Chandra Katwaroo finds her purpose: Life lessons from the Ramayan

FOR over three decades, religious, cultural and social activist Chandra Katwaroo has been performing the Ramayan because of her deep devotion and sincere desire to touch the lives of others.

Ramayan or Ramayana, is an epic poem composed in Sanskrit by the poet Valmiki, divided into seven books called kandas, about the life of Ram, Rama or Shri Ram. And Katwaroo believes it teaches people how to live life, how to have faith and to never give up.

“We should understand our lives are made up of pairs of opposites – victory and loss, success and failure, laughter and tears – and Ramayan has all of that. It teaches us courage, strength and faith.

“Growing up my father used to read the Ramayan every Saturday. It was a ritual at our home. Every Saturday my father would sit and read the Ramayan and expound it to my sisters and I, four of us.

“I had a love beyond listening to that. And there are certain lines that remain etched in my mind.”

The Hindustan, New Grant, resident said her favourite part of the poem was when Ram was exiled and sent to live in the forest for 14 years due to the machinations of his stepmother, who did not want him to be crowned king. Ram did not rebel or retaliate and, on his return, the people were so happy they lit lamps along his pathway to welcome him home.

According to Katwaroo, when he was made king, everyone in the city, even some of the gods, asked Ram for a boon. Some asked that they always be devoted to Ram.

The story resonated with her. What she derived was that, even though people have challenges, they have to have faith, courage and determination to know they will eventually get out of difficult situations.

Katwaroo is also a gifted singer and is extremely busy every year in September, singing and giving addresses at different schools, companies and events throughout Trinidad for the Hindu festivals of Ganesh Utsav, Pitr Paksh and Divali, as well as reading the Ramayan for Divali.

She has been singing temple songs since she was six years old and became a member of the Nipal Presbyterian Primary, Rio Claro Government Secondary and North Trace Government School choirs where she sang folk, Easter and Christmas songs in competitions and at Anglican, Roman Catholic and Presbyterian churches.

That exposure to different religions and cultures, she said, proved a positive force in her life.

Ramayan in her life

Katwaroo told WMN she wanted to be a nurse when she was young. She always liked to help people and, even as a child, would help the elderly where she grew up in George Village, Tableland. She taught at a secondary school for a short time after finishing secondary school, but she got engaged and her husband did not want her to work which moved her to a new path.

She got married to her late husband Ramnarine Katwaroo in 1976 at the age of 20. At the time, Ramnarine was part of the singing group, the Hindustan Ramayan Group. She recalled they went to a wake one night and Ramnarine asked if she could “do something” from Ramayan. She immediately recalled the lines she learned from her father, and her performance was so well-received she was asked to join the group, where she also sang traditional bhajans (religious songs).

“There’s something that is called spiritual gift. Loosely, when there is a love for something within you and you have that connection with God, He guides you. He inspires you. And that night I remember very clearly, I was amazed at myself and some of the things I said. That triggered it off and I started there.”

After that performance, one of her husband’s friends gifted her the Ramayan, which she was able to read and expound on because her father sent his daughters to learn Hindi on weekends when she was nine.

She expressed gratitude for that because, she said, she is happiest when she is reading and expounding.

“I am totally transformed. I feel so much divine vibrations when I sit. Everything just flows. It’s the happiest time of my life.”

But Katwaroo’s life has not been all joyful.

Ramnarine died 21 years ago when both her children were studying abroad. Then, her son, who she had prayed for seven years and made a lot of sacrifices to have, unexpectedly died at age 38 about two and a half years ago. He was beloved by her and her daughter, and both losses were traumatic for them.

She said it takes a lot of courage, strength and determination to continue doing her music, reading the Ramayan, encouraging people, travelling at home and abroad to sing God’s praises, working with NGOs and more.

She recorded her first professional cassette in 1984 and has recorded nine albums. She also composed many songs, which she also recorded, and appeared on many television programmes, including Indian Variety.

She participated in a local theatre production directed by Seeta Persad called Shadba Kanthi, and, last year, released a series of music video productions called Bhakti Vardaan, which can be found on 103FM’s YouTube page, featuring guests singers like Neval Chatelal, Rana Mohip, Geeta Vaahini, Seeromanie Naraynsingh, Shivanand Maharaj and her children.

Each song was meaningful to her personally and, before each song, a prominent pundit explains its meaning.

She was also appointed to sit on the Host Country Management Committee to co-ordinate Carifesta 2019. And she received several awards for her religious, social and cultural contributions from the Princes Town Regional Corporation, Vedanta Society of TT, Satguru Sant Keshavadas in Bangalore, India, Princes Town Presbyterian School, Hindustan Shiva Mandir, Pundit Ramdath Vyas and other organisations.

She has even participated in several yatras, or pilgrimages, in TT, the US, Canada, the UK and Guyana, focussed primarily on youths with the purpose of educating them about Sanatan Dharma through brief messages and songs. For the year so far she has travelled to Guyana, Florida, New York and England, and planned to go St Kitts to read the Ramayan and to sing God’s praises and tell people how great He is.

Her mantra is: I filled my heart with love one day, to all I met I gave it away. Although I gave to all I met, my heart is still the fullest yet.

“My role in Hinduism, as a woman, is to say to women, ‘Get up! Be aware of the strength you have within you, and know there is an unlimited power that lies deep within you. You must always reach out for that power in challenging times. Never give up. Always have faith.’”

Knowing her purpose

Through it all, her desire to help others remains strong.

In 1995, Katwaroo she and her husband went to India for the first time with a group. And while she enjoyed the sights and the beauty of the tremendous buildings and temples, she cried for days at the sight of the abject poverty there and to see how the poor were treated.

She said while she had seen images of that side of India on television, it grieved her to see it in person. She thought how much God had blessed her.

When she returned in 2015, she was more prepared. She equipped herself mentally, physically and financially. Still she got a shock when, going to the Golden Temple in Amritsar, Punjab, she saw an old man who was taking people for rides on his bicycle. She felt an immediate connection to him, as if he could be a member of his father’s family. And she pressed as much money as she could spare on him.

“The poor man was probably wondering who that mad lady was.”

And when she visited Puttaparthi, the birthplace of Sai Baba, she bought out a food stall and gave each child she saw food, a drink, a piece of clothing and some money.

“My heart and my soul are to help the underprivileged in whatever small way I can, so I always find ways to be involved. I could deny myself something so I could give to somebody.”

She said she will continue to work to touch other lives with her deeds and devotion as long as she lives and is physically and mentally able.

“Every individual on this earth has a purpose. Every individual has a spark of divinity in them. We are all lights in this world. It is for us to recognise and acknowledge that light and expand it to touch other lives.”