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Hi everyone.
hope everyone is doing great and enjoying the spring vibes that has finally arrived. The weather has changed and sun is shining. Yesterday I was wearing my balarinas and no jacket until 21 in the evening. I can't wait for the temperature to increase, more sunshine, deliciously ice cream, dinner outside, dresses and all the functions that comes up very soon. Most of all Tamil people will be super busy from now on, attending all the weddings, puberty ceremonies and other parties, not to mention all the temple festivals.
When going to a function we always have so many attires to chose from. Saree, lengha, Punjabi suits and list is long. Traditionally we will wear the saree, colorful amazingly designed Sarees. This blog post is about the saree. So I hope you guys enjoy it, and maybe will think about the saree and the history and tradition behind it next time you wear it.
The saree is the female clothing from india. In the history the saree is tracked back to the Indus Valley Civilisation, which was 2800-1800 BC. In the beginning the Sarees were made of cotton, and silk Sarees were woven around 2450 and 2000 BC. The dye that they used to color the Sarees back then, are still used the day today: indigo, lac, red madder and turmeric. The saree is associated with grace and is widely regarded as a symbol of grace in cultures of the Indian subcontinent.
The word sari is described in Sanskrit, and means: "strip of clothes". It's a long drape that's usually 4,5 to 8 meters, which is draped around the waits, with one end draped around the shoulder, baring the midriff. The saree is worn over a petticoat, or a underskirt that we would call it. Also a fitted upper garment, that we call blouse is neccasary when wearing a saree. This blouse is usually cropped at the midriff. There is a lot of different styles to wear the saree. The "correct" and most common way to wear it is the way we srilankan and South Indian wear it. Nowadays it is very common among our young generation to try to wear it different style. Use different styles of blouses as well. My favorite way to wear a saree is to wear a silk saree in the traditional way, with pleated border, and 3/4 long sleeve blouse, when its for wedding and puberty ceremony. When it's birthdays I like to experiment a little bit, both with the blouse and the way to wear the saree. The pant style saree is definitely one of my favorites. Please have a look at the post i already wrote about the pant style saree.
There is also scientific reasons for why it's healthy to wear a saree. The picture shows how you can control the decreasing and increasing insulation, just by the way you wear the saree. This was discovered by a Indian researcher after several studies made. Another very interesting post was written by Manoj Saboo who describes the energies that we all have, and how the saree affects those energies. It might not be useful for many to read this, and might be a bit sceptical. But if you believe en energies and how they can affect us, his theory is quite interesting.
We all human beings are broadly made of two kinds of elements, Energy and Consciousness. First one is female in nature and the second is considered male. A woman has predominantly female energy and the man has male elements. The healthy energy movement in our body, and in Earth and in the Universe is all in the same way, it moves in circles. That’s is why a woman body is more curvy. To remain healthy, energies in our body should keep moving in circular motion. Any energy coming towards our body first touches our clothes and then it enters into the body and its energy channels and then to the internal organs . Sari is worn in circular motion around body. It keeps circling until almost until the end. So it is easy to understand that when an energy touches the sari, it travels in circles around the body, helping the energy move in the correct way, which makes the saree a winner in clothing. It helps to keep our mind, body and soul healthy. Another, good part is that, while energy traveling in 5-6 yards of cloth, the negative energies coming inside gets stuck in the cloth and it then cleans up with washing. These kind of heavy energies are lazy and cannot move a lot. In the atmosphere it travels with air. However, a cloth with lot of stitches, actually confuses the energy and is harmful for health. There is one very important thing to remember that the clothing should be made with natural fabrics like cotton. Synthetics are big energy blockers and quite harmful for overall health. The mid part of the body is left uncovered in Sari, for which some feel that it exposes the skin. Actually, there is a big reason behind that too. The stomach area which is left uncovered, is the "Brahmasthan" of the body. Body receives a lot of life force energy from this area. This should be left open always. Even in Vaastu Science, the centre part of the house called "Brahmasthan", and is left open to sky
I am one of those people who don't really believe in the stuff that Mr. Saboo describes, but it still floats around in my mind after reading it. And somehow I have respect for those kinds of theories. No matter what I find the saree absolutely amazing. I think it's a very classy, decent, charming and yet sexual attire to wear. I myself, own way too many Sarees, not that I wear them a lot, but I like to have a selection :)
Nothing makes a woman look more beautiful like a saree does !!
Until next time
Hi guys...... This weeks topic is going to be about the very important celebration that every bride or groom is looking forward to before their wedding. The last party as a single: the bachelor party or polterabend. It's called different things in the different countries, but bachelor party, polterabend, stag party etc. are the typically used names for this day.
Basically the bachelorparty is a day that is planned by the best man for the groom or the maid of honor for the bride. The day is celebrated individuelley, the boys together and the girls together. Some couples meet up in the evening when both the bachelor parties for the bride and groom are celebrated the same day. The day is accompanied with the closest friends, who will also be planning the day together with the best man / maid of honor.
