HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ONE & ALL!

(Courtesy: 123greetings.com)

The year 2010 is just hours away. Soon, it'll be 1/1/10. Looks great, doesn't it? Makes you think, though, how time flies by. And the question begs to be asked, "What have you achieved in 2009?"

Often time, we live our lives with our eyes set on the larger goals, that we forget about the little things that truely matters to us and those around us. Many of us live our lives in a "don-ke-dam" fashion, if I may use creole here; we don't care if "today fall fah tomorrow." Once everything is alright with us, we don't care what happens outside of our home, our fence. But, is that really how life should be lived? Should we only be concerned for ourselves and our family's well-being?

I beg to differ. I strongly believe that life is meant to serve others, in essence, to selflessly serve God's creation in whatever way we possibly can. You see, service to humanity is service to God. This is an extraordinarily great philosophy that has been truely tested and tried over time by many ordinary people who eventually became great human beings.

As the New Year is fast approaching, let's take a moment to engage in some self-introspect analysis - look into the very core of our souls. Do we like what we see there? Are we proud of ourselves as human beings?

Still, with New Year comes new resolutions. One good goal to go after would be to count to ten each time we're on the verge of getting angry. That little action can safe us a lot of troubles later on.

So, here's a wish for a Peaceful, Healthy, Prosperous and Happy New Year - 2010 to all! And, whatever you may concieve God to be, please allow Him to be part of your life.

LET'S BE THE CHANGE WE WANT TO SEE IN THE WORLD ...

After a meeting in Richmond Hill Saturday gone (12/19/2009), I returned home and parked the car (I named it Shakti) on the street like I do everyday. It looked like a normal day except that a blizzard was on its way.

Anyways, I began doing chores and after 6 PM, the phone rang. It was a call from my landlady. She said to hurry, someone had hit my car. I bundled myself up as fast as possible and ran down the stairs; it either didn't register or I was being detached about it.

I raced to the car outside and wow! It was really hit. The kids told me that their mother had already called the cops and their father had raced after the white van that smashed into the car and the neighbor's gate.

I went to see my car at a closer range. The bumper and another parts fell off on the ground and there was dent and marks. Shakti did take a serious hit.

One of the kids witnessed the hit-and-run accident but didn't realize that my car was damaged too.

Apparently, the van was parked opposite Shakti and reversed (driverless, yeah you got that right), rammed into the car and the neighbor's gate. The driver then got into the car and sped off. My landlord then gave chase.

Another person, Greg, saw what had happened too. He came over and expressed his shock at what he had saw. He managed only 3 letters from the plate - YMZ. I'm thankful to him. The landlord wasn't able to catch up with the hit-and-run driver. The police came in after an hour and several calls and I gave the report of what I had heard ocurred.

The morals from this story: We need to be responsible for our actions, good or bad and face the consequences of our actions.

Take that hit-and-run driver, for instance. His actions didn't speak much of him as a decent human being. How far can someone of his character go in life? He think he got away from the neighbor and myself. But, for that action, an equal reaction has been created and the consequences thereof will follow him for the rest of his life. None of us can escape the laws of karma.

You know, one can buy and sell cars everyday, but one cannot buy or sell good human characters anywhere in this world, it has to be earned.

So, here's a call for us to "be the change we want to see in this world." Let's think of how our words and actions will affect the other person before we perform them. Let's strive to be nice, decent human beings. Let's observe the basic laws of the land and face the consequences of our actions with a smile or tear and move on.

Some photos of Shakti and the first touch down of the snow for 2009...

Shakti's bumper on the ground ...

The neighbor's gate took a serious blow ...

GITA JAYANTHI NEEDS TO BE CELEBRATED ON A GRANDER SCALE

Hindus throughout the globe celebrated Gita Jayanthi on Saturday 28th November, 2009. Gita Jayanthi is the celebration of the Bhagavad Gita. The Bhagavad Gita is the sacred words of wisdom spoken by Shri Krishna to Arjuna, one of the five Pandavas, at the famous Battlefield of Kurukshetra.

