Members of the extended family were inundated with messages of sympathy,solidarity and support from relatives,friends and well-wishers when New York based Hedge fund billionaire and philanthropist Raj (Rajakumar) Rajaratnam was arrested and produced in a Manhattan court on Friday October 16th.
Raj Rajaratnam
The beleaguered billionaire whose net worth was estimated by “Forbes” to be US$ 1.3 billion faced four charges of conspiracy to commit security fraud and nine counts of securities fraud.
He was released on US $100 million bail with $20 million as collateral. Rajaratnam’s travel documents were also impounded. He was forbidden to travel more than 110 miles of his Manhattan residence.
The 52 year old Tamil tycoon is the founder and managing general partner of the Galleon group of funds. According to “Forbes” Rajaratnam is the 551st richest man in the world and 236th richest in the USA.
FIGHTER
A senior family member while acknowledging and responding gratefully to the supportive messages had this observation about Raj-”His spirits are high. He is a fighter and plans to fight these allegations all the way”.
Rajaratnam who went to work on Monday Oct 19th made a passionate speech to employees declaring his innocence. He then issued a short statement from his Madison Avenue office addressing employees and investors. Emphasising his innocence, Rajaratnam stated that he would fight back resolutely and clear himself of charges. [click here to read the article in full and share your views ~in dbsjeyaraj.com]
“Kantha Shasti” is observed in the Tamil month of “Aippasi”, which falls either in October or November on the new moon. Hindus all around the world fast for six days for Lord Murugan. “Kantha Shasti Kavasam” a special hymn is sung at houses and temples during this period.
It’s believed that Lord Murugan defeated the demon Soorapathman and his army with the “Vel” (lance) given to him by his mother. Lord Murugan fought for six days, and on the last day he liberated “Devas” from “Asuras”.
Arumugaswamy is decorated with variety of fresh flowers, rides a goat and carried by men wearing red head bands, while another sets of men carries a Vel (lance) and walk along with the parade
“Sooran Poor” is held to celebrate the victory on the sixth day at dusk. The temple courtyard and backyard are made to look like a battle field. Idols of Lord Murugan and Sooran are taken out of the temple to have the battle and the celebration.
This year Kantha Shasti was observed from October 18th to October 23rd. Devotees of Lord Murugan have a fast for six days during these days. It’s unlike any other fast; devotees do not have any meals except a glass of fresh milk and fruits in the night.
It’s called “Upavaasam” (total fast). The seventh day is known as “Paaranai”, on October 24th 2009.
Devotees, who have fasted for six days wake up at dawn, have a head shower, go and pray at the temple, cook and have a vegetarian meal before the sun rises.
The devotees who observed the fast are not supposed to witness “Sooran Poor”, because it is considered inauspicious to witness a killing of Sooran after fasting.
Devotional songs dedicated to Lord Murugan by T.M.Sountharararajan are being played at a Hindu House in Bambalapitty:
Muruga nee vara venndum ~
Senthoor Kanthaiya ~
Ullam uruguthaiya ~
Sandhanam Manakkum Senthamizh Kumaran – Dr. Seerkazhi Govindarajan (Murugan Song) – Featuring pictures from Sooran Poor at Sri Ponnambalavaneswarar Temple, Kochchikade, Colombo.
“Sooran Poor” was elegantly observed at Ponnambalavaneswarar Temple, Kochchikade, Colombo, on Oct 23rd:
The fast is spent on meditations, prayers and reflections
A pure mind in a pure body is a sublime combination and conducive to realizing the divine
Beautifully decorated Arumugaswamy comes out of the temple at dusk
The pointed edge of the Vel denotes the sharpness of intellect while the centre represents vastness and lower part signifying depth of knowledge.