The day typically starts out with breakfast. After that, the boys normally go for something wild and something that pushes their limit to the extreme. Most of the bachelor parties I have heard of, from my friends all included paintball, beach activities and other extreme stuff. The most female bachelor parties starts out with brunch, small group activities and nice dinner in the evening. Some girls also, do go out and challenge themselves with extreme activities, but basically it's not that common. Another very important part of the day is to dress up the bride or groom. Dress them up, so they will be embarrassed, for example as a baby, with minimal clothes, the groom as a lady and it goes on with no limits. Only the creativity will stop the dressing up. After that they will go to the midtown and embarrass themselves, by either selling stuff, roses, condoms, kisses etc. to people walking by, It is a very funny and entertaining activity for both the friends and people walking by. You are never in a doubt when there is a bachelor party taking place. People are often loud and happy, and it's very clear when the group comes near you on the street. Some of my friends also travels to foreign countries and have ONE BIG PARTY that normally lasts for a few days. With the cheap airline tickets nowadays, it's easy to get a break out, go somewhere else, and be crazy there :)
So the history behind the bachelorparty comes from polterabend. The tradition comes from Germany. The word itself means (poltern) making noise and (abend) evening. The actual high point of the event is the throwing onto the ground of porcelain that has been brought by guests. However, stoneware, flowerpots or ceramics such as tiles, sinks and toilet bowls are also happily thrown items. Metal objects such as tin cans and bottle tops are brought along to the festivities. Glass is not broken because for some glass symbolises happiness. Mirrors should not be broken due to the old superstition that breaking a mirror will bring seven years of bad luck. The couple must thereafter take care of cleaning up the pile of shards. This is supposed to make the couple aware that they will have to work together through difficult conditions and situations in life.
The day and evening normally involves a lot of alcohol consumption and typically a stripper etc. so many bachelor parties has gone wrong, rooms has been damaged etc., Many hotels do not even want bachelor parties to be held in their hotel. The damages and costs after a party can be very high, so they simply do not want to take the risk.
No matter what, this is the day that's spent with your closest friends as "the last day of freedom", and needs to be held for every bride and groom. So if you have any friends who are soon to get married, go and Google for ideas. There are tons of ideas out there. But be responsible and try to limit the damage during the day :)
Until next time
Hello everyone,
First of all I want to say sorry for not posting anything 2 weeks ago. Everything was actually ready to be posted, but we went on holiday the Thursday before and when we wanted to upload the post, we found out the Internet was horrible at the destination that we were at. We really tried, but ended up deciding not to post anything. This weeks post will be in English, duo to some reasons within our group, so hope you will all bear with that.
So this weeks topic is not that hard to figure out ..... We see it everywhere we go, both online, in the news papers and wow what a boom in the stores - Valentine's Day ❤️ So since I am up in the age, I have seen how little Valentine's Day was in my teenage years, and how little influence it had back then, and how the day has slowly entered everyone life nowadays..... It's bombastic. It's everywhere, and the couples nowadays expect their partner to celebrate the day with them...... I don't want to be a kliche and say "everyday is Valentine's Day in our relationship" because that's bullshit and crap. All relationships have ups and downs. If my partner was around, yea, we might have gone out for dinner..... Maybe...... Or actually I prefer to sit at home, watch a movie and eat some good stuff !! Believe it or not.......
It's very important to remember not to believe everything we see on social medias. Every couple post all their positive vibes and energy on social media. As I said all relationship have their ups and downs, but to find the balance is actually the true charm of each relationship. My partner and I, actually made a deal when we moved in together, that life would not be as perfect as it was the last 4 years that we dated. So in order for us not to get too bored, or not having a spontaneous relationship like we used to, we made some simple rules. 1. Eating out once a week. 2. Travel as much as we can (we both love traveling and have done it a lot the last 4 years) 3. Talk !! It's working !! I think it's important in each relationship to discuss and make some rules or agreements that both parts are ok with, otherwise I think the relationship can quickly be "usual". Of cause this is not the case for everyone. Even I thought my life would be just as perfect as it was from our dating period, but even I got surprised 3 weeks after we moved in together, but yea, I am happy and satisfied. Unfortunately my partner will be abroad on a business trip, so I guess I will just chill with myself on Tuesday, eating some greezy nasty fried food and ICECREAM !! :)
I do not want to write pages after pages, about why we celebrate Valentine's Day, cus everyone can google that story. It's long and boring. The interesting thing is how can you celebrate this day. Most people give flowers, cards and chocolates. Other people buy big Valentine's Day gifts. Some people expose their love at the day. Others propose or get married. It is the day of love, and it is celebrated everywhere in the world and no matter what, you can always surprise your partner with a small tiny something :)
We want to encourage our readers to surprise your partner with a homemade cake or other type of sweet or dessert. It's different, personal and not too taggy, not too big or small, but a sweet thought. I have added some examples of what you can do to surprise your partner. And boys, these recipices can be found online and are easy to make, so get started...... Go Go Go ....