The Bhagavad Gita consists of 18 chapters and 700 verses. The teachings of this great Vedantic text are universal in its context, hence, anyone from any country can apply the rich teachings to any given situations and find solutions to their problems. It was originally written in Sanskrit - the oldest language of the world.

The Bhagavad Gita's greatness is unparallel; it's glory is immeasureable; it's wisdom unfathomable; it is the book of life that Hindus need to worship and live by. One of the great phenomenon of the Bhagavad Gita is that each time you read a slok, each time you interpret it differently.

One person whose life was a clear reflection of the dynamic teachings of the Bhagavad Gita was Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. He was the greatest student of the Bhagavad Gita that I know of and that made him one of Shri Krishna's greatest devotees. His greatness is eternally etched in the pages of human history and 61 years after his death, we're still talking about him and discussing his rich legacy. Can you imagine if all of us take one or two teachings from the Bhagavad Gita and practice them, what our lives would be like?

Despite the great importance of the Bhagavad Gita -the Celestial Song of Shri Krishna - Hindus tend to not pay much importance to Gita Jayanthi. I hope come 2010, Hindus would celebrate Gita Jayanthi with the great importance it deserves.

Below are some photos of Gita Jayanthi celebration at the Sanatan Dharma Mandir of New York - where the children and adults had to make presentations on the Bhagavad Gita.

Shri Krishna, the Supreme Consciousness, was Arjuna's, the brave warrior, charioteer...(online)


Rudresh and Hema chanting sloks from the Bhagavad Gita...


Little Krishna delivering his message from the Bhagavad Gita ....


A section of the gathering...

SHAAM KE SANGEET AUR NACHE 111 - AT THE AMERICA SEVASHRAM SANGHA

Jenny and I went to the "Shaam Ke Sangeet Aur Nache 111" presentation at the America Sevashram Sangha Saturday evening (Nov. 21st). It was a cultural evening organized by the New York Jamaica Humanitarian Mission (NYJHM) in aide of their humanitarian/cultural work the body does in Jamaica, WI.

This mission was started by the late Pandit Shri Prakash Gossai (Guruji) in 1997 and Dr. Tara Singh. Every summer since, folks from the NYJHM have been traveling to Jamaica to conduct summer youth programs and programs for the adults too.

GuruJi was a gem among gems; someone who would be extremely hard to replace. His rich legacy needs to go on but we must try to understand the depth of his love for humanity, his compassion, his sincerity, his simplicity and his devotion and love for God - Bhagwan Shri Ram, only then we can do justice to his rich teachings and try to walk the path he has carved. His was an extraordinary life, lived to serve God's creation.

Now, I went (and 'togged' along Jenny with me) to the program because Pandit Shri Bankim Gossai from London (GuruJj's brother) and Pandit Arun Gossai were part of the program. I've listened to PanditJi many times at the Shri Prakash Gossai Bhuvaneshwar Mandir and I'm extremely impressed with the devotion and love with which PanditJi sings bhanjans and kirtans and performs Puja. Pandit BankimJi is a great devotee of God and a very dedicated, sincere, selfless worker for Dharma. To sum it up, PanditJi is a very humble servant of God and that is an honor not many people can achieve in their lifetime. NYJHM will do well to listen to his wise guidance and counselling.

Now coming back to the evening, Jenny and I were expecting the program to be in held in the Ashram's mandir, where we could sit (without shoes on) and enjoy the many bhajans and kirtans to be sung. We were also expecting pure classical/kathak/Bharatnatyam style of dancing. But, the program was held at the auditorium. That was okay.

We really enjoyed the bhajans sang by Pandit BankimJi and Pandit Arun. Neither Jenny nor I cared for the filmy songs or dances. We were expecting the program to reflect more of a spiritual ambience, not a filmy/pop culture type of creation. It would have been much more enjoyable if the program had more items of pure classical music, singing and dancing.

