INDIAN ARRIVAL DAY
Today, 188 years later, our community reflects on the arrival of our East Indian Ancestors to then British Guiana. Our fore-parents came to this land under the most strenuous, inhumane and constrained circumstances in the hope for a better life. The better life certainly did not come to them as they had thought.
Crossing oceans, surviving health threats and having only the minimum to survive on, when their indentureship service came to an end, many chose to remain here and begin a new life of their own. We, the generations of today and those generations not far before us are the products of the Indian ancestors’ decision to remain in this land.
Their story is one of hope, perseverance and sacrifice for the future of their descendants—all of us. Today, like every other day, we pay them our deepest reverence, homage and respect. For sure, had it not been for their sacrifices and the foundations they built in so many ways, what we today call success, would have only been dream. We, descendants of Indians must be proud of our ancestors who worked tirelessly for this country and indeed the lives that we now enjoy.
While our ancestors came to this land with their bodies and their main physical possession which toiled, waded and faded away in the efflux of time, the intangible possessions they brought with them continue to survive, mould and shape our lives through our own distinct culture, heritage and traditions—Sanskriti.
While every other physical possession could have been thrown overboard across oceans, and indeed thrown overboard, those intangible, eternally powerful possessions of the ancestors could never been discarded onboard. These are our Bhagavaan, Bhajan, Bhasha, Bhakti and Bhojan.
These five principal intangible possessions of the Indian, Bhaarateeya wealth, have to this day identified and defined our true identities to our civilizational motherland though separated by oceans.
Bhagavaan (God/Lord) never left us. Like with colonizers, even today we are threatened by our own ancestral line with conversion, yet we prevail. Silently, Bhagavaan protects us. Bhagavaan could not have been thrown overboard.
Our forefathers brought Bhajans—hymns and songs to praise Bhagavaan; Bhasha—language of praise to the lord; Bhakti—devotion to worship Bhagavaan and Bhojan—our food. These could not have been thrown overboard.
Today as we observe almost two centuries since such great fore-parents set foot on this soil, let us continue to honor their sacrifices and repay the debt we owe them for our good lives today by holding on strongly and enhance our ability to preserve our Sanskriti—culture, heritage and traditions.
The Hindu Media Guyana (THMG) salute our Indian/Hindu ancestry on this august occasion. Happy Indian Arrival Day!
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