valliappan and Mrs. Meena Valliappan cut the cake joined by their grandkids, after which a delicious lunch was served. All gifts were donated to Handicare International to sponsor a child in need. It was a fun filled afternoon enjoyed by all. Photos of this event have been posted to the 'Photos and Video' section within this page.

Aug 2012

• The CNS summer picnic was held at the Meadowvale Conservation Area park on Aug 11. Several Nagarathar families attended this event. The weather gods did not cooperate at the start but the weather improved late afternoon. Thanks to Vasantha & Raj and Aruna & Subi for organizing this event. Sivalingam and Ramu have voluteered to organize next years picnic.

Jul 2012

• The CNS Scholarship online application process has been closed for 2011-2012. This year we received 81 applications in total. The Education Committee has started the vetting process and scholarship monies will be distributed to successful candidates in the next few weeks. For those who are interested, we received 45 applications in 2009, 97 in 2010 and 60 in 2011.

Jun 2012

• Meena and Palaniappan are happy to announce the birth of their son, Arjun Ramanathan on the 18^th June 2012 at Kitchener. Congratulations on becoming new parents!
• Canada Nagarathars celebrated Father's Day with BBQ lunch at Eldorado Park in Brampton. Our Treasurer Chinnameyyappan was up early to reserve the only shelter at the park. Thankfully the weather cooperated as there was no rain! Several families took part in the celebrations.
• Chitra and Annamalai are delighted to announce the arrival of their son, Ashwin Muthupalaniappan, on Sunday, Jun 3, 2012. To the grandparents: Muthupalaniappan and Vasuki, V Pal and Chittu: Enjoy your new-found joy!

May 2012

• Mother's Day was celebrated on Saturday May 19, 2012 at the Northwood Community Centre. Hon'ble Mr. Justice M Karpaga Vinayagam was the Chief Guest at the event. He is the present Chairperson of the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity, Petroleum and Natural Gas in India, a position he has held since 2008. Justice Karpaga Vinayagam was a Judge of the Madras High Court from 1996 to 2006. He then served as Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court till retirement in May 2008. Justice Karpaga Vinayagam hails from Devakottai, Tamil Nadu.
  
  In his hour long speech he honoured all mothers and spoke about the importance of virtues and living a moral life. He also spoke about several turning points in his life including his acquaintance with the late Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Dr. M G Ramachandran, the impact Mohandas K. Gandhi's autobiography, The Story of My Experiments With Truth had on him and last but not least the profound influence Sri Satya Sai Baba had on his life. He is an ardent devotee of Sri Sai Baba and strongly attributes His blessings and wishes as being the reasons for his intellectual and spiritual elevation in life.
  
  The tradition continued this year. Lunch was cooked by the fathers and kids. Justice Karpaga Vinayagam was impressed with the quality and taste of the food and he jokingly commented that if this happens more often at home, the fathers will be able to further fine tune and master their cooking skills.
  
  The Youth Committee sold roses at the event and was able to raise a small sum of money for the CNS Scholarship Fund. Kids and fathers took turns to express their appreciation and love for their mothers by saying a few words or reciting a poem. The final event of the day was a slideshow by Sathya and Kannan on the history of Mother's Day. Photos of this event have been posted to the 'Photos and Video' section within this page.
• Our President, V Pal, along with a few partners have opened a new mattress gallery called Mattress Canada in Brampton.
  
  The following is his message to all: "We are happy to inform you that if your reference leads to a sale, we will donate a sum from the sale proceeds towards CNS education fund. Please call us if you need any more information. We cordially invite you to visit our showroom and extend your support."
• Meena Periyakaruppan's Baby Shower was scheduled for Sunday, May 6, 2012 but the little guy just couldn't wait ... and so he came, without warning, 3 weeks early. Meena gave birth to a baby boy on Friday, May 4, 2012. Congratulations Meena and Periyakaruppan!