Here's a call for organizers of these cultural evenings to please coordinate programs that would help to elevate the audience's mental well-being to a more relaxed and calm state. Classical music and dances are much more conducive to a richer spiritual experience ... that is what we need in the community. The bottom line is, we could listen to the original Bollywood songs and look at the dances from CDs and DVDs that are readily available at our fingertips. And, there is You tube...

On the same note, I would caution the designers of these costumes that the young ladies wear to dance on the stage to take into consideration that there is a thin line that runs between decency and indecent exposure. Please, let us dress the womenfolks in more beautiful costumes that reflects the greatness of true Indian womanhood. Remember, it is the womenfolks who are the upholder of this dynamic Dharma of ours.

While we were leaving, we met Pandit Suresh Sugrim of the New Jersey Arya Samaj Mandir, Inc. This is a gentleman that is doing so much to eradicate poverty in Guyana. It is so refreshing and admirable to see someone so passionate and sincere about such a great cause that benefits the poor and down-trodden children and adults back home.

And, as we were chatting, he revealed that oftentime, it's so hard to receive support for this cause from our folks over here. He desperately wants to bring this situation of the poverty-stricken conditions and domestic abuse that our womenfolks suffer back home, but guess what, some of the local television stations that he approached are calling for an exorbitant amount of money to highlight the plight of these children and adults. This is such a blatant shame and disgrace! When are we going to stop measuring every human value or life in dollar amount? I wonder, if we ever take a minute to realize what we are without the dollar or wealth for that matter? Who are we, if we don't have a television program or money in the bank? Think about it.

These are two pressing, critical issues that need our support. As fortunate ones, we have a responsibility to help our less fortunate sisters and brothers, so folks let us pool our efforts together to help eradicate poverty and domestic abuse in our country. I rest my case for now.

Below are some photos of the evening at the Ashram...

Pandit Shri Bankim Gossai, enthralling the audience ...


PapaJi, father of Pandit Gossai-himself a PanditJi ....

MISS INDIA NEW YORK PAGEANT - GREAT PLATFORM FOR YOUNG INDIAN LADIES ...

Mr. Dharmatma Saran invited me to attend the Miss Indian New York and Miss Teen India New York pageants held at the Community Center Auditorium in Flushing Saturday 14th evening. I thought that that was such a nice gesture on his part to extend an invitation to someone like me. I accepted the invitation and he told me that there will be an envelope with my name and two complimentary tickets. So said, so done! Thank you very much, Sir. I appreciate the thought and effort put into this for me.

I first met Mr. Saran at the World Fair's Marina Restaurant for a GOPIO meeting. I was early for that meeting and he made some calls on my behalf to see when the others would be arriving. He stayed around to make sure I was alright and introduced me to the owner of the restaurant who made sure I was provided with some finger food until the team arrived.

His deameanor is so unassuming, easy-going, friendly and caring that these outstanding qualities belly the fact that he is the Chairman of the IFC who coordinates all these Miss India & Miss Teen New York pageants in the Big Apple, other states around the US and around the globe, including South Africa and India.

Not only that, but he is one of the persons who genuinely and tirelessly work towards the promotion of the Indian culture globally and provide young Indian women a powerful platform to represent what it is like to be Indian in foreign countries. He should be lauded and recognized for the time, effort, dedication and hardwork he put into helping to groom these young ladies to become more confident, out-spoken, community-minded and help them to see the world from a different perspective. Now, I call that making a difference in a big way. You're doing excellent work, Mr. Saran. Never stop promoting these lovely young ladies.

It was the 27th Maaza Miss India New York and 2nd Miss Teen India New York pageants. It was my first experience attending a pageant of this kind and I believe it was Robby's first time attending one too. Well, we thoroughly enjoyed it and I will attend one again.

The cultural program was spectacularly beautiful and consist of refreshingly clean-cut Indian style of dancing. The dances were brilliantly choreographed, much thanks to the chorographer who did a great job. The Arya Dance Academy showcased some very young talented dancers whose skills were unmatched on stage. They exhibited such grace and bravery that they held the crowd spell-bound.

