Pathirikai Tamil E-News Media

Born in a little village known as Lagrément, St. Pierre, in the center of the island of Mauritius, Gassen Murday Soopaya, known to the grand public by his artist name “Gassen Singaron” is the king of ‘Sega Tamoule’. He inherited his artist name from his father, having the same name, Gassen Singaron. He was married to Sarojini and has 4 children.

He was discovered to the public through his 1st Performance in a ‘Sugar Time’ competition in 1971 where he won the 1st Prize with a Hindi song ‘Albela Mastana’ by Kishore Kumar. He also won the first prize of the Star Show competition organized by the MBC in 1993 at Cinema Lido, Beau Bassin with the song ‘Laisse Moi Dodo Mama’. This song explains his own life as a youngster not willing to work, and is a good sleeper, thus ‘Laisse Moi Dodo Mama’. He also composed a Hindi song, ‘Gamat Wa Hoybe Kari’ in 1997 (Ft Geeta Gujadhur), which appear in an audio cassette.

He then decided to start a career as composer. Indeed, his career as the king of Sega Tamoule started with the song ‘Maple Ponnu’ from his first album ‘Coze Mame’ launched in 1997. This song depicts the tradition of a Tamil wedding in Mauritius. Other popular songs from Gassen Singaron are ‘Pacheri Cocom’, ‘Calloo Sarayon’ and ‘Min Cari’. The ‘Coze Mame’ album really created a boost in his career and made him very popular among the Mauritian public. His second album ‘Amizé Sondon’ was launched in 2006. One of his favourite song was ‘Souvenir Grand Tata’ which depicts the heritage of our fore-fathers who came from Madras and Pondichery. He explained that Tamils came to Mauritius as skilled workers, i.e ‘artisan’.

A tribute to my Great-Grandmother

She was the eldest lady in Mauritius. Mardaye Carrooppunnen, my great-grandmother, also known as "Ti Amaye'', passed away at the age of 110 on 21st April 2021.

What a special lady she was! Her loss is deeply felt by all members of the family, people living in her neighborhood, and other acquaintances across the island.

"Ti Amaye" played a big part in my childhood, and I will forever cherish those memorable days by her side, all those weekends she visited us, and the good thoughts and stories she shared with us. She was simply an example to be modeled. I feel blessed and touched by her love, wisdom, and beauty of her soul that she showered on us.

Dear Ti-Amaye “You used to give me lots of plants and flowers when I visited you, and now you are present in my thought whenever am watering those plants.” 

My children have also been so fortunate to have known such a remarkable lady. I am sure they will always treasure those wonderful, unforgettable moments spent with their great-great-grandmother.

We may have lost her, but her personality, spirit, and smile will stay in our hearts. The love of great-grandmothers is unique. They make our lives more complete, make us well rounded and better human beings. ''Ti Amaye" died only because of aging, but she lived a FULL life.

Her memories will always live within us. I wish to thank her for everything that she has done for the whole family. Wherever she is, I know she is in a much better place. I will be forever grateful & thankful that she has been my great-grandmother. Her story is the greatest legacy that she has left to all of us. This will no doubt be passed on to future generations to come.

Rest in peace “Ti Amaye”. We will never forget you, and we will always love you.

With lots of love from your great-grandchild Gemini and the Kanaksabee family.

The tamil new year Keezarei or Plava ---14th April 2021 to 13th April 2022, 35th year in the cycle of 60 years and 5123 in the linear calculation of Kaliyugam, the present era considered to be the age of wickedness and the god protector is lord Muruga incarnate of lord shiva and his incarnate Lord Krishna the avatar of lord Vishnu. Plava is a turbulent yeartime through Keezarei (underground) activities calling for the prevalence of knowledge and wisdom

Lord Jesus Christ always told his disciples to preach the words of God to the people to bring them on the path of righteousness and the Christ told them He would be putting words in their mouth to convince their listeners. This type of Guruship is entertained by all spiritual people in the religious world. These prophets can detect the mysterious illness in humanity and predict the mystic future of the universe. In the South Indian literature there are 18 siddhars, mystical souls who predicted world events for a better protection and enjoyment in life affairs.

