Hindus making positive impact on Tobago society

Chief Secretary Kelvin Charles, right, and his wife Catherine Anthony-Charles, second right, were guests at the Indian Arrival Day celebrations at Gulf City Mall, Lowlands on Saturday, along with Afiya Giles-Baynes, third from right, Personal Assistant to Finance Secretary Joel Jack; Shomari Hector, second from left, Assistant Secretary in the Division of Community Development, and Karim Holder, left, Chairman of the Bahai Faith.  PHOTO BY Vidya Thurab
Chief Secretary Kelvin Charles, right, and his wife Catherine Anthony-Charles, second right, were guests at the Indian Arrival Day celebrations at Gulf City Mall, Lowlands on Saturday, along with Afiya Giles-Baynes, third from right, Personal Assistant to Finance Secretary Joel Jack; Shomari Hector, second from left, Assistant Secretary in the Division of Community Development, and Karim Holder, left, Chairman of the Bahai Faith. PHOTO BY Vidya Thurab

Hindus have become a significant part of the social, religious and business sector in Tobago, Afiya Giles-Baynes, Personal Assistant to Finance Secretary Joel Jack, said on Saturday at last Saturday’s Indian Arrival Day celebrations hosted by the Tobago Hindu Society at the Guld City mall in Lowlands.

Giles-Baynes, representing Jack who was invited to the celebrations but did not turn up, lauded the achievements of Hindus as she noted their journey and assimilation in TT society.

“Seventy-three years ago, it was hope for a better life that led Indians from the Eastern subcontinent to board the Fath Al Razack and leave their homeland on a quest for a better life. It was hope that brought and kept them here and they brought with them their culture, inclusive of food, dance, dress and religion.

“They also brought with them their aspirations and have made a lasting and positive impact on the development, culture and identity of our nation in the areas of education, medicine, politics, creative arts and agriculture,” she said.

The event was patronised by Chief Secretary Kelvin Charles, and his wife Catherine, as well as Assistant Secretary in the Division of Community Development. Guests were treated to Indian songs, dances, and tassa drumming by various artistes including dancers Seeta Beepath and Kavita St Clair, and singers Edward Pitt, Sanjay Kumar Sharma and Deosaran Sinanan as well as Pundit Ramdath Mahase, who conducted the puja for the event, and the THS Tassa Group.

President of the Tobago Hindu Society, noting efforts to construct the island’s first temple by the Society, told Newsday Tobago, it will help boost tourism on the island.

“The Hindu society is growing, we now have a lot of people coming to live and work on the island. Then we have the tourists who come regularly and who look for a place to worship. We have also had people who came to Tobago to get married but the island does not have a temple. This temple will allow Hindus, not only from Tobago, to have a place to do their weddings…” she said.

She said the Society was doing some fundraising for the building project and was now engaged in putting electricity and water on the land which is located at Signal Hill.

Beepath said a place in Tobago for Hindus to gather was a dream she had since first moving to Tobago.

“When I came to Tobago years ago I always pushed for the island to have its own temple because I come from a religious family …When I came here I wanted to keep that culture alive for my children,” she said.

She noted that her daughter, Seeta Beepath, pursued a degree in music and dance at a university in India and returned to Tobago with hopes to open a school to teach these disciplines.

“We will have a place (the temple) where we can teach the children Hindi, music and dance because my daughter has the experience, but she has nowhere to teach the children,” she said.

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