It was awesome when the group of little girls between ages 3-8-years came on stage, wearing PJs and holding teddy bears. They danced so beautifully a song from the Shaw Rukh Khan and Madhuri Dixit starrer "Dil To Pagal Hai" - "Koee jaisay hai ..." I hope I am correct. But, these kids were so adorable that they literally took people's breath away. It was an amazing performance and the Arya Dance Academy should be complimented on the great work it is doing.

The contestants for both pageants did a great job. All the young ladies are beautiful and did their best, whether it was displaying their exquisite saries and lehangas, evening gowns, showcasing their talents or answering questions on stage. Their talent pieces which included dances of different kinds, were skillfully excecuted. These ladies displayed great courage by merely participating in these pageants. That is such an admirable trait. I say they were all winners by just making that decision to participate in the pageant. Congrats to all the lovely ladies. Keep shining brightly whatever you choose to do in the future.

I think the winner for the Miss India New York is the lovely Miss Anuradha and the winner for the Miss Teen India New York is the beautiful and talented Miss Victoria. Best Wishes to both of them.

I should point out that someone from out midst, the West Indian community, was a member of the panel of judges. He is no other than Mr. Ken Subraj who is the Executive Vice President of the mega rental business - Zara Luxury Apartment & Homes - located at Hillside Avenue. He was the only West Indian (originally from Guyana), on the judges' panel. That shows great unity among Indians within the Diaspora and just the tip of the iceberg of the good work that Zara Realty is involved in. The Subrajs are doing such great charitable work in Guyana and in the New York Tri-State region here to enhance the quality of life for our people, particularly children, that no amount of recognition could equal that genuine goodness within their hearts. It's pricelss. I did see Mr. George Subraj but didn't get to say hello to him. Hopefully, he'll forgive me.

Anyways, Mr. Saran great work! Keep helping these young ladies to shine brighter. And thank you very much for the invitation. I really appreciate it.

Below some photos we managed to capture ....

The lovely contestants displaying their saries ...

Dancers from Arya Dance Acamedy dancing to "Jai Ho" from Slumdog Millionnaire...

USA PANDIT'S PARISHAD OUT DINING AT FAIRFIELD PAVILION?

Members of the USA Pandit's Parishad, Inc. held it's first ever dinner and cultural presentation at the Fairfield Pavilion on 101st Avenue Sunday gone (11/9/09) in Richmond Hill. The cultural event was quite different from what we are used to see in the community. It was pure classical singing and dancing, including sitar recitation; it was great nourishment for the tired soul.

The entire presentation was beautifully executed by the performers: singers and dancers. The performers were all youngsters who need to be complimented for a job well done. Not only that, it's nice to see our young people so involved in things cultural. After all, they are ambassors of this dynamic culture and leaders of tomorrow. The parents who take their children to music (dholak, tabla, harmonium), dancing and singing classes should be lauded for helping to up-keep this great culture of ours and passing it on to the next generation.

The organizers of this dinner displayed a rare sense of vision and insight into the actual needs of this community. Evenings like these are what the people of the Richmond Hill community needs. However, I have a feeling that the USA Pandit's Parishad Dinner 2009 was geared towards a particular crowd. Though the turn out was not that great, the folks who missed this event, really lost out on a qualitative, enjoyable, memorable and soothing evening for the entire family. And, the food was just as nourishing and tasty as the cultural presentation.

Hats off to Pandit Pavindradatt Parasram, Pandit Yoga Ramnarain, Dharmacharya Pandit Misir and the other hard-working pandits of the religious body for the dedication, perseverance, dilligence, foresight and goodwill they exemplified by embracing new ideas to move the USA Pandit's Parishad forward. It's the correct way to go. It will take courage and more hard-work to accomplish the tasks needed to be done to move Hinduism forward. But, it seems like the current body of leadership is made up of a group of devoted, selfless, community-minded, honest and sincere religous leaders who has the interest of Dharma at heart and are willing to work to promote this great religion. It must be a collective effort, not fall on just one or two person's shoulders.