There was a siddhar by the name of IDAIKAADAR living in Tamil Nadu 300 years before the advent of Christ. That was the beginning of the Sangam age, the golden period of South Indian civilization. It was the age of truthfulness, the speaking of that which is free from even the slightest taint of evil. The purpose of human life is to know the Creator. The Creator is everywhere and He is in oneself as well. Knowing one’s own real self is knowing the Creator. A siddhar is one who realizes this truth in oneself. The enlightenment is expressed in the songs and one who understands the songs can be on the path of enlightenment. The siddhars are mystics who use their spiritual experiences to enlighten others. They propagate spiritual equality and showed love and compassion for humanity and all living beings. They realize the unity of the individual, self and God. Their field of achievements range from yoga to tantra, mantra, yantra alchemy, astrology, and medicine. They know the way for liberation. There are eighty four siddhars in the northern states of India.

Idaikaadar, the holyman was a complete astrologer and he laid down his predictions of planetary interacting effects on humanity and environment in the universe and for all the particular sixty years in the cycle.

A few examples relevant to outgoing year, presently coming year and future coming year should give a better scope of understanding the tamil calendar perspectives for appreciation.

SAARVARI --outgoing 5122 years 2020-2021. Siddhar Idaikaadar foretold:- In the year Saarvari people across the world will be hit by epidemics.Rain and crops will fail. People and their progeny will die out of food scarcity. We all know the consequences of Covid 19 and famine in certain regions in the world.

PLAVA –incoming 5123 years 2021-2022. Siddhar Idaikaadar foretold:- Rains will be scanty.Sorrows will mount.Rulers will be angry and will cause harm to the subjects of the country. Cattle will die in large numbers. Crops will fail and milk production will go down. People will suffer because of scarcity. Economies will be weak. Public revolt to be feared.

SUBAKRIDU---forthcoming year 5124-- years 2022-2023. Siddhar Idaikaadar foretold – The Chola kingdoms ( Andra and Karnataka) will be devastated, all things will go waste Aromatic consumables will go down in prices. Rains will be good and will bestow good harvest Rainfalls will not cause floods to damage the country.

Siddhar Idaikaadar, by his genius in astrology, took interest in finding out how planets affect the mind, attitude and behaviour of creatures including human beings and natural entities on the earth surface. He arranged for installation of the Navagrahas, the nine planets who influence human beings effectively by the application of the law of karma. Human beings reap as they sow. They suffer according to past deeds. Affected people can get redress while surrendering to God. Although a natural healer Siddhar Idaikaadar insisted on praying God while appeasing the Navagrahas. Actually there is a well-known Indian Guru by the appellation Sri Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, residing in the State of Kerala, who professes the worship of the Navagrahas in addition to the individual personal, family or collective worship. Idaikaadar saw that the planets have a role to play in the individual, family, societal life while administering the effect of the law of karma. Doing good in past or present life reaps good results and doing bad gives sufferings or failures. It is high time to repent and seek God’s grace and recover all good results lost by ways of wrong doings. The greatest sin in life is doing harm to others. Living with ignorance must be avoided at all costs.

Let us see the effects of the planets on life on earth during the PLAVA AANDU 5123. May we remind that the faults are not in our stars but in ourselves. We are responsible for our actions and we should not blame others out of ignorance. Human beings commit mistakes, blunders and crimes behind veils and in shielded hiding. The application of the law of Karma is performed in connivence or no connivence of human intelligence by some automatic interaction of the planets and the result may be destructive, namely in cases of natural disasters and accidents.

