Dear Members

On behalf of the Editorial Team of Sumpark, let me wish

you all a very Happy Diwali, may the coming year be full

of light for all of you.

The Diwali Function held on October 30 at Bonsor

Community Centre had a large turnout. A big thank you

to all those who made the event memorable for all – participants, volunteers

and all the guests.

MSBC arranged a social afternoon at the BACI hall in Burnaby on November

19, we had a small but enthusiastic turnout. There were snacks and tea/coffee

for all who came, and people enjoyed catching up with each other in a relaxed

and informal atmosphere.

Hope you will all enjoy what we have to offer in the present issue. There are

sketches, and essays, Stories and snippets, and the usual mouthwatering recipes.

So if it’s a dark fall day, shut out the chill and the rain, it’s time to grab

yourself a cup of steaming hot chai, a plate of chakali and laadu, and settle

down on your cosy couch to read this issue of Sumpark.

Enjoy

Sharmila Kasbekar

Editor

A Time to Give Thanks

-By Sharmila Kasbekar

October, harbinger of the winter to come, brings us the first messages of chilly weather,

gusts of wind, pale morning mists and dark, rainy afternoons. It also brings us, if we are

lucky, sparkling dawns and crisp evenings, red juicy apples, clear blue skies, and crackling

red and golden leaves.

Our thoughts turn more readily to warmth, and home, feasts and festivals. For us

Marathis and of course all of us who come from all parts of India, this weather brings us

closer to our favourite festival, Diwali.

In our adoptive country, this wonderful nation of Canada, we have a festival especially for

the autumn season. It’s a gracious festival, the feast of Thanksgiving.

In our lives we have many things to be thankful for, and if each of us sit down and count

our blessings, we will be able to have a much longer list than we could ever imagine.

In our daily lives we meet so many people, everyday people, who lead lives with regular

jobs, regular little joys and sorrows. People like us. However, we never know how many of

these people we meet on a daily basis, have secret lives we never know about. They are

everyday heroes, who give of themselves, of their time, talent, and efforts, so that this

world we live in, can be a better place.

These are people with a passion, something they love and believe in so much, that they

will go out of their way, and put in their labour and their talent towards that particular

goal. And we have so many of these unsung heroes just within our small community, that

it will make all of us proud.

I would like to thank all those who go beyond the ordinary, to make a difference:

Mr.& Mrs Paranjape, our senior members, have over the years worked hard for nurturing

Indian Classical Music here in Canada.

Mr. Atul Gokhale, who has done so much with Geetdhara Group & organizing programs

and raising funds for the community.

Mr. & Mrs. Chaskar who pioneered the Marathi Bhajan group.

Mrs. Aklujkar’s labour of love, the library, is a true heaven for those who love to read.

Mr. Mohan Bhide & Mrs. Neeraja Dange, Mrs Sudnya Mulye – talented artists, all of

them,make our community proud.

Mr. & Mrs. Muzumdar do such a lot for Chinmaya Mission, and also raise funds for Terry

Fox Foundation.

Mrs Vaishali Bhide does so much for keeping the Marathi language alive for our future

generations, by running a Marathi School here in Vancouver area.

Mr. and Mrs. Acharya, who give a lot of their time and efforts to childrens activities at

Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh.

There are so many others, whom I have not been able to mention, but are doing so much

for the community they live in.

On behalf of the community, I would like to thank all of you for your excellent work, and

please know that we all appreciate what you are doing. You make the world a better place

to live in.

Marathi Society of B.C. hosts Ganesh Chaturthi Celebration in Vancouver

By Minal Chiplunkar, Rasika Acharya and Sharmila Kasbekar

Marathi Society of British Columbia conducts Shri Ganesh Puja each year on the very auspicious

occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi. This year, the puja was conducted at the Laxmi Narayan Vedic

Hindu Mandir in Surrey in the evening on Thursday, September 1st. Around 700 people from all

communities attended the puja.

One of the unique activities during this celebration was a Clay Ganapati-making session . From

5.30 to 6.50 pm children made beautiful & colourful little Ganesh idols using playdoh.

Approximately 10 -12 children from a variety of age group of 3- 16 years took part in the activity,

led by Rasika Acharya. Colourful playdoh (yellow, red, blue and green) was distributed to all and

Ganapati-making was demonstrated step-by-step. Some of the parents helped the younger kids to

keep up with the others. The activity ended by 6:50 pm and at the end, all the children proudly

displayed their own Ganesh in a thali and performed puja while Shri Vinay Chaskar guided them

through the puja.

