Community Connection
By Arti Panday
A fusion of Eastern and Western cultures is created in Hollywood Bollywood, a petite clothing store located in Markham.
The ribbon cutting ceremony was performed by the Mr Kanapathi Logan, Councillor of Markham on Saturday, May 14.
Despite the rain, a generous crowd of friends and family gathered under a tent outside the store to support the Devarajahs as they celebrated the grand opening of their store.
After working many years in retail, where they first met, Bhartie Hardowar-Devarajah and her husband Mohan Devarajah decided to "do something for themselves" and open the clothing store.
"We decided that we had to do something for ourselves. The space was available, the opportunity was there and we said, 'Let's give it a shot'," said Devarajah.
With an assortment of Eastern attire supplied from New Delhi and Pakistan, the store provides options of purchasing clothing off the rack or ordering from a catalogue of designs.
With so many culturally diverse stores already in existence, Hollywood Bollywood promises a unique selection with "fair, affordable, competitive prices."
Following a brief welcome, Bhartie provided insight into their inspiration as she recounted her mother's entrepreneurial background in Guyana.
Councillor Kanapathy Logan also gave a few short remarks before the official ribbon cutting ceremony.
While congratulating the family on their success in opening their store, the councillor took the opportunity to announce the building of a new community centre in the same complex.
After reading a letter that he extended from himself and the Mayor, Logan performed the ceremony; thereafter guests were invited to share in refreshments while browsing the store.
With Bhartie's love of fashion and Mohan's flare as a salesman, the two create a dynamic team, offering the best of the east and west.
Metro Toronto Convention Center,
June 9 & 10
The 2011 Regional PBD will be held in Toronto on June 9 and 10th at the Metro Toronto Convention Center, 255 Front St W, Toronto, Ontario (416-585 - 8000).
Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) is the nodal agency for the event. The theme is "Building Bridges: Positioning Strategy of the Indian Diaspora." Indian Diaspora members in Canada, USA, Mexico and the Caribbean countries are expected to attend the PBDCanada 2011 convention in large numbers. Participation by the provincial governments and from Canadian mainstream organizations is also expected.
2011 has been designated as "The Year of India in Canada." A number of positive developments point to an upward trajectory in this bilateral relationship. A sustained engagement of Canada with India is evident from the number of agreements and MOUs already signed between two countries.
The Convention is expected to result in the formation of a broader human connection strategy linking segments of civil society and corporate sector in India and Canada with knowledgeable members of the India Diaspora. Another outcome will be an action plan for engaging the Indo Canadians and their organizations for:
• Expanded business opportunities particularly in the small and medium sized business sectors;
• Formation of a Canada Chapter of Global Indian Network of Knowledge which may also provide a practical way to connect good public policy ideas to the reform agenda in India;
• Enhanced cooperation in areas including education, energy, environment, information technology, agriculture, science and technology, research and development, infrastructure, transport; and • Increased internship programs, cultural exchanges and tourism between two countries
India-watchers and those who trace their roots to the sub-continent, have an important role to play as bridge builders. The objective of the conference is to draw globally renowned speakers and leaders from India, Canada and other countries of America and for participants to formulate suggestions for advancing partnerships in the next 20 years between India and Canada, and India and other American countries in the fields of business, arts and culture.
Literary Arts Award
Annette Seip photo
By Adit Kumar
Guyanese born poet and author, Peter Jailall joined an elite band of awardees when he was named as one of the winners of the 2011 MARTY Awards which were announced last Friday.
Peter copped the Established Literary Arts Award. He was recognized for his overall work in the literary field coupled with his teaching of indigenous peoples of the Rainforests of Guyana where he visits regularly. He was also recognized for his community involvement and readings of his works at various festivals throughout the Greater Toronto Area.
Heather Brissenden, Communications Co-ordinator of Mississauga Arts Council (MAC), told Indo Caribbean World, that over 100 nominations were received for the awards and an independent panel of judges from outside the city reviewed the nominations and identified the winners based on strict criteria.
The awards are given to residents of Mississauga or those who have lived there for at least 10 years. The award recognizes the best and brightest artists and artistes of the city. There are several categories of awards and this year two new categories were added to the list, namely, the Creative Community and People's Choice awards.