All recipices for the above deserts and cakes can be found on the following website
http://allrecipes.com/recipes/1402/holidays-and-events/valentines-day/desserts/?page=2
Here is a chance for you and your partner to win a special Valentine's gift from us at Komdattam. So guys, go ahead and a create your special cake, or dessert, take a nice picture and share it on Instagram. Don't forget to hashtag #KondattamDE #OurValentineDessert. In 1 week we will find a winner and surprise the couple with a small gift ❤️ Make sure to follow kondattam.de on Instagram and keep your Instagram profile open, if you want to participate in the competition.
See you soon
Hallo Freunde,
es fuehlt sich so an, als hätte ich schon seit einer halben Ewigkeit nicht mehr gebloggt...das liegt wohl daran, dass ich ein paar stressige Wochen hinter mir hatte und wir den Blog letzte Woche in der Tat haben aussetzen müssen. Wir ziehen bald um und ich war sehr arg damit beschaeftigt, den Innenarchiteckten in mir zu wecken und zu brainstormen...ich habe Wochen damit verbracht, um meine Vorstellungen zu verwirklichen und bin einfach nur froh, wenn alles fertig ist und dieser ganze Stress letzendlich vorbei ist. Natürlich fehlen noch Kleinigkeiten, aber das kommt alles mit der Zeit. Zusätlich war auch noch der Geburtstag meines Partners 2 Wochen zuvor und dieses Ereignis, hat mich zu dem heutigen Thema geleitet....naja eigentlich der Stress davor... Die Frage, die wir uns immer wieder stellen...egal ob : Geschwister, Eltern, Freunde, Verwandte, Ehepartner...sie haben alle eine Sache gemeinsam... WAS schenkt man ihnen????!!!! Ich weiss nicht, wie es euch so geht aber mir fällt es immer extrem schwer Geschenke für das andere Geschlecht zu finden. Deswegen habe ich euch 10 Tips zusammen gestellt :)
1. Kleine Auszeit
Mein Partner mag es zum beispiel zu vereisen und mit den heutigen low cost Carriers ist es möglich kleine Reisen zu einem guten Preis zu planen. Egal ob es nur ein Weekendtrip oder die ganze Woche sein soll. Low Cost Carriers wie Ryanair, EasyJet, Germanwings und airberlin machen es uns dabei auch sehr einfach. Ein kleiner Tip noch dazu, Dienstags und Donnerstags ist es oftmals noch günstiger. Mit www.momondo.de bekommt ihr auch den besten Preis, mein Trick für günstige Hotels sind www.booking.com und www.hotels.com. Und da die kleineren Flughäfen auch oft etwas weiter vom Zentrum enfernt sind, miete ich mir ein Auto für die paar Tage. Allgemein vereisen wir auch viel mehr, als wir eigentlich dachten.
2. Kleidung oder Accessories
Kleider oder Accessories sind immer eine gute Idee. Es ist nicht sehr kreativ oder aufregend. Aber welcher Mann kann keinen neuen Pulli, Guertel, Schal oder andere Kleidungsstücke gebrauchen? Allerdings muss man dabei den Geschmack der Person gut kennen
3. Personalisierte Sachen
Personalisierte Gegenstande sind sehr begehrt. Man denkt kaum, wie viele Maenner sich über eingravierte Ledersachen, Bilderrahmen usw freuen.
4. Dinner und Show
Viele denken, dass Musicals nur etwas für Frauen sind. Als mein Partner mich damals zu Bodyguard ausgeführt hat, dachte er dass er es nur macht weil er mich damit überraschen und mir eine Freude bereiten wollte... aber am Ende waren wir beide so begeistert davon und haben angefangen uns weitere Musicals vorzunehmen. Man kann einen Musicalbesuch mit einem schoenen Abendessen verbinden, oftmals gibt es Musicals nur in Grossstädten.
5. Abenteuer Pakete
Welcher Mann liebt kein Abenteuer!!! Online und in Geschäften kannst du tolle Abenteuer Pakete kaufen, wie z.B Escape Games, Lamborghini Fahrt, Heissluftballonfahrt und vieles mehr. So eine Erfahrung gemacht zu haben ist natürlich was ganz besonderes und kein Mann wird es so schnell vergessen!
6. Uhren
Ihr kennt das ja, viele Männer haben eine Schwäche für Uhren, inklusive meiner :) Er besitzt mittlerweile mehr als 20 Uhren und sammelt sie. Eine Uhr ist immer eine gute Idee. Ein schönes Accessorie, verschiedenen Preisklassen und Designs...was will MANN mehr ?!
7. Kitchen equipment
Ob ihr es glaubt oder nicht, viele Maenner lieben es zu kochen! Vorallem wenn sie ihren Manfood zubereiten, brauchen sie das richtige Equipment. Kochen ist ja nicht nur eine Frauensache!
8. Sporttrip
Einen Trip um sein Lieblingsteam hautnah anzufeuern, dass wünscht sich doch jeder Mann. Dabei könnt ihr entscheiden, ob ihr die billigere Variente holt welche in Deutschland wäre oder die im Ausland. Bucht den Flug, Hotel und das Event seperat, damit spart ihr einiges
9. Electronik
Auch etwas sehr typisch was jeder Mann mag. Es gibt sooo viele tolle Electronik Gift Ideen im Internet. Googled doch mal durch!
