General:
v Mrs. Umayal Muthu is visiting her daughter and son-in-law Shanti and Subramanian.
v Mrs. Sigappi Vellayappan is visiting her daughter & son-in-law Nachu & Alagappan
Sundarakesari, as well as her son & daughter-in-law Subramaniam Vellayappan & Padma
Nagappan.
From Latha Vairvan, Regional Secretary, S. Pasadena, CA
This year's Pillaiyar Nonbu celebration was held in Mr. Kannappan and Dr. Thillai Kannappan’s
residence in Bakersfield, CA. We introduced three new “pullis” to the club. The festivities were well
planned, as they captured the mood and ambiance of the occasion. It was a good opportunity for the busy
Southern California Nagarathars to get together and relax.
General:
The wedding reception of Meenu and Muthu Jeganathan (son and daughter-in-law of Mrs. Saroja
stand Mr. Manickam Jeganathan, Thousand Oaks, CA) was held on February 21 1998.
From Murugan Palaniappan, Regional Secretary, Freemont, CA
Bay Area Nagarathars organized the Pillayar Nonbu event on Jan 3rd, 1998. There were a total of two
hundred and ten people of which there were seventeen new folks for this year. Two dramas were
screened, one with kids and the other with adults. The kids play explained how Pillayar got the
Gnyanapazam. The second play explained how Pillayar Nonbu came into existence. Both received a big
round of applause. The Pillayar Nonbu organizing committee for 1997 increased the number of organizers
for future years from three to four due to an increase in workload due to the increase in the Chettiar folks in
the Bay area.
From Meena Suppiah, Regional Secretary, Markham, Canada
Mr. & Mrs. Adaikappan of Brampton hosted this year’s Pillaiyar Nonbu . As this important occasion fell
during the Christmas Holidays we were fortunate to have many visitors from Ottawa, Windsor, Los
Angeles and Florida increasing the number of “Ezhlais” to seventy-four . The Prayers started with the
melodious voices of our talented youth and adults. The children eagerly awaited the main event to see who
had mastered the art and technique of eating 'Fire'! Professor PL. Kannappan from Waterloo handed out
the 'Ezhlais' assisted by Mr. Annamalai from Ottawa. Following this we had a sumptuous potluck dinner
which highlighted the culinary expertise of the achis. As the evening was young, we decided to have an
open discussion on various topics centered around the equality of male and female and the issue of
arranged marriage, or in other words love before marriage or marriage before love with regards to the
impact it has on our children who are raised in the North American environment.
A summary written by the youth co-ordinator - Govind Adaikappan "At first the discussion proceeded with
great languor, but later developed into a contentious debate. The younger population tended to side with the
concept of love before marriage, but still wished to maintain the chettiar traditions. Most of the adult
population believed the archaic method of marriage before love should prevail. Although a consensus was
not formed, it was a learning experience for all parties". My general conclusion was that we (Parents) have
an obligation to understand the needs and requirements of the younger Chettiar generation growing up in
North American Environment. Most of our customs and rituals were laid out to suit the times of an era of
Chettiars living and growing up in Chettinad areas. If necessary we may have to modify the way we do
business.
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