THE MOON EFFECTS---Chandra the moon will have effects on the cultivation of rice and rice business will be very profitable. White colour grains will see the price going up. Silver, pearls, cotton clothing prices will rise very sharply. Pharmacy companies will loot people as there will be many diseases. Duplication of machineries will disrupt industrialization process. Soft drinks will become poisonous and will get banned in some societies. Water will come in excess by abundant rainfall and overflowing rivers. Mobile phones as a social medium will be misused. Police will book more cases on journalists and social media activists will be sued for their offences/contents. Drugs (Keezarei acts) will flow freely in the metro cities. Celebrities will get caught and exposed for doing abuses. Milk, alcohol, petrol will get adulterated. Fruits will be in high demand. Administrators, politicians, bureaucrats, have prosperous years ahead. Psychological diseases –fear, suicides, acid attacks will be frequently seen and people will suffer from insomnia. Work life will be disrupted.

THE VENUS EFFECTS----Sukra causes increase in prices of perfumes, alcoholic beverages, fancy items, clothing, metals, products for pujas, More people will suffer from urinary tract diseases, kidney related diseases, Diabetes patients will be on the rise, Women will occupy powerful position in fields of arts, administration, and entertainment. People get used to luxurious lifestyle, and laziness develops. Few politicians will lose their powers due to controversies. Not a good time for underworld dons and mafia network.( Keezarei) More youths get used to drugs. Food inspection fails as more restaurants serve adulterated foods and meat. Faked medicines sold at higher prices and medical failures will lead people to hospitals and grave yards. Covid vaccines will be the greatest source for making money. Women criminals will increase to become greater problems for the police. Cyber criminals prove to be too intelligent for investigators. Comet appearing this year is not good for world climate and the economy.

JUPITER EFFECTS---Guru will uncover excess social media activism, drug abuses, psychological diseases, corruptive practices. There will be increases in prices of cereals and grains. In cattle prices, and pet animals. Higher turmeric prices, milk prices, sugar cane prices, jaggery prices. People will suffer from digestive problems, gastrointestinal ailments,, diabetes going up, obesity increase, hospital increases as patients increase. Dairy businesses increase, and more varieties of sugar made. Religious activities gain grounds. Faked gurus emerge. Educational institutions shake with students revolt. Crime rate increases. Natural calamities like earthquakes, volcano eruptions, floods ( Keezarei natural activities) cyclones and typhoons, droughts will create fear in people. More people suffer from psychological diseases( Keezarei).Suicides will be on the high. Recession will create poverty among people. Covid19 will be triggered in the month of April 2021 but soon will be abated into a general fever type to last for ever with least threat to human beings. Justice will be denied in many cases and shortages of food supply will be felt.

SATURN EFFECTS---Shani will infringe the punishments and rewards for all actions performed in the past and present lives. As a planet it has its effects independently on humanity individually and on the environment. This planet discloses the excessive social media activisms—misuse of social media to distort information. Corruption cases will emerge from all sides. Psychological diseases will invade the society. There will be increase in prices of agricultural products as growth in agriculture will not be favourable. People will raise pets as human infertility will prevail. Increase in diabetes, cases of high and low blood pressure, nervous weaknesses will be felt by people, lack of stamina,, phlegmatic conditions, infectious diseases will grow, People will suffer fear from unknown reasons, witchcraft will develop, Indians will face attacks from neighbouring countries. A destructive world war is on the horizon. China will be struck by earthquakes and famine. People will cultivate cannabis, marijuana and such drug. Governments will support poor people with appropriate schemes. Farming will be hit by cyclones and floods.

MERCURY EFFECTS---Budh influences the social and the environmental.

India will be able to sense attempts of neighbours beforehand and employ suitable measures. Indian armies gain on appreciation for their activities on the border. These days Indian situation is the concern of Mauritius when relationship has so much developed. Local problems will hover on cheating cases, white collar job offenses, and online frauds Honesty and sincerity will be rare qualities. Metal prices will increase affecting currency exchanges. Arts and sports will be encouraged, New sports complexes will be constructed. More production of green grains will increase prices. Aliens and UFOs will be discovered in multiple places. Governments will enforce stricter laws for peace and order as unrest will develop.