Back to Fairfield Pavilion: The evening's program was classy and dignified and should be repeated intermittently. Great work, organizers!

Some photos of the evening.


This little cutie pie really enjoyed the dances ...


Two young classical dancers executing their dances ...

Pandit Yoga and Geeta in conversation with an old friend?!

DR YESU PERSAUD RECEIVES HONORARY DOCTOR OF LAW DEGREE FROM UWI

I would like to extend heartfelt congratulations and best wishes to Dr. Yesu Persaud on being conferred with an honorary doctor of law degree from the Univeristy of West Indies (UWI), recently. It's an honor and recognition that Dr. Persaud richly deserves.

Dr. Persaud is one of Guyana's most influencial, intelligent and powerful entrepreneurs. He was raised from humble beginning, but with hard work, discipline, perseverance, dedication, focus, and steadfastness, he overcame great obstacles thrown on his path to reach the highest peak of his life. His success story is such a great Guyana and Caribbean story that young aspiring entrepreneurs need to study his work to learn from him.

Despite all the power and authority he weals, though, he remains one of the most humblest persons I've had the fortune to meet. I first met Dr. Persaud at the GOPIO 20th Anniversary Convention, held in New York during the month of August. After chatting with him briefly, I sensed that he is a warm, genuine, kind and caring human being. If there is one thing I appreciate in another person, it's there humility and well, I was blown over by his. Please stay that way, Dr. Persaud.

As much as his name is a household name on the Guyana landscape, for those of you who may not know of him, Dr. Persaud is the Chairman of Demerara Bank Limited and Executive Chairman of Demerara Distillers Limited. These are two companies he started years ago and today, they are leading companies in Guyana and have helped reshaped and developed Guyana's fledgling economy over the years.

The leading industrialist that he is, Dr. Persaud still finds time to participate in civic and community activities. He is a member of GOPIO in Guyana and the Caribbean. I am sure he is a member of host of other organizations.

Among his easy-going personality and great sense of humor, he is a very devoted Hindu at heart. He understands the responsibilities involved in being a practicing Hindu, towards family and society at large. It was an honor to have met him. He is a great son of the soil; very loyal and patriotic. I am sure all his family members, Guyanese and Guyana are very proud of his achievements. I join with his circle of friends and relatives to say "Congrats!" Keep up the great work!

I would end with an old saying that goes like: "True success is measured by how many people you have helped on the way."

Dr Persaud understands that because he once said: “I love what I do. I like to see people develop themselves and help themselves. This is what life is all about. I am a student of philosophy. Money is an object that can disappear overnight. One of those things that you can acquire, but it can also go overnight.”

Some photos of Dr. Persaud and friends (Courtesy: Mr. Ashook Ramsaran and online).

Dr. Yesu Persaud (second from right) displaying his degree.


He actually met Mr. Fidel Castro? How did that happen?

THE GHOULS & GHOSTS WERE OUT - HALLOWEEN 2009

I was out on the bustling avenue - Liberty Avenue - this afternoon. I totally forgot about Halloween -until I hit the streets in the area. I saw kids dressed up in different costumes, chaperoned by an adult, were about gathering their candies.

Liberty Avenue was a beehive of activity with groups of kids, dressed as ghouls, ghosts, witches, princesses, zombies, etc. went about "Trick-A-Treat" in the many stores on the avenue. Despite the intermittent drizzle, the avenue was crowded with folks celebrating Halloween.

The amateur 'pic-o-grapher' that I'm, (momentarily forgetting about my errands) I took out the camera and snapped a few photos here and there. It was not easy capturing the moving folks, but I managed a few decent shots.

In between gathering the items I went for and hoisting shopping bags, I worked the camera with one hand, so quite a few shots were bad.