Lord Siva represents both death and destroys, and reproduction which follows destruction
Devotees enthralled in youthfulness, compassion and valour as symbolised by Lord Muruga
Lord Murugan, the word is derived from ‘Murugu,’ in Tamil means honey, beauty, fragrance and eternal youth
Devotees witnessing the ceremony
A colourful parade in the temple compound
The battle between Lord Murugan and Sooran takes place
Musicians accompany the procession
Sooran changed his faces while battling with Lord Murugan
Lord Murugan grants all kinds of excellence and the bliss of salvation to his devotees
Vel, which symbolises the spear of victory
Festivals inspire us to live a virtuous life
Vertivel garland is made of natural roots. It is offered to Lord Murugan at the end of the Kantha Shasti fasting, and it is auspicious to keep it till the next Kantha Shasti fasting
“Viratham” means solemn vow
The famous ‘VetriVel’ chanting that takes place on the Shasti day is associated with the victory of Lord Murugan over demon Soorapathman
The ‘Param Porul’ has neither birth nor death
Lord Murugan bestows beauty, greatness, true knowledge and salvation upon those who praise and worship him
The festival is being observed by the devotees every year to mark the victory of good over evil
A God has neither “Aathi” (Beginning) or “Antham” (End)
Moreover women observes Kantha Shasti Viratham
‘ Soorasamharam’ or annihilation of ‘Asuras,’ which was celebrated with religious fervour
The popular belief is that Lord Murugan killed Soorapathman with his ‘Vel’ and this divine act is known as Soorasamharam
A fiery battle took place between Lord Murugan and Soorapathman
Finally, Lord Murugan pierced the body of Surapathman with his Vel (lance). And, suddenly demon Soorapathman transformed into a huge mango tree. But Lord Murugan cut the tree vertically into two pieces with His Vel.
The two pieces transformed into a peacock and cock. Lord Murugan took the peacock as his divine vehicle and the cock was given a place on his banner.
____________________________________________ HumanityAshore.org ~ Email: dushi.pillai@gmail.com
“Music is expression of harmony in sound;
Love is the expression of harmony in life”-Stephen Gaskin
Sain Zahoor Ahmad is a leading Sufi singer in Pakistan. He performed at Peeru’s Café in Lahore on October 10th 2009 in front of the 200 visiting female journalist delegates (South Asian Women in Media) from eight South Asian countries- Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka.
It was a surprise treat for us, given by SAFMA (South Asian Free Media Association). The concert began at night and went on till late night, chilled by dew.
We were welcome with fresh Red rose at the main entrance. We heard the sounds of tunes were being set, and the rehearsal, as we walked into the open air on the passage surrounded by green grass on either side.
He was dressed in Black colour long Kurtha with Gold thread embroidered work all over the top of his Kurtha. Tightly bound matching Black colour turban added more elegance to his charming and spiritual face. He has a beard and a long untied hair.
Various colours of bead rings, and bead chains added more colour to his appearance. A pair of Black and Gold matching Khusay, Lahori traditional shoes was kept on the floor in front of him. He sits on a low level wooden stage which was covered with a piece of white cloth, and fresh flower petals sprinkled in two triangle shape. Another four instrumentalists accompanied him on the stage.
Sain Zahoor Ahmad slowly began to sing. The women journalists began to capture him.
Sain Zahoor Ahmad, at Peeru’s Cafe on Oct 10-I
He often sings at Dargahs (Sufi shrines and tombs). Sain performs at music festivals as well. He has adopted the folk instrument Ektara (ek-one, tar – string), in its three-stringed version called Tumbi as his main instrument. He indulges himself completely while singing. Sain Zahoor Ahmad is a passionate singer, whose earthy tone vibrates the vicinity.
Sain Zahoor Ahmad won the “Best BBC Voice of the Year 2006”. He was born in 1945 in Okara/ Sahiwal in Punjab Province. He was the youngest in the family, and started to sing at the age of five. He had dreamt of a hand beckoning him towards a shrine. He left home at the age of thirteen, roaming the Sufi shrines of Sind, Punjab and liberated Kashmir.
Eventually, Sain Zahoor Ahmad was walking past a small shrine in the south Punjab town of Uch Sharif which is known for its Sufi traditions. At the age of five, I dreamt of a hand rising up from a grave that directed me towards a shrine. I saw the same dream every night for three years. It made me restless and I could not sleep at night.
Once in a month of Ramazan I came across mystically and spiritually well reputed person Ustad Sain Ranuka Ali who lived at a shrine and used to play with Ektara. Someone waved at me with his hand, inviting me in, and I suddenly realised that it was this hand which I saw in my dream. There I met Ustad Sain Raunka Ali of Patiala.” said Sain Zahoor Ahmad, while tears filled his eyes, and his voice cracked through an Urdu speaking woman journalist.
His first lesson in the Sufi Kalams was under Ustad Sain Ranuka Ali. He mostly sings compositions of the major Sufi poets such as Bulleh Shah, Mullah Shah Badakshi, Muhammad Buksh and others. The Kalams are verses of poetry redolent with devotional love, which are sung with the passion and power needed to give listeners a chance of actually knowing the mystery of God.
Sain Zahoor Ahmad was invited to the All Pakistan Music Conference in 1989 where he performed on a stage for the first time in front of a big audience. About 2000 audience enjoyed his Sufi songs emotionally. He has given concerts in United Kingdom, Ireland , USA, Canada, UAE, Dubai, Norway, Europe, Denmark, Brussels, Belgium, Brazil, England, China, Japan, India, Britain, Malaysia and South Africa. He has acquired international recognition in the recent years. He cannot read or write, in order to memorise lyrics, he developed his own language of symbols. He draws dolls and sketches and interprets them with their postures.