10. Parfum
The most classic gift ever!! Damit kann man nie etwas falsch machen. Jeder Mensch liebt es doch gut zu riechen oder? Wenn ihr euch mit der Sorte nicht sicher seit, holt einfach das was er sonst auch benutzt. Dann kann nichts schief gehen
So geschafft :) Ich hoffe, dass ich euch ein paar Anregungen geben konnte. Falls ihr noch ein paar tolle Ideen habt oder uns mitteilen wollt, was das beste Geschenk war für euch...was ihr jemals erhalten habt, dann schreibt bitte in den Kommentaren. Ich wuensche euch ein schoenes Wochenende!!
Bis zum näschten Mal
Happy Friday!!! Mein erster Blog 2017!
Ich bin sehr gespannt auf das neue Jahr und aufgeregt auf die neuen Projekte die bei uns anstehen. Hoffentlich kann ich euch bald mehr davon erzählen.
Morgen ist einer der wichtigsten hinduistischen Feiertage für Tamilen - Das tamilische Erntedankfest! Es findet nicht jedes Jahr am selben Tag statt, ähnlich wie die meisten unserer Feiertage. Das Datum wird immer vom Solar Kalendar bestimmt und ist demnach entweder am 14. oder 15. Januar. Das erste Fest des Jahres, beginnend im Januar is Pongal. Bitte nicht mit dem Tamil Neujahr in Chitirai (April) zu verwechseln. Also fängt das tamilische Neujahr, mitten im bekannten Jahr an. Im heutigen Blog geht es um Pongal, oder auch wie ich es in meiner Kindheit nannte - Thai Pongal.
Wenn man nach dem Wort Pongal googlet, findet man fast nur Bilder von einem Tontopf der überschwellt mit Pongal. Ja aus irgendwelchem Grund, muss der Pongal überschwellen, damit die kommende Ernte auch so erfolgreich wird wie die letzte. Der Pongal muss stets in einem neuen Tontopf gekocht werden, sogar auch hier in Europa wird diese Tradition beibehalten und neue Töpfe gekauft, um die Sakkarai Pongals zu kochen.
Pongal, die Zeit nach der Erntezeit, ist sehr wichtig für die Landwirte. Eine Weise um Gott für die erfolgreiche Ernte zu danken und für die kommende Ernte zu beten. Eigentlich sind es 4 Feiertage hintereinander, die an Pongal gefeiert werden. Als erstes kommt der Bogi, welches am Vortag von Pongal ist. Also heute. An diesem Tag werden alte Kleider und Gegenstände beseitigt und aufgeräumt (eine gute Ausrede, um den Januar Sale auszunutzen). Dann haben wir morgen das eigentliche Pongal Fest, Maadu Pongal am Sonntag und Thiruvallar Tag am Montag.
Eigentlich fängt man den Tag morgens damit an, frische Milch zu kochen und sie überschwellen zu lassen. Wir bereiten auch tamilische Köstlichkeiten zu, besuchen Verwandte und Bekannte. Meistens gehen viele auch auf kleine Reisen, besuchen Tempel und beginnen das neue Jahr mit ihren Liebsten.
Am 3. Tag, dem sogenanntem Maadu Pongal, dankt man dem Vieh für die Ernte.
Der 4. Tag ist der Kaanum Pongal und an diesem Tag, gehen die meisten aus. Pongal ist eine art Thanksgiving in unserer Kultur. Bogi, ist ein Dank an den Gott Indra, der König der Himmel. An Pongal wird der Gott Surya, der Sonnengott, verehrt und gedankt. Ursprünglich wurde Pongal nur von Landwirten und deren Familien gefeiert, mittlerweile wird er von allen celebriert. Im Süden Indiens werden alle 4 Tage gefeiert.
Zuletzt möchte ich euch gerne über JalliKattu erzählen, JalliKattu wird überwiegend in Madurai, Thanjavur und Thiruchy veranstaltet. Es ist ein Bullenkampf. An den Hörner werden Geldscheine befestigt und die Teilnemer versuchen an das Geld zu kommen. Viele nehmen daran teil und schauen auch zu. Im Vergleich zu dem spanischen Bullenkampf, stirbt das Tier nicht. Dennoch ist es seit diesem Jahr, augrund des Tierschutzes verboten. Die große Debatte darum habt ihr sicherlich auch mitbekommen.
Ich bin mir noch nicht ganz so sicher, was ich an diesem Pongal unternehmen werde. Zur Zeit befinde ich mich im Umzugsstress und miste aus... von daher gehe ich davon aus, an Pongal einige Möbelhäuser zu besuchen und mich inspirieren zu lassen. Viele neue Filme kommen auch an Pongal, vielleicht gehe ich als eigentlicher Nicht-Vijay Fan ins Kino und schaue mir Bhairava an. Bezüglich des Pukkais, bin ich mir nicht ganz so sicher, ob ich ihn machen werde. Ich bin nicht so ein großer Fan davon und noch weniger habe ich Lust auf die Suche nach den Zutaten zu gehen... aber ich werde einen Milchreis essen... in aller Ehre ;)
Ich wünsche euch allen ein frohes Pongalfest mit euren Liebsten!
