THE Indian Monument Gardens was the scene of a grand pre-Diwali celebration last Sunday hosted by the Interstate SIGFA Health Organisation (ISHO) Guyana Chapter and the United Federation for Arts and Culture (UFAC). 

The show, which aimed to provide an evening of classical Diwali songs and elegant dancing displays, excelled. Popular radio announcer, Jaidev Dudnath served as MC and observed that Diwali celebrations do not last for one day,

since it is a five-day affair.
One of Guyana’s foremost Indian musicians, Bhaskar Sharma invoked the atmosphere of Diwali with his renditions, ranging from the semi-classical to classical. A resident of Canada, he won the first vocal music scholarship to India from the Indian Cultural Centre in 1973 and he subsequently taught music in Canada and has approximately seven CDs to his name.
He said that the event was one that would bring back the ‘original and traditional Indian music’ to Guyana.
Ceceila Samaroo, the founder and leader of Shakti Strings Orchestra, disclosed that she found the inaugural show to be a good idea to bring back classical music to Guyana, encouraging young people to learn this genre of music, particularly aspiring singers.

A versatile singer herself, who performed at the show, she said that with the knowledge of classical music, a singer is able to move comfortably between Indian music genres.
Ramkissoon Singh, a man who according to Bhaskar Sharma “stands tall among present day musicians in Guyana and abroad” also gave greatly appreciated performances.
Other crowd pleasing presentations included songs by Beesham Boodhoo, the well-known Shiva Shankar and Sookrane Boodhoo and young Anuradha Shukla.
The singers were accompanied by skilled musicians, including Bhagwan Shukla, the Indian Cultural Centre (ICC) tabla player and teacher. The musicians commendably lent to the atmosphere of traditional music.
President of the Guyana Central Arya Samaj, the West Demerara Arya Samaj, SIGFA Health Organisation and the United Federation for Arts and Culture, Vishnu Bandhu in his address to the audience gave a demonstration of his teachings of self-healing, using two volunteer audience members, as the crowd paid rapt attention.
A man who is dedicated to the promotion of pure Indian culture, he noted that it is “very important for parents to get their children involved in this rich, beautiful culture of ours,” for its propagation and sustenance.

INDIAN ORCHESTRA
The UFAC, he said, will start a pure Indian orchestra which will be assisted by the ICC in an endeavour to get children involved in an upcoming and much-anticipated singing completion.

The programme also featured favoured dances by the up and coming Jewan Ka Nrtiya (JKN) Dance Group which is directed and choreographed by Roshini Boodhoo. She expressed her gratitude for being a part of the inaugural event.
“It was a wonderful experience, the JKN group works tirelessly to bring forth the best of ourselves – our motto is to ‘Dance like Nobody’s Watching’ and this is what we strive to achieve, evident by our energetic performances.”
“This has been our third performance for the Diwali season. We started off with our Ramayan inspired ‘Ramlila’ production, that was held here, at the Monument Gardens. We also performed several dance items at the West Coast Motorcade, at the Ocean View Mandir hosted by the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha.”
She continued, “Our family of dancers are dedicated and are a joy to work with – we look forward to many more events and you can always expect enthusiasm and dedication from us and our performances.”
Bhaskar Sharma described their work as a “superb display” while Vishnu Bandhu noted his desire to work with the group again. Ceceila Samaroo observed the energy in their dances and said that Guyana should be proud of Roshini Boodhoo, her work in teaching dancing and her dedication to her culture.
Members of the audience enthusiastically expressed that the dances preformed by the group were energetic, well choreographed and coordinated.

(By Raveena Mangal)