The grahas which influence human nature are Moon, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn and Mercury. Rahu and Ketu are nodules of the moon and like mars are malefic planets which cause the influences of other planets to be more severe. Since humanity suffers from the effects of grahas, seers directed Kovil authorites to instal the grahas in forms of Kal in a circular manner and to recognize their existence. God remains the ultimate Supreme and prayers must be addressed to. Sakti is the ultimate power to pacify the navagrahas and She is worshipped as Sri Karumari. A graha is referred to an entity that has the power to seize or grasp and exert an influence on earth events or predict occurrences on earth. Science rejects the grahas as they do not have physical basis. In the astrological world the sun is considered as a star which does not affect human beings and the malefic grahas like Mars, Ketu and Rahu do affect humans when they were present in their chart at the time of birth. Mostly individual influence. The law of karma gives importance to the functions of the grahas The law of cause and effect cannot be altered by simply adoring God or deities with flowers and goodies or reciting prayers and songs from books. Prayers should come from the heart with sincere feelings. God is within Fasting and penance are not enough. Surrender to God and live by principles laid down in religious scriptures ---The Bible, The Gita. The Koran, the Dhammapada and the Thirukkural are surest paths to lead humans towards spirituality and attain godliness. So whatever be the karma results only faith in God can alleviate the sufferings. People have to pray for themselves as nobody can feed for oneself and nobody can sleep for oneself. However loved persons can pray for oneself and others. Salvation lies in one’s hands. On the strength of pure faith in the Divine. People should live with care and love.

The Tamil civilization is the most ancient in the world. The celebration date of the Andu Pirappu for Tamils and Vishu for Malayalese of Kerala is always constant –I. e 13/14 April or the 1st day of the month Chittirai. There was an attempt by the Karunanidhi Government to shift the date to the 15th of January but was eventually rejected by the Tamils and the celebration day was reverted to the mid of April which is considered as the date for closing the books of Heaven by Chitragupt, the Accountant of the department of Law of karma.

The other culturally religious years celebrated in the 30 states of India were normally celebrated at different dates and the central government requested that the years be celebrated on Ugadi day—considered as the date of the creation of the universe. It is only this Gregorian year 2021 that all the Indian years start on the 13th/ 14th of April. Exceptional events like in the month of February 2021 and the mystical 9 with the death of Prince Phillips in Great-Britain. We are waiting for more unusual events in this year 2021

Wishing you all the best time in the Plava / Keezarei aandu under warning of the law of karma.

Practice the principles of good /goodness/ good governance laid down in the Thirukkural and pray your personal god with great faith. Make use of your sound knowledge and act with wisdom to counter the effects of hidden activities of the underground world ( keezarei) and with love and generosity in your heart fight your way forward.

PARAMA MAUREE gparama 03 @ yahoo.com 14th april 2021 1.1. Plava / keezarei 5123.

On this date, 25TH May 2021, the appearance of the birth-star of Lord Muruga, Visakam, on the paonami day -full moon, in the month Vaikasi Plava Aandu 5123, there is a surge of effulgent cosmic energy in the universe as the day marks the birthday of Lord Murugan. Seasoned devotees of Lord Murugan, the Muruganars, make all necessary arrangements to celebrate this birthday event with pomp. This year the Visakam Natchatiram appears at 5.36 a.m on May 25 2021 to disappear at 2.41 a.m on the next day 26th. Visakam is the 16th star in the constellation of the 27 stars as shown in the panjangam. The fasting periods depend on traditions and customs of devotees who opt for either a month or a week fasting periods. The month fasting period has started on the 21st April 2021 to end on the 26th May 2021 and the week fasting period starts on the 18th May to end on the 26th. Fasting as much a ritual is an appropriate means to surrender to God. Keep the mouth shut and hold the tongue and meditate on the Lord with the sound AUM invading the whole mind.