In spite of being a working day, it was a very successful event due to the tireless efforts of all the

board members of MSBC and enthusiastic attendance by adults and kids, not just from the

Marathi communtiy but from all the other social groups within the Hindu community as well.

This year, the honour of conducting the sacred Ganapati Puja was bestowed on the Mhapankar

family, which they did under the guidance of Shri Vinay Chaskar, co-founder of MSBC and

current President of the MSBC Board. The puja was performed as prescribed in holy Hindu

scriptures and lasted for about an hour. The puja hall in the temple was packed with devotees,

who participated with enthusiasm in the divine celebration of Lord Ganesh, adored and revered in

many parts of the world besides India. There was group chanting of the mantras. Bhajans were

sung in Marathi by Mrs. Manik Chaskar, & in Hindi by Mrs. Ravita Kulkarni, and in Hindi by Mr.

Avinash Mehra.

Aarati of Shri Ganesh was performed with great gusto by all devotees. Chanting the Aaratis

brought a feeling of devotion and joy in all devotees. After the Aarati, devotees were able to

partake of the Preeti-bhojan offered downstairs in the dining area. Volunteers from MSBC helped

with the food preparation, and with serving the Prasad in the kitchen.

All in all, for those far away from the mother country, the celebrations brought us all together in

the devotion of Shri Ganesh.

MSBC wishes to extend their heart-felt gratitude to the Laxmi Narayan Vedic Hindu Mandir

Trustees, Committee Members & Volunteers for their co-operation in making this annual sacred

ritual successful and beneficial to all devotees. May Shri Ganesh shower his blessings upon all!

Scrapbook Scribbles Part I by Minal P. Chiplunkar

05. September @ 10:30

spending some quiet time @ home, after 2 days of 'awaaragardi' & town-

trotting...:)! Just finished the 2nd round of laundry, & thinking of stepping on the

treadmill, with the radio playin on the side. It's appropriate to labo(u)r on Labo(u)r

Day...;).

04. September @ 20:50

was @ Army & Navy in downtown this afternoon, & had tornado potato ( garlic

flavour ) & mango bubble tea in the evening @ the Chinatown Summer Nite

Market's 2nd last weekend. Such evenings will be remembered with much fondness

when we hibernate in the seemingly endless dark winter days...:)!

03. September @ 20:06

back from the Chinatown Night Market. Sign on one of the display tables

said:'Chinese fans $1 each. You break you buy, I break I cry!'

22. August @ 05:39

Radha dhoond rahi, kisi ne mera Shyam dekha? Radha tera Shyam humne Gokul

mein dekha, bansi bajate hue ho Radha tera Shyam dekha...:)! Got back home past

midnght last nite from a cultural feast on the occasion of Janmashtami @ the

Laxmi Narayan Hindu Temple in Surrey. MSBC dancers performed a wonderful

dance, among others, to the tune of marathi song 'Radha hi bawari hari chi...!'

Simple Pleasures

Saturday, 30. July 2011 @ 14:30

back from grocery shopping, can red swiss chard be eaten raw as salad? Love it

when people form a cluster around the corn bin,as they compete in removing the

peels & threads, & picking better ones than the person next to them. Almost like a

temporary 5minute united community with a common goal, which is to get the best

out of the 6 for $1.97 deal. Enjoyed the precious moment when smiles were

exchanged, as if people could tell what each one was thinking:SAVE?!

You won't believe it's not summer...;)!

Saturday, 16. July 2011 @ 14:00

So what if it's summer,the sun needs a break too from shining all over the place!

Word is out that he called in sick this morning, so YVR summoned his proxy Mr.Dry

& Cloudy, who wasn't expecting to be called to work on a Sat. morning...he took his

time getting up, had his Tim Hortons cuppa & brunch everything bagel+herb &

garlic cream cheese with soup. He's just reported to work, thus stopping the

relentless downpour that we were subjected to to begin our weekend...:)! Chances

are that the showers may return when he goes on his 15 & his 30 later on...;)!