Bis zum näschten Mal
Hi guys
Hope you all had an amazing Xmas. This post is going to be the last one for the year. I actually wanted to find out why Tamil people drink hot milk at midnight when white people drink champagne, but I simply couldn't find out. Somewhere I read it was a Sri Lankan / Sinhalese tradition but couldn't get it proved anywhere. Anyway...... This weeks post is just a funny piece, so nothing serious :) I have read a lot of these before, so I just found some of them and collected them into a post..... They are actually funny :)
You know you are Tamil when...
- You arrive one hour late to a party and find out you are the first one to arrive.
- You spend ten minutes fake arguing with your guests who insist on washing their coffee cups.
- You think it's perfectly normal to call someone who's 30 years younger than you "anna" just because he's behind a counter.
- Your idea of a romantic night out is to eat mutton rolls watching a Tamil movie in a run down theater.
- You accidentally walk into an oor picnic and walk out with ten large trophies.
- You wear a suit to a wedding...and you are only 3 years old.
- The wedding takes an hour and the group pictures take five.
- Your mom and sister together own more jewelery than a Chinese jewelery store
- Your parents' idea of a vacation is to go down to the temple in another city than yours.
- You talk for an hour at the front door when leaving someone's house.
- The second your guests leave the house, your parents start talking about them.
- Your parents think going to McDonald's is a night out
- You go to a Tamil Cultural program only to find one baratha natyam and six hip hop shows.
- You eat more mutton before 9 am than most people do in a month.
- You are somehow related to every new friend you meet
- Your remote control is still in its plastic packet, or re wrapped again filled with tape so hitting any button is a challenge.
- You get a 95% on a test and your parents ask 'What happened to the other 5%?!'
- You stare at tamil people when the walk by
- You see married couples kissing on TV but have never seen your mom and dad get within 3 feet of each another.
- Your parents never address each other by name.
- When you get your first part-time job, your parents expect you to give them half.
- Your mother has a minor dispute with her sister-in law and doesn't talk to her for 10 years.
- Your parents say Paris instead of France and England is London.
- You go to a party and your aunt comments on how your skin colour has changed.
- You watch a Tamil wedding tape and all the songs from Roja are dubbed in it.
- When the supply teacher took attendance and there was a sudden pause, you put your hand up and said "here."
- You shortened your name to make it sound Anglo.
- You have dinner at 10 pm.
- When your parents say 'BBC' they don't mean the news station but your uncle Nathan or aunty Kamala.
- It's normal for all the relatives to bath the groom on his wedding day.
- Your parents drive half way across the city to just to save a quarter off toilet paper.
- You KNOW that your promiscuous second cousin on your father's side is pregnant even before she does.
- Your aunties tease you about a particularly eligible cousin....and you like it!!
- You serve all your guests tea with milk and 5 spoons of sugar.
- You only stop putting more rice on your guest's dinner plate 7 times after they tell you to stop.
- anytime you speak back to your parents, you get: "Naanga eppadi khasta pattathukku nee ithuvum kathaipa ithukku melayum kathaipa"
- Any girl in her tweens is subjected to - "eppa kundu poda poringal" - in terms of menstruation - nice symbolic metaphor..naan enna Osama Bin Laden-ah illati hiroshima-va?..Bloody fools
- If you are a girl, you are expected to come home before dark- however if its a son. "ok rasa poitu vaa..kavanam enna"
- Any word starting with an S , is actually pronounced beginning with "Is". ie: School= Is-kool
- You know that you're Tamil when some one is sick at your home, your relatives will bring HORLICKS and oranges.
- You know that you're Tamil when halfway through your shower you realize that your Head and Shoulders Shampoo is gone and has been replaced by Shiyakkai Shampoo.
- You know that you're Tamil when you walk in to another Tamil family's house and they have the same furniture and dining set as yours!
- You know that you're Tamil when your Mom is scared of every size of DOG!
- You know you're Tamil when you bring mutton rolls, kesari and vadai to your school's bake sale.
- You know you're Tamil when your parents expect you to know every word in the English dictionary. If you don't, they'll ask what they teach you in school.
- You know you are Tamil when you put your jewelry in a biscuit tin.
- You know you're tamil when your parents tell you should be getting a 100% in English because you speak it fluently
- You know you are at a tamil wedding when they announce they have opened up the dance floor, you start to wonder which of your middle aged uncles is going to break out the booze induced gaana moves this time
- You know you are at a Tamil wedding when the priest who spent months finding the most auspicious time for the marriage shows up late to the wedding and announces that incidentally there will be an even more auspicious time in half an hour!