No fear of Covid 19 to maintain sanitary measures. In the kavadee pada yatra, the walking procession calls for this discipline in love for God. Many pilgrims would volunteer to prick their tongue, to keep mownam, verbal silence, vow of sanctity to focus on God with the divine spirit and energy. Lord Muruga wrote the word AUM on the tongue of Saint Arunagirinathar, when he fainted in the arms of the Lord during his suicidal mode on the kovil of Thiruvannamalai. God lives in human beings and can manifest the presence by intense love of the devotee. God is the Paramatma the supreme creator of the human atma and through wishful divine act, the creator shows how close he is with his creature. God as the holy spirit can possess his creature on pure faith. Righteous devotees are that who can see, feel, assimilate, and unite with the one conscious vibration in the cosmos. Integrate the self is living a more balanced and wholesome life. Devotees experience the divinity by anointing the pilgrim with turmeric paste, a substance of purity obtained from nature itself. Mystical traditions, world wide, allude to the desirability of remaining in or returning to the state of childlike wonder and innocence. In Kaumara Sadhana in particular, the quest has special resonnances with God who since remote antiquity has been invoked primarily by names – Murukan Kumaran, Balan and so on, implying perpetual child look and youth.

The Birth of Lord Murugan. A kandapuranam source by Kasciappa Sivachariar.

God, the everlasting atma is neither born nor die. He originates from the inner mind of Lord Shiva by the fire energy of His third eye through his forehead onto six Tamarei flowers in a little pond of the Saravana in Tamil Nadu. The six sparks penetrating the six tamarei flowers, impregnating them as six babies in the bosom of nature to be firstly fed by six virgin girls before the universal mother Nature, Korravei, united them into Skandan the God of War to destroy the devils with their evils at that immemorial time. The six girls were immortalised as the kartigei stars to glow forever in the sky and their adopted son named as Kartigeyan to all devotees in India and the outside world.

Children are naturally eligible to enter the gardens of Heaven is the spirit that guides devotees to worship Lord Muruga in a baby child form without rejecting the opportunity to worship same Lord Muruga as Swaminathan on Swamimalai mountain, Tamil Nadu in the garb of an old man. Hence the Vaikaassi Visakam festival is deep rooted in the traditional worship of Lord Murugan. Lord Murugan is God-Nature, formed in pure nature of heavenly God and nature of the mother earth with the assistance of celestial forces, the Kartigai. All divine forces united to offer a protector and a saviour of good karmic life to humanity. Genuine transformation is possible with the grace of Lord Murugan. Hence the celebration of Vaikaasi visakam is mostly welcome.

Legitimate reasons for devotees { mix of all religious beliefs } to solemnly observe the Vaikaassi Visakam Day. We express our gratitude to Lord Muruga for his coming onto the earth surface to solve human problems and sufferings It is not our effort but God’s grace – ARUL – that is the basis of all victory. When we do something, factors other than our effort come into play. Only if other factors are favourable can we attain the expected results. We can take all precautions but still we can be killed by a wreckless driver on the road. To-day, even though we know many things we still do not know the true nature of the world. Covid 19 has taught us this lesson, 'Only if we live with the understanding of Murugan Arul – the God sent saviour’s grace that we can live in peace. We have to be grateful to the Supreme creator for his love for humanity.

Lord Shiva reincarnated Himself into His beautiful son { Murukan} { an ansh – a part of Himself} to save humanity by transforming demons – evils who were ruining the lives of the devas. After His Vettri – victory – Lord Murukan, out of emotional happiness for his devotees married Deivayanai, the daughter of heaven at Thiruparangkundram, T. Nadu and Valli the daughter of mother earth at Thiruttani, Tamil Nadu before he went to Sri Lanka with his consorts and where they stayed on Kadirkama Malai before ascending heaven. The marriage relationship is a golden opportunity to establish the soul relationship with God who is the PATTI of all mankind. Lord Muruga has left his essence soul in the universe to assist humanity to vainquish evil, this essence soul is eternally present to listen to our prayers and help us through to achieve our purposes. Lord Shiva always instructed his followers to do things according to a purpose already designed in all righteousness. One of the attributes of Lord Muruga is his Veliyattu, the capacity to possess his ardent devotees and expel out any negative energies affecting them. This wishful desire is manifested by cavadee bearers during their pada yatra.