YVR Whitecaps Jersey

Monday, 6. June 2011 @ 22:42

I've lost count of God knows how many draws I must've entered by now to win

stuff @ different events...little pieces of paper that I fill out routinely giving out

my ph#/email add in the hope of winning a big basket of cosmetics, a vacation,

etc. Hardly ever does anything come out of the endeavour. Today when I got a call

from BMO, I was pretty sure,it was perhaps to alert me on some suspicious activity

on my bank acct, or something to that effect. I was surprised when the

representative informed that I had won a Vancouver Whitecaps Jersey in a draw

that I entered @ one of the booths @ the Italian Day Festival yesterday! So off I

shall go tomorrow to the bank to collect my prize...:)!

Saturday, 14. May 2011 @ 08:41

Although I don't believe in the superstition associated with Fri. the 13th, it did

end with a couple of mishaps: 1)one of my contact lenses popped out & tore, while

trying to put it back in...leaving me to party in a partially blind state...to add, it was

a masquerade event with most attendees wearing masks, including me. 2) The

gorgeous sunshine yesterday prompted me to wear shades, which were forgotten @

the venue! Lesson learnt? Yes: Carry your humble pair of glasses next time...:)!

*~~~*-*~*-*~~*-*~~*-*~~*-*~~*-*~~*-*~~*-*~*-*~

उखाणे- संग्राहक: शोभना नाशशककर गोवा माझ ेमाहेर, म ंबई माझ ेगाव

xxx रावांच ेनाव घेते xxx माझ ेनाव. …….

लावीत होते क ं कू त्यात होते मोती xxx रावांसारखे पती जन्मोजन्मी चचतंी.

……. त ळशीला घालते प्रदक्षिणा ववष्णूला करते नवस

xxxx रावांच ेनाव घेते आनंदाचा ददवस. …….

करंज्या लाडवानी भरला रुखवत xxxx रावांनी माझा हात धरला सवाांच्या देखत.

……. मसाल्याची स पारी चांदीच्या वाटीत xxx रावांना ठेवीन माझ्या म ठीत.

…….. चत र्थीच्या ददवशी ननवडते मी द वाा

xxxx रावांच्या जीवावर नेसते शालू दहरवा. …….

सोन्याची वाटी चांदीचा गडू xxx रावांना भरवते ब ंदीचा लाडू.

…….. आवळीच्या झाडावर पंचरंगी पिी

xxx रावांच ेनाव घेते चदं्र सूया सािी. ………

गळ्यात सरी, वाकू कशी, पायात पैंजण चालू कशी? xxx राव बसले शमत्ांपाशी मोठ्याने मी बोलू कशी?

……… शांताद गेच्या हातात रत्नजडीत तोड े

xxxx रावांच ेनाव घेते त म्हा सवाां प ढे. …….

गणपतीच्या डोक्यावर दहरे माणकांच ेछत् xxx रावांच्या नावाने बांधले मंगळसूत्.

……. शंकराचा सोमवार गणपतीची चत र्थी

माझ्या हृदयात कोरली xx रावांची मूती. …….

चांदीच्या कढईत कढवले तूप xxx रावांच ेकृष्णा सारखे रूप.

……. पैठणी नको शालू नको, नको भरजरी शलेा

xxx रावांच्या हृदयात जागा आहे मला. …….

रुप्याच्या ताटात रायप री साखर xxx रावांना भूक लागली जाऊद्या मला लवकर.

……. लहानपणी त ळशीला घालत होते पळी पळी पाणी

म्हणून आता झाले xxx रावांची राणी. …….

वाटल्या डाळीच केल वपठल, त्यात घातल खोबर ककसून xxx राव गेले रुसून आणण मी खाल्लं चाटून प सून.

……. चांदीच्या ताटात सोन्याच्या चगन्न्या xx रावांच ेनाव घेते xxxx ची कन्या.

……. चांदीच्या भांड्यावर नावाची खणू

xxx रावांच ेनाव घेते त मचा मान राखनू .........

शंकरा सारखा वपता चगरजे सारखी माता xxx रावांची मी आवडती कांता.

……… नावामध्ये काय आहे? हट्ट नका धरू

xxx रावांच्या नावाचा ज ळत नाही उखाणा तर मी काय करू.

Rainy day Recipes Ginger Pakoras Spicy treat for a rainy afternoon

Ingredients:

2 tbl spn finely chopped ginger

4 tbl spn gram flour(besan)

1/4 tea spn chilli powder

Oil

Salt

Method:

Mix together flour, ginger, chilli powder, salt. Add a little water and make a thick batter.

Heat oil. Take a small amount of batter and slowly slide in the oil. Fry till done. Serve hot.

Tomato Saar

Hot, tangy and totally delicious

Ingredients: 2 big tomatoes

1 tea spn jaggery

4 green chillies

1/2 tea spn mustard seeds

1/2 tea spn cumin seeds

4-5 curry leaves

4-5 strands coriander leaves

A pinch asafoetida

Oil

Salt

Method: Heat 3 cups water and cook the tomatoes. Peel them and grind them (do not throw the water, use

it for saru).

Add enough water to pureed tomato to make it thin (use the water used to cook tomato), add

jaggry, salt and green chillies. Bring it to a boil and let it cook for 2-3mins.

Heat ghee/oil and add mustard seeds. When they start popping, add cumin seeds, curry leaves,

asafoetida and add this to the saru. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Serve hot with rice or as soup.

Serves : 2

Preparation time : 15mins

Sweet treat – Sukrunde

A dish which is very popular among Konkani speaking people in Karnataka, and prepared on

festival days. They look like small batate wade when finished.

Ingredients: 1 cup chana dal

1 cup jaggery

1 cup besan (gram flour)

2 tea spn maida or all purpose flour

1/2 tea spn salt

1/2 tea spn cardamom powder

Oil

Method: Cook chana dal with enough water. Drain water(Save the water to make saru). Take chana dal in

a thick bottomed pan and cook it with jaggery. When the mixture gets dry, grind it to a smooth

paste. Add cardamom powder.

Make small balls using the mixture.

Mix besan, maida, salt and water to make a paste of dosa batter consistency. It should not be too

thin or thick. If batter is too thin, sukrundes break. If it is too thick, sukrundes become hard. Dip

the prepared balls one by one in this paste and deep fry them in the hot oil. The balls should be

fully covered by the paste. Otherwise they break open and the inner sweet contents go into the

oil. Serve with ghee.

Makes about 12

Preparation time : 45mins

****AAllll rreecciippeess ffrroomm SShhiillppaa’’ss bblloogg AAaayyii’’ss RReecciippeess,, wwhhiicchh II ccoonnssuulltt ffrroomm ttiimmee ttoo ttiimmee ffoorr eeaassyy

aanndd ttaassttyy rreecciippeess..

Diwali Essay Competition winners for the topic From Darkness to Light

Childrens section:

Ishaan Joshi

Aditya Date

Both won cash prizes at the Diwali Function

Adults Section:

Dr Shobha Daniel is the winner of a cash prize for the essay.

A big Thank You to all participants, wonderful effort and excellent entries.

Hope to see all you budding and established writers out there sending in more of your

writings for all to enjoy.

All Prize winning Entries are printed in the following pages for your reading pleasure.

Darkness to Light

Right after the end of summer, it becomes a season of fall when it

gets chilly. The more chilly it gets the more dark it is. As the season

goes on, it becomes winter. During the days of fall the sun starts to

rise late and sets really early. Diwali is in the season of fall and in

the month of October or sometimes in November. Since it is

getting darker and gloomy we need to do things that will cheer us

up and make us happy. During the festive week of Diwali, people

make different color paper lanterns and put electric line of lights

inside the lantern and hang it in front of their houses, it’s called

“kandil”.

This is where the importance of the festival of lights comes into

picture. We celebrate Diwali by lighting different kinds of fire

crackers which lights up the sky at night.

Long time ago on the day of Diwali Bhagwan Shri Krishna killed

demon Narkasur and freed 16000 women from prison. Thus

bringing light into their lives after so many years of darkness.

Since Diwali brings joy and happiness to our lives it is in true sense

triumph of good over bad. So Diwali takes our lives towards light

from darkness.

By: Ishan Prashant Shankar Joshi.

Dr. Shobha Daniel-Tamaso Ma Jyotirgamaya (Prize winning Entry- adults section)

An Article by Neeraja Aptikar Dange

The beautiful drawing below is from Neeraja Aptikar Dange:

Health and Safety is a universal concern, and here are some useful tips which can help keep your

family safe, from Sri Gireesh Muzumdar:

Earthquake preparedness

By Gireesh Muzumdar

I am no expert if anyone has good suggestions please do let me know I would love to add to my

postings on my blog. As you all know Vancouver is located close to famous San Andreas fault

which extends from Alaska to California. In the foreseeable future, no one can predict exactly

when, the pacific plate will be trying to slide under the North American plate resulting a major

earthquake. It is likely to happen between now and 200 years from now and the magnitude could

be as high as 8 or 9 on Richter scale. This will cause devastating damage to properties, roads,

services and kill as well as injure thousands. The civil authorities and politicians tell us that they

are prepared but as we have seen from several similar incidents all over the world including

recent one in Japan, the country most prepared, nature’s fury is very hard to predict and prepare

for. This article is meant to make all of you aware of the fact that we should be prepared to help

ourselves in such an emergency. Here are a few tips to keep in mind. If and when this catastrophe

happens you should know what you can do to prevent or at least minimize injuries.

1) Do not go out in the street if there are high-rises as falling debris particularly glass could kill

you.

2) Stay away from power lines during and after the earthquake.

3) If you are in a high-rise lie down next to a strong table, cupboard, bed. If you decide to go

under say a dining table make sure that chairs are pulled and you lie between chairs that way if

the table top collapses it will be held by chair seats and you wont be crushed, again stay away

from windows.

4) If you are in a car stay in your car but pull over and lie on floor so that you don’t get crushed.

Also be careful when you get out watch for any power lines around your car or touching your car,

by stepping out you may electrocute yourself particularly if the ground is wet.

5) Vancouver is not prone to major tsunami danger as we are protected by the Vancouver island.

After the initial shock has subsided carefully venture out and get out of any precariously standing

buildings as they may come tumbling down before or during aftershocks. Turn off gas as there

may be leak. It may be a good idea to switch off main power in your house to insure that there is

no short circuit fire. Also turn off main water supply. During and while getting out of collapsed

structures it is very important to cover your head with your hands with your biceps covering your

face inside of elbow covering top of your head with your hand on the back of your head and

thumbs covering your ears.

1) Do not flush any toilets as for a few hours or more likely days that may be your only clean

drinking water.

2) Always have a stock of non perishable food items like rice, lentils etc. just for survival until

order is restored. Keep a few cereal bars, granola bars handy, use them during your travel and

restock again.

3) Have a battery operated radio, in worst case you can use your car radio, to keep up to date with

latest bulletins by authorities.

4) Always have a flashlight and candles/matches handy. Keep a flashlight in your car as well.

5) A small medical kit for treating cuts, bruises etc. One in your car is a good idea as well.

6) Your best source of help and support is people in your neighborhood as we all will have to help

each other.

I could go on but the easiest thing to remember is stay calm, think, use your knowledge as well as

common sense and act accordingly. Remember most people will survive with minor injuries as

those in high-rises will survive since most building structures are earthquake resistant. Wood

frame dwelling will withstand the earthquake quite well with some damage. If you are in a brick

or concrete block building or old building get out as it is very likely to collapse. It is how we

behave during and after the earthquake will determine how well we come out of it.

Meet the MSBC Board members!

Dear Members,

Every year, some of us volunteer our time and efforts in order to contribute towards the

community. This year, some of those of us attempting to carry on the good work of those who

came before us, are:

MSBC Board Members 2011-2012

President : Dr. Vinay Chaskar

Originally from Pune, he arrived in Vancouver in August 1986 to pursue Doctorate degree in

Metallurgical Engineering at UBC, and completed it in 1992. Before that, he has obtained

Master's Degree from US in 1976. He lived in Africa - Zambia and Zimbabwe, for about 8 years

before moving to Canada.

Dr Chaskar performs religious Sanskars and Pujas including Marriages. Avid Bridge

player. Founder Member of Marathi Society of BC and Current President.

Narhari Joshi, Social Secretary and Audiovisual in-charge

I worked in Merchant Navy for 5 years as a Radio Officer before comming to Canada. Met my

wife Kuniko during that time. Came to Canada in 1968 and got married at age of 28 years.

Worked in Prince George as T.V. Technician for 4 years.

Moved to Vancouver in 1972. Worked 30 years with Xerox Canada as a Service Rep. in lower

mainland from U.B.C to Hope area. Worked on various products and at the end on High speed

color machines.

Wife Kuniko. Son Suresh. Daughter Anjula who made us Aaji, Aajoba. Our Grand daughter

Asha is 1 year old now.

At the age 62 (2002) took early retirement. Since enjoyed Skiing, Regular exersize, Camping

with motor home. & travelling.

In 2005 & 2006 got 2nd chance to live. Saved by Angio Plasty.

Volunteering work: At Surrey Memorial Hospital in Cardiac Outpatient dept.

For MSBC : for the past several years I handle the sound system for all programs, among other

activites for the community.

Volunteered with Surrey RCMP in speed watch program for last 8 years.

Enjoyed working with sound system from the beginning. You will see me at most programs

because of sound system and because I like to do something for our community.

Pallavi Purohit – Treasurer and Webmaster

Pallavi Purohit came to Canada in mid 1998 with her then 4 year old son and husband, since then

she has been living in Burnaby. Before Canada they stayed in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for 3

years.

After coming to Canada she acquired diploma in Computer System Programming from

Vancouver Community College , She volunteered her time for next 3 years at MOSAIC

{MOSAIC is a multilingual non-profit organization dedicated to addressing issues that affect

immigrants and refugees in the course of their settlement and integration into Canadian society}

as a database administrator and Web designer.

During which time she completed preliminary taxation course at H&R block. She works as a

freelance web designer and developer, this is her second year on the Board of Marathi Society in

the capacity of Treasurer and Web designer, during her first year on the Board she designed the

website for MSBC and she actively involved herself in the editorial work of Sumpark.

Minal Chiplunkar – Assistant Secretary and Co-Editor of Sumpark

My name is Minal P. Chiplunkar. Originally from Baroda, India, Vancouver has been my home

away from home for the past 13 years. I work for a non-profit organization called PICS in their

Targeted Wage Subsidy Program, in Vancouver. I also teach German on a part-time basis in

private schools in the lower mainland. My interests include volunteering for different events in

town, easy hikes, listening to music, working out on my treadmill & cooking. It wouldn't be

wrong to say, that I'm the only MSBC member who has consistently taken transit to attend all

our events since 1999 to present. Languages spoken: Marathi, Gujarati, Hindi, Urdu, English,

German & some French.

Sharmila Kasbekar – Secretary and Editor of Sumpark

I moved to Vancouver in February 2000, with my husband. I was born and brought up in

Mumbai. I work for FedEx Canada, and my interests are travelling, writing, books, and

photography. I live in Burnaby with my family and my two cats.

Noopur Mhapankar – Social Secretary

Noopur Sanjay Mhapankar has immigrated to Canada in May 2010 from Mumbai, has graduated

in Bachelors of Management Studies with marketing specialization, completed M.Com part 1

and is currently employed at QuickMobile.

She has studied Indian classical music for 3 years 2007-2009, from Dhurendra Amker Sir, at

Paranjpe Music Academy in Vile Parle Mumbai. She has cleared Prarambhik and Praveshika

Pratham exams conducted by Akhil Bharatiya Gandharva Mahavidhyalaya, Mumbai.

Other Interests/ volunteer activities:

While studying for her Bachelor’s of Management Studies, she had represented M.L Dahanukar

College at inter-collegiate singing competitions; and was one of the lead singers of her college

band, actively taking part in the ‘Mumbai Youth Festival’ -Western group and solo singing for 3

years in succession. She has basic proficiency in Guitar and loves to read. Other hobbies include

portrait sketching, music and photography.

Noopur has recently performed for ‘Heart Beats Around the World’ –Maple Ridge Pitt Meadows

Hospital Foundation Fundraiser in April 2011 along with Mr. Atul Gokhale and Rupa Gopinath

and at Marathi Society’s fundraiser for the Japanese earthquake.

Also active on the Committee are:

Rasika Acharya - Vice-President

Suhas Kulkarni – Joint Secretary

Manasi Kulkarni – Social Secretary

More about them in the next issue of Sumpark.

A Poem by Dr. Veena Kakpure

This year is rolling to its end, and the circle will begin again in a couple of weeks. At this time we take stock of what the passing year has brought, and plan for the year ahead. So it’s a time both of looking back and looking ahead. No wonder the month of January is named after the Roman God Janus, who had two heads to look both into the past and into the future. We hope all of the kids (and kids at heart) enjoy the festivities of the season, and hopefully Santa Claus gets a whole lot of goodies for you to enjoy.

Sumpark Editorial team wishes all of you a Very Happy New Year to come.

Happy 2012 to all of you!