I consider myself most fortunate to celebrate the Hindu festival of Hanuman Jayanti (appearance of Lord Hanuman) for special blessings in two Indian cities, early Tuesday morning in Mumbai and later in the day in Delhi.  As observed, the inside of the temples are beautifully lit up, similar to the Guyanese temples in New York (NY), Guyana, Florida and Toronto.  In India, the outside of the temples were beautifully decorated with ornaments, flowers, and flickering lights as seen in Guyana for special festivals. Special barricades were set up for the huge crowd with endless lines of people trying to get inside for prayers and darshan (blessing). As in Guyana or NY, loud spiritual songs celebrating Lord Hanuman emanated from the temples, stores, and homes.  TV stations also featured appropriate songs and programs for the occasion. Friends told me that in NY, the Guyanese temples also held special poojas for the occasion throughout the day with a discourse on Lord Hanuman in the evening.
Hanuman is the “hairy, monkey-like warrior” who is presented in the epic Ramayana as the most devoted and loyal servant and warrior of Lord Rama whose appearance in the world was celebrated the previous Wednesday. As I India, all of the mandirs in NY where Guyanese worship, were packed with devotees paying obeisance to Hanuman-ji.
Hanuman Jayanti is usually observed on the full moon in the month of chaitmas in the Hindu calendar which coincides with late March or early April in the western calendar. Hanuman was a great intellectual who provided military advice to Lord Rama as he sought to recapture his kidnapped wife who was taken to Lanka by the evil King Rawan. Hanuman was skilled in the Holy Scriptures, shastras and vedas, and could recite them.  He was well versed in the ancient language of Sanskrit, which western scholars describe as the mother of written languages because of the many words used in western languages that are also found in ancient Sanskrit that is over 6,000 years old.
Prof. Rambachan, a Trinidadian scholar in Hindu Philosophy, noted in one of his books that Hanuman was a great devotee of the lord. His actions, thoughts and words are completely enveloped in Lord Rama. He said that it is believed that Lord Shiva wanted to
serve Lord Rama and took the appearance of Hanuman so that he can worship Rama.
Hanuman is also known for his bravery.
Lord Rama and Goddess Sita had expressed their gratitude to Hanuman for his bravery. In virtually any pooja, Hanuman is worshipped.  And some pandits have noted that Lord Rama want devotees to worship Hanuman before him.
In an interview some time ago, the late Prakash Gossai, noted that by worshipping Hanuman, devotees become blessed and Lord Rama is most pleased with such prayers”.
Among Guyanese, Hanuman is one of the most revered deities. They frequently hold kathas or religious discourses on the Hanuman Chalisa (the scripture devoted to Hanuman). Hanuman Katha is a favorite among Guyanese. Hanuman loves the color red and is the reason why many Guyanese fly a red flag in front of their homes in Guyana and in NY, Toronto and Florida.  In India, virtually no one flies a red flag except at the mandir.
The Chalisa requires that Hanuman pooja be done only on Tuesdays and Saturdays. But Hanuman Jayanti can be any day with Hanuman exclusively propitiated on that day. Although in Hinduism, the lord takes on many names, there is only one God.  In fact, Lord Krishna said there is only one God but he or she will have many names.
On Tuesday, worshippers were seen making offerings of flowers and red malas, fruits, bail leaves, other paraphernalia, and prasadam consisting of rote (a sweet fried roti) and “mohanbhoog” – just like in Guyana and NY. While worshippers may have felt fulfilled and blessed that they prayed and made generous offerings to the lord, people should not think of God as a once in a year event but a daily event.