By Vishnu Bisram
HUNDREDS turned out for the annual Indian Arrival Day (IAD) celebration at Smokey Park Oval on Sunday afternoon, June 12. What began as a gloomy day with heavy rainfall from 08:00 hours until 13:00 hours eventually gave way to bright sun.

IAD is the most celebrated of Indian Guyanese entertainment events.  The programme featured a cultural variety show and a pageant.  The celebration was organised by the Indo-Caribbean Federation led by Ralph Tamesh.  Several accomplished singers and dancers from the Indo-Caribbean Community entertained the huge crowd. Live band music accompanying the singers was supplied by Anoop Dhanpat and the Sansaar Sangeet Orchestra. There was also karaoke singing. There were fabulous performances by all of the artistes. There was a pageant involving modelling and talent (dancing and singing) as well as answering a random question to choose an Indo-Caribbean Federation Queen. The queen reigns for two years. Well known personality Ms. Lolita Singh and Roshan Shivcharran coordinated the pageant.

It was an entertainment-packed and fun-filled cultural variety concert. There was an assortment of performances featuring diverse music and dance showcasing talent in the Guyanese, ‘Trini’, and Surinamese communities – Bollywood and local styles.

The audience danced and clapped to the beat of Bollywood and local Indo-Caribbean songs and music.  Several Punjabis and non-Indians were among the crowd drawn to the five hours of fantastic entertainment. They also clapped and cheered the participants.

This year’s celebration commemorated the 184th anniversary since the migration of the first batch of Indians set foot (May 5, 1838) in the Caribbean (Guyana) to work as indentured labourers.  Indians were also indentured to several other territories in the Caribbean. From Guyana and other parts of the Caribbean, they migrated to North America and UK and elsewhere.

The Indo-Caribbean Federation planned, organised, and executed the commemoration of this historic celebration. It was the first outdoor cultural programme in the community since 2019. The IAD celebration was shut down in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic. It has been pretty depressing to be shut down. Tamesh said the IAD programme brought joy and energy to the community and to greater Richmond Hill.

Hundreds patronised the event with many of the congregants dressed in traditional Indian attire (Shalwar Kameez, lahenga, choli, kurtha sets, Nehru suits).

Several businesses sponsored prizes, provided refreshments, and helped to underwrite the costs associated with the programme. Some individuals also volunteered their time. Booths displayed their products. There was also henna arts and crafts and a line-up of other booths distributing a variety of goodies including face masks, hand sanitisers, COVID self-test kits. Drinks were also available gratis.

The emcees were Sunita Sukhram and Patricia Ragunandan and along with Imran Ahmed, Latchmee Singh and Pageant Coordinator, Lolita Singh, did a fantastic job. The new ICF Queen 2022 Miss Alisa Ramanarias was crowned; Miss Haley Persaud was the 1st Runner up and Karishma Boodram was the second Runner up. Prizes and flower bouquets were doled out also to the other winners.

The organisers of the concert also put out a special publication, Indo-Caribbean Magazine, highlighting aspects of life of the community and its activities. The President of the Federation, Ralph Tamesh a thirty-three-year veteran of ICF spoke briefly about the work of the ICF – propagating culture and sports in New York and assisting less fortunate emigres.

Tamesh praised the hard work of executive members in making the celebration a wonderful success.  He applauded the artistes and pageant contestants for their participation. He also saluted the work of the pioneers.  He thanked the audience for coming out to offer encouragement to the performers and to celebrate the Indian heritage. He also heaped praises on those who assisted in the commemorative activities and provided various forms of assistance. He thanked the various sponsors and donors including Sybil, Singh’s Roti Shop and Bakewell.