“DO NOT take what you have now for granted; do not take Freedom of Religion for granted… Today, you have genuine freedom, and those are the things you must value; the freedom of culture is priceless.”

Those were the sentiments expressed by President Donald Ramotar at the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha’s annual Festival of Art Forms, known as ‘Kala Ustav’, which was held Sunday at the Dharmic Sanskritik Kendra in Prashad Nagar, Georgetown.
The President said promotion of culture and arts is important in improving the quality of life in our country.

“Our economy is improving, and we must also focus on other aspects of improving lives…,” President Ramotar said.

He reminded the hundreds gathered for the event that Freedom of Religion and expression of culture and arts were things that were hard-fought for and won.

“We had to struggle for this. The Hindu Dharmic Sabha was formed at a difficult period…. It was formed to uphold freedom of religion and also to fight for democracy and free and fair elections,” President Ramotar said, as he lauded the “foresight” of the former head of the Sabha, Pandit Reepu Daman Persaud, whose work represented contributions that crossed religious, national and political spheres.

The President stressed that his administration would continue working to ensure the development of all aspects of livelihood for the benefit of all Guyanese people.

YOUTH DEVELOPMENT
President of the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha, Dr Vindhya Persaud, who declared the Festival open, spoke of its contribution to youth development. Over the years, this cultural festival has served as a launching pad for young talent found across the country to be developed and motivated. Trophies, certificates and cash incentives are given to all participants of the Utsav as a means of encouraging them.

Dr Persaud noted that the Utsav this year will see more than 150 young people under the age of 25 participating in a friendly competition in the categories of Ramayan chanting and drama of the Sunderkand, male and female singing, duet singing, classical dance, junior folk dance, and kirtan.

Praant members came out in their numbers to not only participate, but to support their participants. Prants from Central and Upper Corentyne, Essequibo, Georgetown, East Bank and East Coast Demerara, West Bank and West Coast Demerara, and East and West Bank Berbice were all represented at the Utsav.

Prior to Sunday’s activity, each of the Sabha’s praants had held preliminary Utsavs in their communities to select the best to represent them at the finals. Esteemed judges in the day’s events included Chandra Gajraj, Rekha Singh, Sukranie Boodhoo and Shukla from the Indian Cultural Center, among others.
Kala Ustav, which began in 1994, was intended to motivate young people to continue the traditions of their foreparents, and to achieve excellence in the various art forms. In the intervening 15 years since its inception, the cultural forum — brainchild of Indrani Persaud — has grown to become one of the Sabha’s most widely anticipated events, and competition among the prants in the country is robust.