Sain Zahoor Ahmad, performing at the Peeru’s Cafe in Lahore on Oct 10th
“I devoted my heart and soul to music. Shukria (Thank you), Al-Hafeez (May Almighty Allah Bless You)” said gently Sain Zahoor Ahmad, when I bid Good Bye.
Peeru’s Cafe is situated in a pleasant environment
Fresh flower petals are sprinkled
Sain Ahmed Zahoor is renowned for his magical voice
Sain Ahmed Zahoor cannot read or write, but he remembers the lyrics
He is greatly admired by music lovers arond the world
He performed for Pakistan television 35 years ago
His contribution to folk and Sufi music is enormous. Music lovers feel that he deserves “Pride of Performance”
A pair of colourful Khusay
Capturing the moments
He speaks pure Thait Punjabi
“Your love, passion and devotion are all consuming” says Sain Zahoor Ahmad
Once he starts reciting Sufi Kalam he forgets his physical being
October 17, 2009 at 9:39 pm
· Filed under Editorial
The arrest in New York of Mr. Raj Rajaratnam, a Sri Lanka born U.S. citizen named by the prestigious Forbes Magazine earlier this year as being the world’s 559th richest individual, will for many reasons reverberate here not only because he is of Lankan descent but also for the fact that he is one of the biggest investors in our stock market which is often described in global reports as “tiny.’’ He is among the biggest shareholders of John Keells Holdings, a highly diversified conglomerate enjoying the top market capitalization of any company quoted on the Colombo bourse. The founder of the U.S.-based Galleon Hedge Fund, Rajaratnam is a billionaire with interests in several quoted companies here.
As reported in our pages today, his name transpires in a High Court case in which indictments have already been filed. This relates to a move to buy into the Union Bank PLC, an entity quoted on Colombo Stock Exchange, for which money had been remitted here. These funds had been frozen, for whatever reason, and we do not wish to discuss aspects of a matter that is sub judice. Suffice it to be said that any foreigner investing in our stock market must do so through what is called a Share Investment External Rupee Account or SIERA. That ensures such investments are made from funds remitted from abroad and not from rupee resources held here.
The mere fact that Rajaratnam has been arrested does not mean that he is guilty; of for that matter if he is acquitted that he is not guilty. It may be that prosecutors lacked sufficient evidence to make their charges stick as is often the case. The fact that this arrest, with some others, on charges of insider trading, has made big news in Wall Street and other big centers of global finance is an index of how important the people caught up in this scandal are in the global financial world. Manhattan-based Galleon Partners, Bloomberg reported, has offices in London, Singapore, Mumbai and Menlo Park, California. That’s how big its operations are. Among the co-accused are ex-directors of the well known Bear Stearns brokerage and other big ticket US companies like McKinsey and IBM. Chances are that the prosecution will not be quickly concluded and whatever determination made will be appealed, whoever is convicted or not convicted. Reports indicated that court-authorized wiretaps had been used to listen to some conversations of the people involved in an investigation going back at least as long as November 2007.
Readers may not be altogether familiar with what the offence of “insider trading’’ that Rajaratnam and his co-accused face is all about. In simple terms it means that the persons concerned had information about companies whose shares they traded that the market was not aware of. That gives them an advantage over other players. This is why most stock exchanges worldwide, including our own, require that market sensitive information is disclosed by companies in a timely manner to enable all participants play on a level field. Most companies have rules regulating how their executives and other employees possessing information that can react on their share prices may or may not trade in their shares. There have been instances here where the Securities and Exchange Commission has investigated cases not only of insider trading but also of manipulation giving a false appearance of the market. Many such cases have too often been compounded on payment of a fine usually credited to the SEC’s Compensation Fund. Such penalties are generally assessed on the basis of the illegitimate profits made. Unfortunately nobody has been jailed here for such offences. In the US, offenders risk mandatory sentences.
