News & Announcements

December

Pillayar Nonbu

November

Bhajan

The bhajan for November was hosted by Nagarajan & Alamelu.

Deepavali

October

Bhajan

Annamalai & Kannathal hosted the bhajan for October.

September

Bhajan

The bhajan for September was hosted by Raj & Vasantha.

August

Bhajan

Drs. Yegappan & Muthulakshmi hosted August's bhajan.

July

Picnic

I don't think we could have asked for better weather for the picnic this year!

The picnic was well-attended, with close to 90 people coming to enjoy some "fun in the sun" at Erindale Park in Mississauga, on July 29th.

Along with the weather, the games, for kids and adults, were quite enjoyable.

To begin, the kids were organized into teams, and raced to see which team could transfer water from one bucket to another, but by using only a sponge!

In the next game, the adults were split into four teams. Without letting go of our teammates' hands, we had to move a hula-hoop through the length of our team, and then back again!

The next game was a nice twist on a relay race, with the baton being passed back and forth across a distance, within each team.

Later on, there was a "couples" race. However, the challenge here was to do so while holding a balloon between each other's backs!

The men played several rounds of cricket throughout the day, as well.

To cool off and refresh, some also chose to wade in the water below!

I'm sure all had a good time at the picnic.

Thanks to all for your contribution and help, and special thanks to Kannathal Murugappan family and Subathra Ganesh family for organizing the picnic this year.

Hope to see everyone at the Deepavali function in November!

Bhajan

July's bhajan was hosted by V Pal & Chittu.

Pothu Padaippu

Close to 70 people gathered together for Pothu Padaippu, which was graciously hosted by the Senthilnathan family at their home, on the 22nd of July.

Please click here and here for more information about Padaippu.

Worship of family members who have passed away, or ancestor worship, can in fact be found through the ages, in cultures all over the world.

There is evidence of ancestor worship dating to 7th century BCE, with this type of worship taking place in ancient Greek and Roman cultures.

In our Tamil culture, pothu, or "general" padaippu is where many different families, from different houses, gather to honour ancestors, collectively.

This can be differentiated from a Veedu, or "house" Padaippu, where a single family group or house, honours their ancestors.

A Veetu padaippu can take place in a Padaippu Veedu, which is a house designated for this particular function.

To honour the ancestors, the meal that is prepared is generally what the ancestors of that particular "house", would have enjoyed.

For example, if they were inclined to eat meat, the food prepared would include that. If they were vegetarian, the prepared food would be vegetarian only.

Since this Padaippu includes many families, it is kept as a vegetarian one.

Thanks to all for your attendance and assistance for the Pothu Padaippu.

For 2019, the Subramanian family has kindly agreed to host.

References: devipalaniappan.weebly.com, gotquestions.org

June

Bhajan

Chinnameyyappan & Sala hosted the bhajan for June.

May

Bhajan

May's bhajan was hosted by Dr. Kannan & Valli.

Tamil New Year and Mother's Day

Thank you all for taking part and attending our combined Tamil New Year and Mother's Day function at Erindale Community Hall, in Mississauga, on the 19th of May!

An April ice storm had forced the cancellation of the original New Year function, so this was a nice way to celebrate both events.

It was well attended, with around 100 members, including several new families joining us, which was nice to see.

To celebrate the New Year, a wonderful Thirukkural recital was done by the kids, with each child reciting a few lines from the poem, and giving an explanation of those lines.

Following this, were the talents of kids and adults, with dancing, magic tricks, a gymnastics routine, some singing, and piano keyboard playing.

After that, the kids participated in a "balloon popping" game, however, inside each one was a paper with instructions to do a chore for Mom!

Next, the question "Do you like Mexican food?" was posed. In a twist, those who answered yes were asked to come up to the stage to dance the Mexican Hat Dance. Thanks for your courage!

Afterwards was a sandwich-making contest for dads, with marks for presentation!

And in what can be a Mothers Day tradition, the kids came up to give hugs and roses to their moms!

Dinner was then served, and as usual, was very good.

Please see some great photos of the event.

Thank you all for attendance and assistance, to make it a successful and enjoyable function.

Looking forward to seeing all at the upcoming Pothu Padaipu and Summer Picnic!

April

Bhajan

The bhajan for April was held at Annamalai & Banu's home.

March

Bhajan

March's bhajan was held at the home of Jason & Sindhu.

February

Bhajan

The bhajan for February was held at Arun & Parvathy's home.

Family Day

Hope everyone enjoyed Family Day!

Around 50 adults and kids came for 5-pin bowling, at "Centre Bowling Lanes" in Mississauga, on February 18th.

Along with 2 rounds of bowling, pizza and starters were served for lunch.

Certainly, it is a nice change to have a "dress-down" event on the calendar.

Thanks to all who helped to make this another enjoyable day!

January

Bhajan

The bhajan for January was held at Subi & Aruna's home.

Murugan Abhishekam

Happy New Year to all!

Hope all are keeping well.

Thanks to all who attended the Murugan Abishekham on Sunday, January 8th, at the Richmond Hill temple. What a nice way to start 2018!

In all, close to 50 people attended the function, done as an auspicious start for the new year.

Please see some nice photos of the event.

Thanks to all who attended, and to those who provided assistance and preparation, to make it a memorable and enjoyable function.