- You know you are at a Tamil wedding when happiness quickly turns into anger and tears when you realize the line for the proof photos started while you were in the restroom.
Guys hope you had some fun reading this :) Now get ready for Silvester and celebrate it with lots of fun and party. See you all next year with some really exciting projects coming up on Kondattam.de
Until next time
Hi guys, happy Friday.
Just another week to Christmas and celebrations ? today I want to share a recipe with you guys that is very close to my heart. It's a cake that I bake every year at my parents house for Christmas. Christmas in my family is something special. Although we are Hindus we came to the country more than 30 years ago, and I think during our upbringing in this country, my parents adopted some of the traditions that belonged to the country. I wouldn't lie if I told you guys, that Christmas is a much more important celebration than Diwali in our home. Maybe it's because December is all about Christmas and everywhere we go we get reminded of the day. Or maybe it's just because we love the cosiness and traditions behind this festive holiday.
We always invite too many people and then my dad and other members of the family will be in the kitchen and prepare all this amazing Christmas food for days. Sometimes I would think there is enough food to to feed a small village, but we never go low on food in our family. The funny thing is that a lot of us don't even pass the first course, which typically contains 5-6 different items. For us kids and young people (yes I consider myself for young in this company:)), we just wait for the desserts. And yepp, today I want to share my contribution to our family dinner. The RED VELVET CHEESECAKE. This dessert is just one out of many, and I don't know why, but I simply need this cake. I started doing it a couple of years ago, after I tasted it in U.S., the colors are so amazing and fits perfectly to the Christmas theme. And then hey, it tastes ABSOLUTELY AMAZING.
Here is the recipie of how I make it:
250 g flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 esp cocoa powder
115 g soft butter
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract (I prefer 2 tsp vanilla sugar)
275 g sugar
1 1/2 bottle red coloring (I prefer a little bit of Wilton red coloring paste)
240 ml buttermilch
1 tsp white vinegar
1 tsp baking powder
{adselite}
Frosting
100 g unsalted soft butter
1 Philadelphia natural spreadcheese
1 tsp vanilla extract (again I prefer vanilla sugar)
Decoration
White chocolate sprinkles
1. Mix the flour, salt and cocoa powder in one bowl
2. In another bowl mix the butter, with sugar for a few minutes with a electronic mixer.
3. Add the egg one by one, and mix properly after each egg before adding the next one.
4. Add vanilla extract/sugar and mix for a minute
5. Add the buttermilch and red food color in a 3rd bowl.
6. Set the electronic mixer on the lowest speed and add half of the flour mixture from bowl 1 to the egg mixture from bowl 2. When it's properly mixed add the milk mixture and make sure it's all even before you add the next half of the flour mixture. Make sure it's properly mixed and all even.
7. In a small little bowl/glass mix the vinegar and backing powder. Be aware that it will foam up.
8. Quickly add it to the dough and fold it into the dough. Do not use an electronic mixer.
9. Add the dough in 2 round backing foams.
10. Bake it for 17-20 minutes on 175
11. When they are done, let them cool completely down.
12. While the cakes are in the oven, prepare the frosting that goes in between the cakes.
13. Mix all ingredients to a smooth frosting
14. Add a proper thick layer of the cremecheese frosting in between the cake layers and finish up with a layer of frosting.
15.If your skills are good, add the creme crease frosting to the side as well so the whole cake is just white.
16. If you want to, you can decorate with write chocolate, coconut sprinkles or anything else
I am telling you guys this cake will be a hit when you serve it. You do not need to make it at Christmas Eve, but maybe just in a weekend in the Christmas month. It will melt in your mouth.
I got the recipie from a dear friend of mine who unfortunately lost her life to cancer. So this cake is really special to me ❤️ RIP
Until next time
Hey Leute, Happy Friday!!!
Ich hoffe ihr genießt die wunderbare Zeit mit eurer Familie, Freunden und euren Lieben. Weihnachten ist schon fast vor der Tür und ihr seid bestimmt auch schon im Geschenkestress und bereitet euch auf Weihnachten vor. Der Blogpost dieser Woche ist etwas anders, als die üblichen Themen. Es geht um Tamilfact. Vielen von euch ist das bestimmt ein Begriff. Tamilfact postet regelmäßig über Fakten die im Zusammenhang mit Tamil stehen. Tamilfact ist sehr bekannt für die Youtube Videos - darin geht es um ihre '10 Fakten über....' Heute drehen wir den Spieß mal um und nennen euch 10 Fakten über Tamilfact.
Fact #1 Die Gründer von Tamilfact, sind 2 junge Männer die in Deutschland leben und ursprünglich aus Sri Lanka stammen.
Fact #2 Der Grundstein wurde am 28.11.2013 gelegt; an dem Tag eröffneten sie ihre Facebook Seite unter dem Namen Tamilfact und veröffentlichten sämtliche Fakten über die tamilische Sprache, Kultur, Filmindustrie, Geschichte usw.
Fact #3 Tamilfact hat eine große Fanbase. Um genau zu sagen :
Fact #4 Die meisten YouTube-Hits werden aus Malaysia und Indien generiert, wohingegen die meisten Facebook- und Instagram-Fans aus Europa stammen.
Fact #5 Die meisten Likes, bekam der Post über den Fakt, dass Tamilisch die erste Sprache der Welt ist. Wow...das wusste ich gar nicht, aber es macht mich sehr stolz.{adselite}
Fact #6 Bereits 3 Tage nach Veröffentlichung der Facebook Seite, gab es 1000 Likes! Super Jungs!
Fact #7 Die Jungs verbringen in der Regel 1 Stunde wöchentlich für Instagram und Facebook und 3 Stunden für YouTube.
Fact #8 Es sind auch noch weitere interessante Projekte in Planung. Also seid gespannt :)
Fact #9 Zur Zeit beschäftigen sie sich hauptsächlich mit YouTube und planen in naher Zukunft, mit anderen YouTube-Stars zusammenzuarbeiten.
Fact #10 Das Highlight der Tamilfact Karriere, war bisher ein YouTube Video. Darin geht es um Fehler in tamilischen Filen. Das Video war bereits nach kurzer Zeit ein Hit. Es war das erste Video von Tamilfact, welches über 500.000 views hatte. Mittlerweile ist es bei 800.000 views aufwärts!
Ich weiß nicht, ob ihr Tamilfact schon bereits kennt. Falls nicht schnappt euch eine schöne Tasse Tee, oder noch besser wäre Popcorn und seit bereit für die Unterhaltung:)
https://www.facebook.com/tamilfact/
https://www.instagram.com/tamil_fact/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQPshkZN7MbVTa9gANMkhBg
Viel Spass und bis bald
Happy Friday everyone. Or happy Black Friday :)...... Big day for me, I always look forward to this day.....even though I always end up buying crap I don't need, I still love the atmosphere in the shopping malls. The worst thing is just that my salary won't come in before next week, but that's all good, I can still go crazy with the shopping today anyways....... :)
Another important event for the Tamil people this weekend is the Maarveerar naal. Maveerar naal does not really have anything to do with Kondattam.de, but as Tamils we still want to highlight the reason why we celebrate this day and the history behind.
Maaveerar Naal (Great Heroes' Day) is a remembrance day observed by Sri Lankan Tamil people, to remember the deaths of militants who fought for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). It is held each year on the 27th November, the date on which the first LTTE cadre, Lt. Shankar (Sathiyanathan alias Suresh), is said to have died in combat in 1982. Traditionally oil lamps are lit for the three days ending on the 27 November and the Tamil Eelam flag is raised at the ceremonies. The symbol for Maaveerar Naal is the karthigaipoo (Gloriosa superba), which blooms during November.
The first Maarveerar naal was held in 1989 where around 600 LTTE cadres gathered secretly in the jungles near Nithikaikulam in Manal Aru, Mullaitivu District, to remember their fallen comrades who at that time numbered around 1,300. Following the withdrawal of the Indian Peace Keeping Forces in 1990 the LTTE gained control of large areas of territory in the north and east of Sri Lanka. The LTTE started developing ways to commemorate its dead heroes. They built thuyilum illam (resting place) for their maaveerar (great heroes) in territory which they controlled. In 1991 the week leading up to Maaveerar Naal was declared Great Heroes' Week. This resulted in Prabhakaran's birthday, which falls on 26 November, being included in the commemorations. The celebration of Prabhakaran's birthday began to overshadow the Maaveerar Naal to an extent that some even believed that Maaveerar Naal was a celebration of Prabhakaran's birthday. This resulted in Prabhakaran banning any celebration of his birthday.
Over the years the commemorations became more elaborate, involving meetings, religious rituals, processions and exhibitions with cut-outs, posters and handbills of the dead cadres being distributed widely. Every village and every school were expected commemorate their dead cadres. Families of the dead cadres would gather at thuyilum illam to mourn their dead relatives. The culmination of the commemorations was a great function at a special location at which the reclusive Prabhakaran gave a speech which started at 6.05pm, the precise time Lt. Shankar died. The highly anticipated speeches began to take on the form of an annual policy statement by the LTTE and were broadcast on LTTE affiliated radio and TV stations in LTTE controlled areas and abroad.
After the Sri Lankan military recaptured the Jaffna peninsula in 1995 they destroyed LTTE cemeteries - thuyilum illam - in the area including those at Chaadi, Ellangkulam, Kodikamam and Kopay. Following the start of the Norwegian mediated peace process in 2002 the LTTE started rebuilding their war cemeteries. Maaveerar Naal commemorations were allowed in government territory. In 2004 Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MPs were allowed to light oil lamps in front of the Parliament to commemorate Maaveerar Naal. However, after the peace process stalled the Sri Lankan military started imposing restrictions on Maaveerar Naal commemorations and destroying LTTE cemeteries.{adselite}
Since the end of the civil war in 2009, the Srilankan government has banned any kind of celebration of Maveersr naal, and they even destroyed the remaining cemeteries. Critics of the ban argue that the Sri Lankan government is denying the Tamil people the basic human right to mourn their dead. The ban on commemorations has been criticised by the TNA, the main political party representing Sri Lankan Tamils, who point out that the commemoration of the LTTE dead is banned but that of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna dead is allowed. The JVP waged two violent insurrections against the Sri Lankan government - in 1971 and 1987-89 - which resulted in the death of up to 70,000 people.