Here in Sri Lanka, as in other parts of the world, there is increasing conciousness about money laundering where proceeds of criminal activity, including narcotics, are channeled into legitimate businesses like stock markets. That is why the Central Bank is increasingly insistent that not only banks but even stockbrokers know their clients and KYC (“know your client’’) is a key word very much in use today. Stock brokers get their clients to fill in forms including personal details that were not previously sought and banks often ask constituents making big deposits what the source of the funds were. Big stock exchange transactions of over a million rupees are also reported. While such measures are not absolutely fool proof, and untaxed money more than proceeds of criminal activity are most likely invested in instruments such as bank and treasury deposits and quoted shares, it is to the good that the authorities are tightening their grip in an effort to ensure that such activity is in order. There was a time when policy makers closed their eyes to some aspects of financial transactions on the premise that fund movement from the informal to the formal sector was economically beneficial. This, however, has been changing in more recent years.
While the Rajaratnam case will continue to hold attention here largely for the reason that he is of Sri Lankan origin, and also because he is a significant investor in companies here, we must not forget that he was a generous contributor to post-tsunami rehabilitation projects both in the north and the south. He had, on Colombo’s initiative, also agreed to substantially support the rehabilitation of LTTE cadres. Given the size of the funds he controlled, quite apart from his own personal investments in quoted companies here, his Galleon Funds have invested significantly in the Colombo stock market. He would also have undoubtedly influenced other portfolio investors in the US and elsewhere in the west to look at our market which would certainly have had a beneficial effect on what we now trumpet as the “world’s best performing stock market.’’ While we do not condone infringements of the law anywhere by anybody and wish the enforcement authorities in the US the very best in bringing wrongdoers to book, we would also record that Rajaratnam’s investments here was not without benefit to our market. [courtesy: The Island.lk]
October 17, 2009 at 6:38 pm
· Filed under Heritage
Deepavali: “The awareness of the inner light”
by Dushiyanthini Kanagasabapathipillai
“You are invited to the festival of this world and your life is blessed” ~Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941), Indian Poet, Playwright and Essayist, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913.
Deepavali- Festival of Lights was celebrated around the world on October 17th 2009 with great pomp and enthusiasm. People were dressed in new clothes, thronged the temples and visited relatives and friends. Special poojas were performed at the temples.
Hindu Priest Performs Pooja At Naattukkottai Nagaraththaar New Kathiresan Temple in Bamabalapitty on Deepavali Day
According to the Legends that, Lord Vishnu defeated the demon King Narakasuran, and killed him on this day. Significiane of the festival is celebration of the victory of good over evil; the uplifting of spiritual darkness. The most significant spiritual meaning is “the awareness of the inner light”.
Annually this day is celebrated in late October or early November on the new moon. The day is celebrated with sweets and savouries, fire crackers, greetings and lights.
Just married couples celebrated “Thalai Theepavali” (first Deepavali celebrated together after marriage) with special gifts from their relatives.
Deepavali symbolises the victory of righteousness, the triumph of light over darkness, good over evil and the renewal of life.
It is a day of celebration and joy.
Ganapathi Kanangal by Dr. Seerkaazhi S. Govintharajan is being played at a Hindu House in Bambalapitty on Deepavali Day:
I ~ mangkala vaazhvalikkum kanapathiye, unthan malaradi paninthean
II ~ “Oru mannikku oru manniyena, ethir ethir oliththida
Faith and devotion are needed to lead a holistic life
Pavement is packed with religious items used for offerings
Devotees shop at stalls set up on the pavement by vendors during Deepavali day
Rows of lights
The temples were packed with devotees
Naattukkottai Nagaraththaar New Kathiresan Temple in Bamabalapitty on Deepavali Day
New clothes fr the idols of New Kathiresan Hall in Bambalapitty
Astrologers say that Deepavali falls in the Tamil month of Purattaathi after 65 years, and Deepavali and final Purattaathi Sani fall on the same day after 35 years
Goodies seller for the festival
Coconut is considered auspicious, and brings good fortune
The Vedas are knowledge, and the knowledge is eternal
According to Bhagavad Gita, “The true supreme spirit resides within the body and the mind always. However it is so subtle that in cannot be perceived by the senses. It is close at hand and yet far away”
Bustling Bambalapitty
Flowers bring eternal joy
The sparkle of Deepavali lift the spirits
The temples were kept open for longer hours
A view of Sammankodu Sri Kathirvelaiyutha Swamy temple in Bambalapitty
Two Canadian Conservative Members of Parliament Partick Brown (Barrie) and Paul Calandra (Oakridges Markham) claim they have been denied visas to Sri Lanka to visit the Internal Displaced Persons camps.
Related:
Awareness rally by Tamils being held near the US Consulate in Toronto is featured in an article and video by the Toronto Star of Oct 11th:
It is, quite possibly, one of the lengthiest demonstrations Toronto has ever seen. Every day, rain or shine, a small group of Tamils protests outside the US consulate – and it’s been going on six months. The Star’s Jim Rankin takes us there:
