Pakistan Link

http://www.pakistanlink.com/Community/2009/June09/19/06.HTM

Flying in the Valley
Basant retains its true spirit even as far away as the Silicon Valley
By Shahzada Irfan Ahmed

Just when basant is becoming history, and something increasingly forbidden in Pakistan, this colourful event is gaining popularity abroad day by day. Pakistani diaspora settled all over the world arranges this festival on a regular basis — basically to strengthen its bonds with its culture back home. A bunch of friends, students or families get together at a common place and have fun flying kites and relishing traditional Pakistani cuisine.

This year, this event was celebrated by the residents of the Silicon Valley, California, in a big way on May 24, 2009. The venue was a community center in Sunnyvale, and the organisers were the management of Pakistani American Cultural Center (PACC). The participants belonged mainly to the IT sector. Their families wanted the event to be as close as possible to the authentic Pakistani basant. For this purpose, around 400 kites and string was specially brought in by a kite vendor from Karachi. The stuff was sold to some excited people who were dying to have a feel of sharp string on their bare fingers. The vendor brought in the kites in a special wooden crate. He damaged some of them but most made it through in one piece. More…

Pakistani Cultural Center in a Very Unexpected Place
By Asma Khan

There is so much happening in Pakistan politically; some positive but mostly negative. News from Pakistan can give any caring Pakistani stress and anxiety. Outside of Pakistan, the best and brightest of Pakistan are building institutions and centers of Pakistani heritage, culture, religion, intellect, politics and business.

Today I am writing about the first of its kind Pakistani center in United States and you will be surprised to find where it is located. Pakistani American Culture Center (PACC) is a non-religious, non-political, non-profit community supported center that started with simple beginnings; offering children’s Urdu classes and in less than two years grew to be highly vibrant and extremely active center of Urdu language, music, poetry and all things Pakistan. Located in the center of technology world, Silicon Valley, birth of this culture center defies the odds. For more:

http://www.pakspectator.com/pakistani-cultural-center-in-a-very-unexpected-place/

Pakistani-American children take Urdu classes, one of the official languages of Pakistan, in Sunnyvale on Sunday, May 6, 2007. (Courtesy: The Mercury News. Click the image to see the video)

http://www.mercurynewsphoto.com/2007/05/08/learning-urdu/

Pakistan Link and Pakistan Times coverage of March 23rd, 2007 Pakistan Day celebration organized by us. The Citizens Foundation was profiled as the organization building schools in most under-served areas of Pakistan. We at PACC-CA believe that Peace can only be achieved through Culture which comes after Prosperity that strongly depends on Education:

http://pakistanlink.com/Community/2007/March07/30/04.HTM

http://www.pakistantimesusa.net/29%20March%2007/p14pt-29.psd.jpg