Anyways, New York City being the "melting pot of cultures" that it is, it was quite a site, seeing people from different cultural backgrounds participating in Halloween. I saw alot of Indians from the West Indies and India with their kids out 'trick-a-treating.' Some parents were dressed up for the event!

I still don't understand the purpose of Halloween. But I guess to blend in a society, over time, new comers are either forced to or willingly choose to take part in its existing cultural activities, just not to feel different or maybe strange even, oftentimes without asking a question or two.

You would hope, though, that with the same fervor and enthusiasm they observed Halloween, they would channel that same time and effort into celebrating their own cultural activities. It's a thought.

What I do know is that Halloween is about giving candies to the kids. All that candy! And, how much candy can a kid eat? You know, too much candy is not good for anyone, much less kids.

Here are some photos I snapped ....

A group of kids taking a break ....


This little one look dashingly handsome in his costume ...


Halloween was well and alive on Liberty Avenue ..


Cute little princess busy "trick-a-treating"


Babies who can't walk was out "trick-a-treating"!


Street scene ....

REACHING OUT TO THOSE WHO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN OUR COMMUNITY

I received an email from a name I didn't recognized sometime last week. I opened it up and lo and behold! Someone from the President of GOPIO International, Lord Diljit Rana's office, sent me a letter, thanking me for taking leadership role as the Co-chair of the Media Council for GOPIO Intermational. Was I surprised? Of course!

I've been avoiding taking any titles in the GOPIO organization or any other organization for that matter. I just like to help people wherever I can help. I don't need a title or position to help around, plus my ego keeps me super busy trying to suppress it's ugly head as it were.

Anyways, I had an idea who may have been behind this turn of event. I asked him and my hunch was correct! Mr. Ashook Ramsaran - he is always encourging me and telling me to take on more leadership roles in GOPIO. Well, thank you, Sir. Seems like I have no choice now.

Well, GOPIO International is a good organization to get involve in. The body of people who makes up GOPIO International and all the many chapters around the globe are great people who sincerely wants to make a difference in the communities they live. They come from different walks of life and are involve in different fields of study. Great work folks, keep it up!

I want to stress that our life does not end with our immediate family alone. We've a greater responsibility to be concerned about the society we live in. We should make an effort to make a contribution to improve the standard of life around us. It's call making a difference. As the Mahatma said, "Let's be the change we want to see in the world."

So, I've decided to use this new position to reach out to deserving young people and those folks who are really making that difference in other people's life. I would like to know about those good people so that I could highlight their good work and possible network with them to get more like-minded people involve. It's networking at a whole new level. If anyone out there knows someone who is deserving, please send me a email.

My thanks to Mr. Ashook and Lord Rana for choosing me. I hope I would live up to their great expectations.

Learn more about GOPIO at: www.gopio.net


A photo of Lord Rana (middle), Dr Renu (GOPIO-Washington) & yours truly.

MR. ASHOOK RAMSARAN RECEIVES CITY PROCLAMATION

Hearthy congratulations and best wishes are going out to Mr. Ashook Ramsaran on being awarded a Proclamation at City Hall during its Diwali Celebration on Thursday 22nd of October.

For those of you who don't know Mr. Ashook; he comes from very humble beginning but has risen to great heights amidst some very challenging situations. He hails from Bloomfield Village, on the Corentyne Coast, a neighboring village from my family's -Letter Kenny Village. He migrated to the US over 25 years ago, had to work to support his family, educate himself and at the same time, make the best of what life has to offer. And , he did a fantastic job of all the above.

Mr. Ashook is the Executive Vice President of GOPIO International, a position he was nominated to at the recently concluded 20th GOPIO Convention in New York City. Prior to the new position, he held the high office of the Secretary for many years. During his tenure as Secretary, he has dedicated much of his time, effort, resources and energy to help solve critical issues affecting Indians in countries around the globe. He has helped to bridge the gap between NRIs, Indians in the Diasporas, the West Indies and those in the Indian Sub-continent. Over all, his sterling contribution to GOPIO International and the Indian community at large is immeasurable, outstanding and admirable.

