THEY said they had a most fabulous trip to India in January and a treasure full of memories.
A group of Guyanese and Canadian-Americans, who had longed to visit the land of their fore-parents, did precisely that earlier this month. Parbatie Tejsingh of Essequibo coordinated the trip on behalf of the Nirvana Humanitarian Foundation (NHF) led by Pandit Ramdular of West Coast Demerara.

The NHF, founded in 1997 in New York by Guyanese nationals, has been involved in cultural, educational and humanitarian activities in Guyana such as low-cost computer and life-skills programmes to the needy students of West Coast Demerara and elsewhere. In addition, NHF has been making
generous donations to many disaster relief funds such as the Asian Tsunami and the Guyana floods, as well as to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that run specific programmes for the benefit of the disadvantaged and vulnerable groups in New York, Guyana, and elsewhere.

Proceeds from their trip to India would be used for the group’s charitable activities in Guyana and for its programmes in Guyana.

The NHF group spent 16 days sightseeing in India visiting the Hanging Gardens, the Kamla Nehru Park, the Mani Bhawan, the Prince of Wales Museum and Gateway of India in Delhi, as well as Lake Pichola in Udaipur where Colombian singer-songwriter, Shakira, recently held a concert, the Astronomical Observatory and the Hawa Mahal in Jaipur. Other fascinating places included Mathura (Lord Krishna’s birthplace), Bindravan (the place where Lord Krishna grew up), the Taj Mahal, the Elephanta Caves, and Akshardam (a Hindu marvel of the world) in Delhi.

The tour party (called Yatrans) consisted of 26 individuals. In interviews, they said that they would have not traded the trip for anything else in this world, describing it as a pleasant, fascinating and self-fulfilling experience, one to behold. The Guyanese tourists said the trip, from takeoff at JFK to landing back at the airport last weekend in New York was quite fulfilling and entertaining.

They enjoyed every minute of the trip, seeing places they had only read or heard about. The trip was well organised with high-quality entertainment and delicious meals. The Indian hosts were hospitable.

They described the Air India 777-300 flight as excellent. The aircraft was new and very clean and the overall experience on board extremely pleasant. They noted that checking in for and boarding of the flights were smooth.

Air India’s food was excellent and the in-flight staff were young, courteous, and professional. They said the staff kept the passengers well fed and hydrated with unlimited drinks supplied for free and never seemed to get tired servicing passengers. There was an ample supply of snacks and drinks in between meals. The in-flight entertainment was good, with Indian and English movies selections.

There were also a lot of reading materials (newspapers and magazines) in English and Indian languages. The tour lived up to the expectations and the media images of ‘Mother India’. The spectacular sights added glitter to their repertoire of unforgettable experiences: the splendour of the Taj Mahal, an icon of everlasting love; the serenity of Mathura, the birth place of Lord Krishna; the sanctity of a dip into the Ganges; the sprawling and compelling architecture of the Akshardham in Delhi; and the spiritual aura of the Elephant Caves off Mumbai.

Tara Raoutie Persaud described the trip as a memorable experience.
Ramesh Deochand said: “This is my second visit to India. The first time was indeed beautiful, but on this occasion my experience has been more enjoyable, simply because of the excellent ‘arrangements’ made by the organiser.”
Parbatie Tej Singh said “It was an emotional experience. I was returning to the land of my grand-parents. To visit and participate in pooja, artie and having a dip in the Ganga have been a spiritual fulfilment. What a lesson in culture, history, architectural grandeur, breathtaking landscape, and people so friendly, polite and accommodating of our group!”
For Pandit Ramdular “it has been a dream realised in its most spectacular form, and the experience will be etched indelibly in my memory. It exceeded my expectations”.
Champadai Ramsundar of Toronto stated: “I never dreamt of bathing in the Ganga – it was a great spiritual experience. The people were wonderful and sightseeing was great…and the entertainment just superb.”
Mona (Alisha) Persaud, a trained classical dancer and choreographer (a Arengatrem graduate) and an Attorney noted: “This has been a tour full of entertainment, poignant spiritual experience, an education in history, culture and exquisite monuments to behold as well as warm people. I cannot wait for the next tour.”
Tara Ramsahai said she was absolutely mesmerised by India.  “I had great fun”.
The tourists said they cried, laughed, danced, shopped and had great fun in an unforgettable experience with a group of people that they called family.