Phagwah in New York…
I WRITE TO applaud the organizers of the annual Phagwah parade in Richmond Hill, NY, where over a hundred thousand Guyanese are settled. Guyana, through its culture in the form of the celebration of Phagwah, is making its mark to bring people together in NY, and this is all due to the work of Guyanese cultural and organizational Ambassadors in the city.

The celebration promotes a common feeling of togetherness, and rekindles the flame of love and unity among friends and loved ones. As in Guyana, the festival is celebrated with a splurge of colours and chowtaal folk songs and dances, a tradition that has been handed down from our ancestors from North India.

The NY celebration is giving the Guyanese nation a great promotion of the unique culture brought from the East and blended in with local conditions.

The NY Phagwah parade attracts celebrants from all over the US, with a mammoth gathering at Smokey Park where there is playful jollification with all the paraphernalia (abeer, gulal, abrack, pitchkarie, etc.) relating to Phagwah and appropriate music.

There is chowtaal galore, and tassa drumming and a cultural variety concert.  Volunteers provide hot and cold beverages and traditional snacks (bara, phulourie, channa, mohanbhog, etc.) to the teeming crowd.

It is no easy task to organize the parade on Liberty Avenue and the park celebration.  It took many hours of meetings to put together the celebration. The planners and organizers deserve kudos for sacrificing their time to provide a day of lovely entertainment for the large Guyanese population in the NY metro region.

The celebration brings people together in a day of love and peace, helping to bridge racial and religious barriers and ease social tensions among Guyanese of all backgrounds. The participation of different groups in the celebration is a testament of the appreciation they show of each other’s culture, because over the years, the Phagwah celebrations in Guyana and North America have encouraged cultural tolerance.

Today, we see diverse people coming to celebrations of Phagwah all over America.  Just Friday evening, people from other ethnic and religious groups came to NY City Hall for an evening of entertainment relating to Phagwah.

The City Council hosted the celebrations, which included dances, the singing of chowtaal, tassa, and dinner. Councilman, Eric Ulrich honoured five Guyanese for their achievements.

The official City Hall celebration makes us feel proud of the cultural contributions to NY society of our ancestors from India to Guyana and from there to America. The civility of Phagwah celebration in Guyana as well as in NY, this coming together of diverse groups, is a stepping-stone towards greater understanding of diverse people in NY and elsewhere in America.

Thank you Guyana for this great culture, and thank you NY parade organizers for allowing us to celebrate in NY just like we do back home. I’d  also like to thank the organizers of the Holi Sammelan in Richmond Hill held Staurday afternoon. Without a parade and sammelan, there would be no significant Phagwah celebration because there would be no public avenue to celebrate the joyous festival known for its vibrancy of colors.

Thanks folks! I hope community leaders will continue to promote these kinds of festivals to showcase Guyana. I hope you will use the occasion to continue to promote brotherly love and understanding and conviviality.