Gratitude is a means to pray Lord Muruga

We thank the Lord for blessing us by his presence in our consciousness. We shall keep on clinking on this link to establish direct relationship with the Lord. Love is our nature and out of love for all we can receive the Arul of the Lord. Can Lord Muruga in his Tandayudapani appearance – mendicant – hear the prayers of those who are satisfied with food and luxuries, ignore the pains of the hungry and the poor? The real worship of God is the service to the needy. All spiritual practices simply purify the mind and only a purified heart can accede to the love of God. This is real worship. We all shout on the top of our Kovils that Lord Murugan is Gnana Pandita. The Guru, the Goal of Knowledge. The Lord can teach us the path to righteousness for a virtuous living. Under the umbrella of Lord Muruga, we live with universal ethics and moral conduct.

In Tamil Nadu, all believers in God – Christians, Muslims, Hindus and Bhuddists worship Lord Muruga in their own ways. All roads lead to Godhead. The Tamils express their faith by carrying cavadees as renunciation of their present and past karmas. Lord Muruga is the redeemer of sins. God is love and the nature of humanity is love. To live in peace with men and beasts love is a potent factor that govern all beings. The solution is Murugan Bhakti, the Cult of love. This mode of worship is the noblest, the easiest and the best of paths leading to God realization. This is AUM the beginning with no end.

Adults are nothing more than deteriorated children. As adults, we never lose the connection with that festive, fiery sparkling creative playful inner child. Innocence, only innocent soul, can enter the kingdom of God. The birth of Lord Muruga was long awaited to eliminate the destructive evil forces of the demons, Taraken,Surapadman and Shinnamuki. They are the symbols of hatred, arrogance and greed although destroyed by Lord Murugan came back into existence by the bad nature of human beings. However, Lord Muruga had to be equipped with the Vel handed to him by Siva-Sakti to eliminate evil on the surface of the then Tamil Nadu. Lord Muruga is acknowledged as Kartikeya in global India Shanmuga in Tamil Nadu. The Lord with six faces – looking in all directions – upward,downward and all sideways

The six babies are our six chakras – ARUPADEI – governing our six sense organs. And the reeds or Saravana are the network of our nervous system. A co-ordination of our body system is needed for a healthy and purposeful life. By observing VAIKASIVISAKAM fast every year, we are rejuvenating ourselves by the grace – ARUL – of Lord Muruga with the consent of Lord Shiva and Shakti.

The Vel is gnanam, wisdom, the supreme intelligence with which we can solve all our problems, enemity and adversity. Our wise intelligence acting upon love for one another, can eliminate all enemity, turning foes into friends as Lord Muruga did with Surapadman, turning him into a rooster to crow and create awareness for people to think and believe in God. We have to move forward in life. The peocock is a beautiful means of conveyance to move on. Lord Muruga is a living God, from childhood BalaMurugan to Swaminatha, old aged ascetic. He is married to our reincarnating life, Sri Valli and to our soul, Sri Deiyvayaanei. He is within us, says Saint Arunagirinathar who had vision and experience of the Lord at Thiruvannamalai, in Tamil Nadu in the 13th century.

In his Kandha Anubhuti { Experience with God }, he says that Lord Muruga has a form and is formless depending on human experience. Praying to Lord Muruga in all righteousness, with a sincere heart and mind, should arm our intelligence to perform unbelieving things we call miracles and get rid of evil in all forms. This is the way of liberation for living in all happiness. With or without Kavadee or penance, our heart should be loaded with love for the Lord and people around without any discrimination. Believe in the Lord mission. Lord Muruga was born to redeem the sins in humanity. Praise to God, the Almighty. Our closed thankful hands towards him are enough. Sing the glory of Lord Muruga as per the illumination in the Thiruppugaz !