Mr. Ashook is also the president of Ramex, Inc. - a company he and his family have built and which has grown in size and magnitude. Apart from running his company, he finds time to get involve in many civic and community organizations to help enhance the quality of life for the people in the those communities.

Mr. Ashook is simply a great human being with a great sense of humor. He believes in giving back to the community, helping those in need and contributing to the larger society in a positive way. He is a very encouraging, positive, sincere, honest, and hard-working individual who deserves all the honor bestows upon him. It is a great asset to have someone of his calibre in our community and greatest of all, he is one of our own - from a beautiful, tiny village on the Corentyne coast, who had walked on those "muddy rice dam," once upon a time.

Keep up the great work, Mr. Ashook. Continue to make us proud!

Some photos of the event, courtesy of Mr. Ashook.

Mr. Ashook holding the Proclamation ...

DINNER ON A RAINNY SATURDAY AT HAVELI

"It is rainning cats and dogs" in the Big Apple this Fall Saturday. Yet, New Yorkers were out and about, doing their chores. While some whined about the weather, others took the inclement conditions in their strides and go about their business.

It's somethings troublesome to hear folks describe the weather; the negative words they use, including some regular folks and some weathermen and women, when all that is happening is that the good Mother Nature is "doing her work." Call it blessings from above...and move on.

Well, as rainny as it is, my friend, Lovita and I went out to dine and catch up on things. We like the Haveli Restaurant on 101st Avenue, 113th Street, opposite the huge Sikh Gurdhawala. They make pure vegetarain food and cook it while you sit there, sipping masala tea and munch on samosas. We did just that!

The restaurant is very cozy inside, and while we ate, we talked about things of interest to us, and at the same time, enjoying the piece and quiet.

I like to eat certain Indian dishes sometimes, their taste, texture and preparation are different from our West Indian style of cooking. I still like my West Indian foods better.

Anyways, I'm a friend of the restaurant folks, and one of them told us that today that the Sikh had a big parade on 101st Avenue, onto Liberty Avenue and around some of the streets in the area.

The celebration was about a sacred jug passed on from the first GuruJi which has a hole at the base, but the milk inside do not fall out. That is a the divine power at work. It is nice to see people have unflinching faith in the Higher Being. We all need to believe in God whatever we may conceive Him to be.

My friend and I had a lovely meal, very filling indeed, great conversation and got wet as well. It's all in a rainny day's out.

Here're some photos of our evening out.

The Haveli Restaurant, very convenient ...


Beautiful painting of womenfolks making something ...

DIWALI 2009 - MAY SHARING, GIVING, GOODWILL & BROTHERHOOD PREVAIL

Diwali 2009 - The Festival of Lights - was a joyous observation for devotees at the Sanatan Dharma Mandir of NYC. Despite the inclement weather, the turn out at the mandir was good. The greatest blessing was having Pandit Yoganand Ramnarain performing Latchmi Devi Puja in the most elaborate manner - the sixteen folds of worship that is required of the devotee.

Diwali or Deepavali consists of 5 days of celebration: 2 days before Diwali, Diwali Day and 2 days after Diwali.

The first 2 days before Diwali, 2 diyas (earthen lamps filled with ghee and a cotton wick) are lit, one is placed at the Altar and the next is placed at the right side of the door, coming in from outside [sound confusing?]. Repeat the same process for the day before Diwali. Of course, devotees need to perform prayers as well.

On Diwali Day, elaborate worship is performed onto Maha Latchmi Mata, the Sacred Havan is conducted and many diyas are lit.

The day after Diwali the Goverdhan Puja is performed, which is Puja for Lord Krishna and that last day is called Bhai Dwuj (may have the wrong spelling) - a celebration for sisters and brothers.

Oh! How did forget to mention the cooking of sweets, sweets and more sweets: sweet rice (kher), laddu, mahamboge, vermicelli, gulgolla, halwa, puri, and more.

