GUYANESE living in neighbouring Suriname had a whale of a time last Sunday on the well groomed lawns of the Guyana Embassy on Henck Arron Straat in downtown Paramaribo where a get-together was held in their honour.

Guyanese having a blast last Sunday at the Guyana Embassy in Suriname

The occasion was the observance of Guyana’s 47th anniversary, courtesy of  Guyana’s Ambassador to Suriname, Mr Keith George, who had a beautifully decorated tent erected on the embassy’s lawns under which to hold the fête.
Scheduled to last from 2pm to 6pm, the event actually went until 10pm or thereabouts as patriotic and proud Guyanese as well as their Surinamese friends and other invitees continued party into the night in true Guyanese fashion. h the celebrations.
The Guyana Embassy did a fantastic job of planning the event in all areas, and the delicious menu consisted of peas and rice with fried fish; chicken curry and roti, channa and pholourie, accompanied with mouth-watering mango-chutney, black cake, sponge cake, Chinese cake, cheese rolls, and cup cakes. The food and drinks kept coming in waves as a crowd of 300 or more feasted and made merry with drinks such as orange, apple and pineapple juices, a variety of Fernandes drinks for kids, local beer, and of course the Guyanese specialties, such as the superb tasting El Dorado and XM rums.
The Co-Masters of Ceremony were Krisna Sammy Eliah and Haimdat Sawh, with the latter saying that the large turnout was gratifying. Sawh declared: “It is a reflection of the love and patriotism Guyanese feel towards their homeland. It is the first such celebration to be hosted by the current ambassador, His Excellency Ambassador Keith George.”
Sawh reminded the gathering that Guyana achieved its independence from the United Kingdom on Thursday, 26th May 1966, and public buildings and business places were brightly decorated with streamers and buntings bearing the colours of the Guyana flag. He also highlighted that just before the flag raising ceremony, witnessed by a huge crowd, Forbes Burnham and Cheddi Jagan publicly embraced each other, indicating their satisfaction that Guyana had finally won its political independence.
Ms. Leslie Dowridge-Collins introduced His Excellency Ambassador Keith George for his opening remarks, and the ambassador said: “Today we can be proud of the fact that we have bridged two of our key rivers; we have made great strides in the areas of health and education; we have, at great sacrifice, built upon the road and other communication infrastructure we inherited upon independence; we have been at the forefront of supporting international peace and comity, and the promotion of the inalienable rights of the oppressed, especially in southern Africa, and for the Palestinian people.”
The ambassador opined that the hope that independence offered a brighter future shines even brighter as Guyana seeks to develop its natural resources and construct a modern economy.
“Before too long, the key to industrial development will be realized through the realization of cheaper energy through the construction of the Amaila Falls hydroelectric project.  At the same time, major investments are being promoted in the areas of tourism, airport development, irrigation, road and other infrastructure development,” he said.
All of these, he pointed out, are being achieved within the context of Guyana’s  Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS), a strategy that has consolidated the country’s development objectives while at the same time helped to promote a very positive image of Guyana.
Ambassador George told the gathering on this auspicious occasion that all should feel free to visit and share ideas with him and his staff. He thanked and applauded his staff and the many volunteers for making the occasion such a successful one.
Each attendant at the event received a number that allowed them opportunity to win a prize; and the door prizes were for five children, who each received a face painting in the colours of the Golden Arrowhead – green, black, gold, red and white.
MC Krisna Sammy Eliah, explaining the meaning of the five colours of the Golden Arrowhead, said the green represents the agricultural and forested nature of Guyana; the white represents the rivers and water potential of the country; the gold stands for Guyana’s mineral wealth; the black stands for the endurance that will sustain the forward thrust of the Guyanese people; and the red was symbolic of the zeal and dynamic nature of nation-building, which lies before the young and independent Guyana.
Six lucky adults were surprised with bottles of 5-, 12- and 15-year-old El Dorado rum, cream liqueur, and 10-year-old XM rum and Banko wine. Eliah  entertained the audience while calling up the lucky ticket holders, and he also gave a brief history of El Dorado rum and XM rum, explaining that El Dorado rum is a range of superb Demerara rums of unequalled quality and variety, which have consistently won the highest international awards. Their unique flavour and taste are much due to the tropical climate; and today, XM Rum is a product of Banks DIH, which produces a myriad of various products, including different kinds of food products, beverages and spirits.
The enthusiastic audience was also enthralled by the three performances from students of the Madhoerie Jagmohan Dance School.
On May 4 and 5, 2013, Madhoerie Jagmohan had led her dance troupe to magnificent performances at the Thalia Theatre in Paramaribo, Suriname. Eliah informed the crowd that Madhoerie Jagmohan was transferred to Suriname by the Foundation HIMOS of the Netherlands in 1997 to teach Bharatanatyam dance for a period of six years.
He understood that the love and passion Madhoerie has for dance has been inherited from her birthplace – Suriname, and Madhoerie certainly communicated all her talents to her students on this occasion.
The entire audience was likely fascinated and moved by the outstanding performances of the dancers, whose energy, talent, and commitment to excellence were obvious to all who attended. The first dance was a classical Varnam Bharatanatyam dance, and Haimdat Sawh explained that this is a form of song in the Carnatic music repertoire, and it seemed as if no one moved or spoke during the entire Varnam dance.
After thunderous applause, Haimdat Sawh praised the dancers for their grace, purity, tenderness, and sculpturesque poses. The next dance by the Madhoerie Jagmohan Dance Troupe was a Paigham Sufi dance, wherein the dancers abandon their egos or personal desires by listening to the music, focusing on God, and spinning their bodies in repetitive circles as a symbolic imitation of planets in the Solar System orbiting the sun. There was a standing ovation with shouts from the audience for the dancers to keep on dancing, and indeed they did with a Bollywood mix.
The evening’s celebration came to a climax with the enthralling presentation of a Jugal Bandie – competitive instrument playing of the dholak and the tabla, which was performed by members of the Surinamese Hindu Guyanese Cultural Organization and the Indian Cultural Centre.
Krisna ‘Vijay’ Eliah, Karan Jagroep, Ajay Toelsi and Akshay Phaggoe were accompanied by their Guruji Shailendar Madarie; and for about 15 minutes, the audience was mesmerized with the beats of the dholaks and the tablas. If you loved the Dueling Banjos in Deliverance then you would certainly have loved this type of performance, which was elevated a few notches.
Haimdat Sawh announced that the Surinamese Hindu Guyanese Cultural Organization will be celebrating its 25th Anniversary on June 28, 29 and 30 at its mandir.
Mrs. Amanda Chritchlow, Consular Officer of the Guyana Consulate in Nickerie, gave moving performances when she sang Bill Withers’s ‘Lean on Me’, and ‘My Guyana El Dorado’. Mr. B’Naanza, a Guyanese living in Suriname, also entertained the gyrating and animated group, and DJ Caribbean Drive regaled the gathering with soca, chutney, reggae and many other genres of music.
Haimdat Sawh then amused the crowd with a couple of Habeeb Khan’s radio commercials for Indie Madras Curry Powder and Torginol Paints, before the vote of thanks for the evening was done by Guyana’s Consul General in Nickerie, Mr. Arlington Bancroft.

(Story and photos courtesy of Mr Haimdat Sawh of Suriname)