Lord Muruga is not only the destroyer of evil and bad situations. He is the sustainer of life. He is the ultimate healer of humanhood. He is the Supreme Vaitishwarar. Recently, there was a kumbabhisegam at his Vaitiswarar kovil in Tamil Nadu. Lord Muruga lives within the self of human being. A body trained to think rightly and live rightly is trained to ward off diseases. It is only cleanliness that cures. This should be remembered during Covid19 prevalence. Keepinng absolute cleanliness is the practice of doing abhisegum to our murthis. Ignorance of truth is the cause of all our miseries. God, the creator, has offered so freely all food elements to prevent diseases to humanity and in case of misuse, God has given appropriate foods to cure relevant sicknesses. Kandashastri kavasam can cure many diseases in the wake of its recitation. Kandaanubhuti, when studied and put in practice, can lead to a virtuous life, freed from all diseases, problems and fear, and worry.

YAM IRUKKA BAYAM YERN ?

WHY FEAR WHEN IAM HERE?

This divine message should imprint our heart and mind at all times. Lord Murugan is the living God.

AUM SARAVANA BAVA !

Parama Mauree gparama03@yahoo.com

Que deviendrons-nous sans ces femmes; femmes qu’on appelle affectueusement maman? Ce dimanche 30 mai, nous serons nombreux des Mauriciens à rendre hommage à nos mamans à l’occasion de la fête des Mères. La tradition, qui se voulait religieuse à l’origine, s’est transformée au cours du dernier siècle en une grande célébration de la maternité.

On trouve les premières traces de ce que l’on connaît aujourd’hui comme la fête des Mères dans la Grèce antique. À l’époque, à l’arrivée du printemps (vers avril, mai) c’était l’occasion de rendre hommage à la grande Rhéa (également connue sous le nom de Cybèle), la mère des dieux, et de surtout célébrer la fertilité.

Avec le temps, on a tranquillement délaissé les dieux pour honorer directement nos mères.

Saviez-vous qu’au début du siècle dernier dans les pays célébrant la fête des mères sous l’influence des États-Unis, on honorait les mères en portant sur soi un œillet le deuxième dimanche de mai ? Un rouge pour célébrer celles qui étaient toujours à nos côtés ; un blanc en mémoire de celles disparues.

Aujourd’hui, même si l’œillet a laissé sa place aux bouquets de toutes sortes, les fleurs sont toujours prisées.

À Maurice, la fête des mères est célébrée le dernier dimanche du mois de mai, comme la France, la Tunisie ou encore comme leurs frères et sœurs malgaches.

Pour les très jeunes, on doit aux instituteurs le fameux collier de pâte et autres petits cadeaux fabriqués avec amour tout fiers d'offrir ce cadeau sous les mélodies de « maman oh maman... » Quand ils grandissent, fleurs, parfum, bijoux remplacent ce présent traditionnel.

L'organisation de la fête en est généralement confiée à leurs enfants qui peuvent décider de leur préparer le repas. Mais dans la plupart des cas, la famille se réunit chez les parents autour d’un repas.

À ces belles femmes, bonne fête!

Source: Hinduismtoday.com

New York State Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar recently introduced a new bill (Bill #A7062) to establish Diwali as a school holiday. The bill comes after decades of advocating for recognition of New York’s enormous East Asian population and Diwali as an important holiday for its residents. Diwali is a Festival of Lights is the biggest holiday of the year in India and is celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists. Usually occurring in October or November, the celebration dates back more than 2,500 years. The festival celebrates the triumph of good over evil, with many tales circulating to commemorate the holiday.

Rajkumar was the first Hindu-American and South Asian-American woman elected to the NY state office. As such, she hopes to honor the significance of local communities who celebrate Diwali. “The South Asian, Indo-Caribbean, Hindu, Sikh, Jain, and Buddhist communities are a vital part of our city’s Gorgeous Mosaic, contributing to every sector of our society,” said Rajkumar. There are over 226,000 Indian Americans residing in New York City, according to the 2018 American Community Survey. Advocacy for recognition of Diwali as an important holiday dates back to the early 2000s. Since then, many community groups have expressed their support, including The Federation of Hindu Mandirs and the Indian Diaspora Council.

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