On 27 November 2012 an attempt by some University of Jaffna students to commemorate Maaveerar Naal by lighting oil lamps was broken by the Sri Lankan security forces who broke the lamps, threatened the students and pointing weapons at them. The following day students staged a peaceful protest against the actions of the security forces but they were met by riot police who attacked and beat the protesters, resulting in at least 20 students being injured and four arrested.
In 2016 the Government Minister Mano Ganesan claimed that Maaveerar Naal can be celebrated as it is a human right for people to celebrate their late loved ones but it was wrong to do it with a political motive. He cited that the marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) also celebrate il Maha Viru Samaruwa in the South to commemorate their dead. However due to the fact that the LTTE is still proscribed but JVP is no longer considered a terrorist organization the LTTE cannot be mentioned.
Despite the security restrictions Tamils in Sri Lanka hold small events to commemorate Maaveerar Naal. Tamil politicians have started a tradition of planting trees on Maaveerar Naal.
In the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, a number of political parties, youth organizations, social movement groups etc. engage themselves in organizing a number of events commemorating Maaveerar Naal across the state.
Amongst the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora, where there are no restrictions on commemorating Maaveerar Naal, large public gatherings continue to be held. Everyone who feels they want to participate in this event often travel far to attend. In Germany Maveerar naal will be held in Dortmund the 27th of November.
Maveerar Naal Germany 2016
Sunday, 27th November 2016 starts at 12:30
Helmut Körnig Halle
Strobelallee 60
44139 Dortmund
For more information please visit www.tyo-Germany.com
Hello guys
Oh my Lord, i have a lot of excuses :( First of all, so sorry for the very late post....... Second of all sorry for the English post...... As you all know, we are two bloggers now..... The amazing Arlene and myself...... We write the post biweekly, and this week was my turn.... I have been super busy with some stuff, traveling and lack of sleep...... It all ended up with me being sick and yea..... I haven't been myself lately, which is the reason why I haven't been able to write before now.... Sorry !!
Now the topic for this week is a little part 2 of the post from last week....... So Arlene wrote about the wedding ring and the meaning behind that, Arlene is a Christian girl, so I thought I could write about the Thaali ..... The Mangala Sutra as it's also called in Sanskrit. Mangala means holy or auspicious and sutra means thread. Normally the thali is a Hindu thing, where the groom ties it around the brides neck at the wedding. The ritual is the indication for a Hindu wedding, and it means that now the couple is married.
The original and traditional thali is a thread prepared with turmeric (manjal thool). Nowadays people make the thali is gold, and typically we Tamil people makes a thali the size of the brides age. So if the bride is 21 years old, the thali is 21 pavin. We Tamil people will usually do the "ponn urukkal", which means that the gold from the thali will me melted and the jeweler will then create the thali. The brides family and grooms family will be present at the ponn urukkal. As soon as the ceremony is over, the bride and groom are not allowed to see each other before the wedding day. At the wedding day, the thali will be sent around the hall, to get blessings from everyone attending, and only after that, the brides goes in to change into her Kurai, and thereafter the groom will tie the knot.
The 3 knots symbolize Brahma, Vishnu and Rudhra. The 3 knots symbolize 3 different aspects of a married woman. The first knot represent her obedience to her husband, the second to his parents and the third represent her respect to God. They also say that the three knots represent that 1. The father protect her childhood, 2. The husband protect her youth and 3. The sons protect her in old age. A woman can never be unprotected. In the internet there is so many other reasons for the 3 knots as well, but there is no "right" or "wrong" here. Most often the groom ties the first knot and then his sister (the tholi) ties the remaining 2 knots. When a woman wears the manjal thali, or gold thali, it indicates the woman is now married. The woman wearing the thali does also mean that the husband will be healthy and a good well-being. The thali is always bought by the grooms family {adselite}
The thali has different names and different colors according to the state in india. Our typical Tamil thali is a gold Pillayar thali, if the bride and groom have checked the kurippu or the wedding is arranged. And Amman thali if it is a love marriage and therefor the families decides not to check the kurippu. It often follows with 2 gold coins on each side of the thali.
They say that the thali will regulize the womans blood circulation. They say it will have the ability to control the level of pressure in a woman's body. This is why they say the the woman has to wear the thali all the time, by touching the body.
Nowadays our Tamil people wear very heavy gold thali, and therefore they put the thali in the bank of together with all their other gold. Most often they only use it at functions and stuff, and now they don't even use the real thali, but a imitation look alike in stead.
I know several couple who do not even have a thali anymore, and only change rings. although the thali actually has a nice meaning and symbolic.
Until next time