Ian Greening won the Creative Community Award. He runs a tattoo parlour and will soon be creating his own TV series along with fellow awardee, Peter Rowe. Liberty Silver, R&B and Reggae Calypso singer, won the People`s Choice Award after she copped the highest number of votes on an online voting for that award. She is also a Grammy Award and multiple Juno Award winner. The American born singer had spent much of her youth in Kingston, Jamaica where she participated in Reggae music festivals.
The awards event at the Mississauga Living Arts Centre was an unforgettable evening of red-carpet glamour. The top artists were lavished with praise, recognition and media attention at this, the 17th annual event.
Produced by the Mississauga Arts Council, the MARTYS filled the Living Arts Centre with an ecstatic crowd who gathered to celebrate the winners of the coveted honour. The excitement was palpable as the winners were announced from a roster of over 100 talented nominees.
Some of the high-profile winners included the Emmy Award-winning composer Don Breithaupt, Grammy Award-winning vocalist Liberty Silver and the internationally celebrated filmmaker Peter Rowe (Angry Planet TV Series).
Formerly known as the Mississauga Arts Awards, the MARTYS awarded a grand total of $11,000 collectively to the 14 artists in the categories of literary, performing, media, creative community and visual arts.
Winners received a cash prize, extensive media coverage and a plethora of recognition from the community.
The MARTYS began with a red-carpet television special recorded live from the red carpet by Grammy Award-winning vocalist Liberty Silver. Over 100 nominated artists walked the carpet and mingled with the numerous media companies who covered the event.
Following the red-carpet launch, the MARTY award ceremony was hosted by celebrity writer Kathy Buckworth who had the audience in stitches with infectious brand of comedy. The audience enjoyed performances by jazz vocalist Shannon Butcher, the "I Rock with the One" dance troupe, the Jay Boehmer Jazz Trio and the Patrick Panus Trio. Kathy proudly announced the winners of the awards.
President of MAC, Bohdan Shulakewych took the opportunity to announce MAC's plans to host an international art exhibit in the summer of 2012. In honour of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of Jamaica's independence, MAC will team up with the Art Gallery of Mississauga to host an exhibit of the finest artistic works from the National Gallery of Jamaica. This exhibit will celebrate a contemporary retrospective of 50 years of Jamaican artists influence and work since independence.
For more information on this venture or the 2011 MARTY Awards, please contact the Mississauga Arts Council.
of togetherness!
Photo by Adit Kumar
Bob and Kamla Narain celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary last Sunday with a prayer service at Arya Samaj, 14th Avenue, Markham.
They were married on May 21, 1961. Their wedding ceremony was conducted by Pt Ushar Budh, now Swami Veda Bharati. Bob hailed from Crabwood Creek, Corentyne while Kamla was from Mahaicony Creek.
The havan service was conducted by Pt Sat Sarju with musical accompaniment by the Toronto Arya Samaj kirtan. The sermon was delivered by Pt Devanand Ramoutar who spoke on the significances of the Vivah Sanskar (wedding ceremony).
Many friends and family, some coming from out of province and country, joined in wishing them well on their special occasion. Scarborough MPP Bas Balkissoon presented a congratulatory plaque to the couple while other plaques from the Premier of Ontario, the Governor General and the Prime Minister were also presented to them to mark their special occasion.
An entertainment session of songs, music and dance followed dinner. Pt Devanand Ramoutar and Joe Jaglall rendered songs while Sushima Narain did classical dance items.
Mother's Day, May 8, 2011 witnessed the upscale facilities of Coconuts Restaurant transformed into a virtual community hall with an audience of over 300 being treated to a menu of rollicking music and songs by some of the most renowned names in the entertainment industry, such as Devindra Pooran, Seeta Panday, the Mighty Soca-Raja, Lakeram Rampersaud, Kavita Sookhoo and Anil Singh performing to the sounds of Canada's #1 Band, N2. In keeping with the tenor of the occasion, roses were handed out to all mothers present and a cash prize awarded to the oldest mom from Indo Caribbean World. Several pieces of jewellery were also handed out to other mothers, courtesy of Omesh Jewellery.
Pictured above is the owner of Coconuts, Kishore - centre, with some of his family members and guests: from left, Devindra Pooran, Seeta Panday, Roop Totaram, Kishore Totaram, Padmaoty (Mamee, the Totaram's matriarch), Dave Totaram and wife Lorraine, Jenny (wife of Kishore) and their daughter Ambika.