The Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha’s annual Deepavali Motorcades begin tomorrow on the East Bank Demerara and the West Coast Demerara. This is the 40th year that the Sabha is holding motorcades around the country. There will be eight motorcades. Thousands of Guyanese will line the streets and converge on the various venues to enjoy the dazzling spectacle, which ushers in the Festival of Lights. There will be gorgeously bedecked representations of Mother Lakshmi and other depictions from the Scriptures, a kaleidoscope of lights, devotional music, spectacular cultural programmes and much more. President of the Sabha, Dr. Vindhya Persaud, will be attending all of the motorcades.
Tomorrow, on the West Coast Demerara, the beautifully decorated floats will leave from Ruimzeight and Parika Junction and converge on the Oceanview Mandir Compound where there will be a grand cultural presentation featuring top Guyanese singers Mohan Nandu, Sookrane Boodhoo, Mona Gowkarran, Rekha Singh, Ian Hardat and others. The programme will also feature dances, drama and a special presentation for the children and youth depicting gods and goddesses on the floats.
On the East Bank Demerara, also tomorrow, floats will leave from the Providence Parking Lot and Soesdyke Vishnu Mandir at 6pm for the Diamond-Grove New Scheme Market Tarmac. E-Networks Emerging Voices 2014 winners Vishalie Sukram, Artie Sookhai and Gail Ann Singh, along with other outstanding singers who were part of the competition, will be presenting a specially prepared concert for the crowd at the Diamond Market Tarmac. They will be backed by the E-Networks band, which features musicians from India and Guyana. There will also be performances by members of the Dharmic Sabha’s East Bank Demerara Praant.
On Sunday October 19, four motorcades will be held in Berbice. On the West Coast Berbice, the motorcade will assemble at Bush Lot and converge on the Blairmont Community Centre Ground. In East Berbice, the floats will assemble at Main and Vryheid Street, opposite Church View Gift Shop, and proceed to the Rose Hall Community Centre Ground. In Upper Corentyne, floats will make their way from Crabwood Creek and No. 36 Village to the Tagore High School Ground.The Central Corentyne Praant’s Motorcade will move from Bush Lot, Corentyne and No. 1 Village, and converge on the Port Mourant Community Centre Ground. All of the motorcades will culminate with cultural programmes and presentation of prizes. Emerging Voices winners and the E-Networks Band will be performing at the Port Mourant Community Centre Ground.
The Sabha’s Essequibo Praant motorcade will be held on Tuesday October 21. Floats will assemble at Affiance and Sparta from 6pm, and proceed to the Anna Regina Community Centre Ground where there will be a spectacular cultural programme featuring Essequibian talent, along with Emerging Voices winner Vishalie Sukram, first runner-up Artie Sookhai and the E-Networks Band.
The spectacular Georgetown/ East Coast Demerara Motorcade will be held on Wednesday October 22. The fabulously decorated floats will assemble at the Shri Krishna Mandir, Campbellville, from 6pm and will move west along Campbell Avenue into Sandy Babb Street, north into J.B Singh Road, and east on to Seawall Road, to the LBI Community Centre Ground. Guyanese are encouraged to line the route of the motorcade to enjoy the fantastic display of Guyanese creativity. Mandirs, youth groups, families and commercial entities have been working tirelessly on their floats and from all indications, floats will be simply magnificent this year.
At the LBI Community Centre Ground, the stage programme starts at 7pm with performances by the Dharmic NrityaSangh, Emerging Voices winners, the E-Networks Band,Sookrane Boodhoo, Rekha Singh and others. New York based Kuchipudi dancer, Khavita Singh, will present a special piece appropriate for the festival. In excess of $3.5M and trophies will be presented to the winning floats in the small, large and commercial categories.Prizes will also be given for the most outstanding mandirs in each category, and for the best overall designed float.
Admission to all motorcades is free and no alcohol is allowed.There will be a number of food stalls offering a wide variety of vegetarian cuisine, mehendi stalls and lots of Diwali shopping opportunities at all venues. The Sabha wishes to express its special appreciation to its major sponsor, Digicel, for its support to all of the motorcades and to all the other sponsors who have generously contributed to the various motorcades.
Dharmic Sabha has also organized rangoli competitions in several schools around the country, to encourage student participation in the festival. On October 26 and November 1, the Mahila Mandalee, women’s section of the Sabha, will host children’s Diwali parties and concerts at the Pandit Reepu Daman Persaud Dharmic Sanskritik Kendra in Georgetown, and at the Soesdyke Vishnu Mandir, East Bank Demerara respectively catering for some 600 children.