APIIT Vaisakhi Celebration in " TheSun "

[Jesmesh Singh Jassal]

Dear Friends,

 

Just wanted to share with all other MUSS & Youth Leaders members that APIIT held a very grand Vaisakhi Cultural Event in conjunctions with Vaisakhi at Campus, Technology Park Malaysia ( Bukit Jalil )  and our article is out in papers.

 

For those of you whom had read The Sun, Tuesday's copy would have come across the article on page 34.

 

However if you missed the article, don't worry the write up attach in this mail..  Also attach are some pictures of the event.

 

Thanks to everyone whom made our event a roaring success.

 

Cc to : Youth Leaders , Sikhs With A Mission

 

Regards,

 

Jesmesh Singh

[Harjit Singh Jit]

This is an article wrote by a APIIT student for the Vasakhi & Tamil New Year Celebration at APIIT UCTI.

 

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The Tamil New Year… and Vaisakhi at APIIT UCTI

On 28^th of April APIIT UCTI saw two cultures come together to celebrate the beginning of their New Year. The day saw a well composed medley of South Indian, Malaysian Indian and Punjabi festivities.

The first thing that seemed to catch everyone’s eye was the fantastic décor that was prepared two days in advance. “It was spectacular to look at, there were these triangle things shaped from leaves which draped the whole foyer in a zigzag manner, not to forget the banana tree entrance, it was a very beautiful sight!” said Mihika Jain a first year student. The students indeed worked very hard on the décor, that left everybody in the building feeling like they were immersed in a new kind of dimension that was so beautiful to be in. The students also invested their time and energy on a very immaculately prepared colored powder design which they spread on the floor in a very seductive circular pattern.

APIIT UCTI’s daunting spread of cultures, ranging from African to Eurasian, Indian to middle Eastern and Malaysian, did not hesitate to join the festivities and swiftly adapt the traditional showcase as their own. Many students decided to wear traditional outfits on the day, some did not necessarily share the culture, but one that day fashion transcended cultural boundaries and allowed us to see how great looking clothes can be worn by anyone at anytime. The men adorned a Kurta fashioned from silk and other lustrous fabric. Some had very fine patterns embroidered in thread colors like gold and silver that gave the costume a very elegant aura. The women wore very beautiful sari draped in the traditional Tamil way. While the Punjabi girls and ladies looked equally mesmerizing in their beautiful Salvaar Kurta ensemble. These were also embroidered with very concise detail-work done with fine thread.

The performances were very well executed, which flowed with the general outlook of that day. Some of the traditional Punjabi and Tamil dances were beautifully choreographed to reveal cinematic precision. One of the students performed the very popular Bharat Natyam form of classical dancing. Just when the day couldn’t get any more exotic, several handsome Punjabi men with bagpipes and drums and a fusion of well assembled Scottish-Indian costumes had everybody’s full fifteen minutes worth of attention while they demonstrated several powerful tunes with their instruments. “When I hear the sound of those bagpipes, I feel very proud of the culture I represent.” said one of the members from the band that performed on the day.

The festivities were punctuated by a short ceremony where the founder of APIIT UCTI, Mr. Paramjit Kaur, and Mr. Leese lit the flame on the traditional Tamil Kuthuvilaku, a beautiful multi tiered brass stand. This was done to mark the beginning of a very happy and prosperous new year. After the ceremony the performances continued. So beautiful was this display that several lectures were canceled so that everyone could be a part of the celebration. “As a participant, I enjoyed myself during the event because we celebrated Vaisaki and Tamil New Year together. We had two different types of drums, the ‘Dhol’ and ‘Urumi’. This made the day very exciting for me” said Aravin, another student pursuing his degree at APIIT UCTI.

The day came to a close, which was magnificently done with a very loud and resounding finale with two different types of drums and two very different ways that they were played.  The day was a very unique experience showcasing cultural diversity ranging from food, performances and clothes. That day everybody was reminded of the cultures that surround them. That was what made the day a very unforgettable experience for the students at APIIT UCTI.

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Firstly, in preparing for the event both the Tamil and the Sikh community had several meetings together in order to make the even successful. As a result, it went through the way we had planned. Contributions from both cultures were very much appreciated in dividing the task.

 

Secondly, on the decor part of it. There were few dolls decorated for culture display to highlight our various costumes in the Sikh community. In addition to it, there were also colourful dress Sikh models in various costumes that is worn during different occasions such as the bag pipes performance from "Desmesh band" and bhangra performances from APIIT Sikh community which participated by most of the students. More on the decor part long banners were put up to showcase our sikh men and women dancing which was another pulling factor as many foreign students wanted to see how our traditional dance look like.

 

In my opinion, having two cultures celebrating their festivals at the same time was not a problem at all. Knowing your religion well and appreciating, other religion's belief is most important. That’s all from me.

 

Regards,
H@RJ!T S!NGH