Apr 2012

• Meena Palaniappan's Baby Shower was held at the Party Hall, 3504 Hurontario Road, Mississauga on Sunday, April 29, 2012. Solai Ramanathan organized this event. Guests started arriving at 11:00 AM and the event started at 12:00 noon. With Charulatha Mani's 'Seetha Kalyana Vaibhogame' playing in the background, achis took turns to apply turmeric on Meena's hands, kunkumam on her forehead, decked her with bangles, showered her with flowers and conveyed their best wishes and prayers for the new mom-to-be and baby. This was followed by a game for married couples and one for children. The adult game was similar to 'Kadhal Meter' on Vijay TV where married couples were tested on their compatibility with their spouses. The audience roared with laughter at some of the responses. Arthi Chinnameyyappan hosted a 'Who wants to be a millionaire' game for the kids. Meena cut the Baby Shower cake and lunch was then served. Most of the food items were ordered at restaurants and some of them were prepared by the achis. A few more games were conducted after lunch by Sathya Kannan and the mom-to-be Meena. Everyone had a blast! After coffee everyone said their good byes. Photos of this event have been posted to the 'Photos and Video' section within this page.
• Thanks to Kannan Muthiah, we now have a presence on Facebook. The Canada Nagarathar Sangam Fan Page is a excellent platform for Nagarathars around the world to come together, hold discussions with each other, post pictures and create and upload videos. A Facebook Like Button has been added to every page on this website. If you have a Facebook account, click the 'Like' button above.
• The first CNS event of the year, the Tamil New Year function was held at Northwood Community Centre in Toronto on Saturday, April 21st. The event started off with a welcome speech by V Pal, our President. Several kids recited Thirukurals and provided their meaning. Sindhu and Lakshmee entertained the audience by dancing to a medley of bollywood and kollywood hits. Janani and Shanghavi did a fabulous job conducting a Jeopardy game for kids. The kids responses on a few of the topics were hilarious. They really surprised the adult audiences with their knowledge of movies. The adult audio-visual quiz came next. Chettiars and achis were divided into 2 groups and were quizzed on movies. Kannan Muthiah produced the game and was terrific as the quiz master. The final event of the evening was a patti mandram. Two groups debated on which age was the happiest in life - 20s or 60s. Annamalai Annan acted as the Naduvar. V Pal, Valli Kannan and Muthu argued that 20s was the best whereas Dr Yegappan, Ramanathan Sethuraman and Sathya Kannan argued that the 60s were the best. The arguments brought much laughter and enjoyment to the audience. Well done! More than 90 people attended this fun filled event. A fully catered dinner was served at the end. Thank you to all the performers and the CNS Social Committee for making this event a memorable one. Photos of this event have been posted to the 'Photos and Video' section within this page.
• Rajan Suppiah and his partners have opened Toronto's newest physio and sports injury clinic, Foundation Physiotherapy, at 383 Front Street West, Toronto. CNS wishes him and his partners all the best with their new clinic.
• V Pal and Chittu hosted their daughter Chitra's baby shower on Saturday, April 7 at Shri Sharadamba Temple's Banquet Hall. It was a fairly large shower with over 150 guests attending the event from Canada and the US. Annamalai's mother, his uncles and their families were also in attendance at the shower. During the ceremony the expectant mother was decked with colourful bangles, kungumam, santhanam and flowers. The shower guests were entertained by a funny slide show about the couple, a "guess who?" game, and an Easter egg hunt for the children. As a surprise V Pal also celebrated his 50th birthday on this day. Photos of this event have been posted to the 'Photos and Video' section within this page.

Feb 2012

• Dr Yegappan and Dr Muthulakshmi Yegappan have been blessed with their second grandchild: Charlotte (Charu) Muthulakshmi Yegappan. To celebrate this event they invited family and friends over to their house on Sunday, Feb 19, 2012.
• Viji and Sethuraman welcomed a beautiful baby boy on Tuesday, Feb 7, 2012 at 11:56 PM IST. Congratulations on the new baby!