And the treat was having Pandit Yoga performing in-depth Puja onto Maha Latchmi. It was amazing. Like the other devotees, I really enjoyed the entire Puja, "charhawaying" prasadam and performing the sacred Aarti.

The celebration of Diwali has many significances. It is a celebration that helps us re-kindles the spirit of sharing, giving, goodwill, brotherhood and cleanliness and generally, it is a time when Dharma triumphs over Adharma.

The main spiritual purpose of Deepavali is to light the eternal lamps within each of us and never let it go out because that divine light within helps us to see the God in everyone and everything else. Seeing God in all, even in those considered to be the enemy, is not an easy process. It calls for intense spiritual training of the mind and senses. Celebrating festivals like Diwali helps us train our mind to become more Godly.

May Mother Latchmi enter the hearts of all and never leave.

Here are some photos of Diwali celebration at the Sanatan Dharma Mandir...

Mother Latchmi and Ganapati Baba beautifull decorated with flowers and prasadam..

Pandit Yoga reading about the greatness of Mother Latchmi.


Section of the gathering...

DINNER WITH DR. SHASHI THAROOR - MINISTER OF STATE OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

The Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO), the Kerala Center and other Indian organizations in the community host a dinner and interactive session with Dr. Shashi Tharoor - Minister of State of External Affairs on Wednesday evening (10/14/2009). It was held at the Kerala Center in Elmont, Long Island.

I was quite impressed with the Minister's knowledge on Indian politics and global issues. His career is quite impressive. As an NRI, he went back to India to contest in the elections in the state Kerala and won. Isn't that phenomenal?

Some info on Dr. Tharoor gathered from the Wikipedia:

Dr. Shashi Tharoor is the Indian Minister of State for External Affairs and a member of the Indian Parliament from the Trivandrum constituency in Kerala. He served as the UN Under-Secretary General for Communications and Public Information between June 2002 and February 2007, during the term of Secretary-General Kofi Annan at the United Nations.

In 2006, he was the official candidate of India for the office of United Nations Secretary-General, and came second out of seven official candidates in the race. He is also a prolific author, columnist, journalist, human-rights advocate, humanitarian and adviser or fellow of various institutions, including the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Aspen Institute, and the USC Center on Public Diplomacy.

On 19 March 2009, Tharoor was declared as the Indian National Congress candidate of the Thiruvananthapuram (Lok Sabha constituency) in Kerala for the General Elections in 2009. Tharoor featured in a five-cornered contest against P. Ramachandran Nair of the Communist Party of India (CPI), Neelalohitadasan Nadar of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), M.P. Gangadharan of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and P. K. Krishna Das of Bharathiya Janata Party (BJP). Tharoor's political website, www.shashitharoor.in, and use of new media technologies in his campaign (including emails, voice SMS, and the use of social networking websites (Facebook and Twitter) set the benchmark for future political websites and organizing in India. He eventually became the first Indian celebrity to get 100,000 followers on Twitter

Despite the dispersal of the anti-Left vote amongst several candidates, and the challenge of being attacked as an elite "outsider" by his opponents, Tharoor won a thumping victory, defeating his nearest CPI rival P. Ramachandran Nair by a margin of around 100,000 votes (the biggest victory by any candidate in Thiruvananthapuram in over 30 years) when the results were announced on May 16, 2009.

On 28 May 2009, Shashi Tharoor was sworn in as Minister of State of the Union Government of India as External Affairs minister, in the Council of Ministers of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Best of wishes to the Honorable Minister and hope he continues to walk the path of service to humanity. It was nice of him to talk less and took questions from the audience.

Below are some photos of the events. (I think I need a new, better camera.)

Dr. Tharoor delivering his speech to the audience..


Mr. Ashook Ramsaran, Executive Vice President of GOPIO and Dr. Tharoor

COLUMBUS DAY PARADE IN NEW YORK CITY

History is a profoundly beautiful subject to some and boring to others. Listening to or reading History can evoke all sorts of emotions inside the human being. Emotions such as patriotism, admiration, love, courage, dislike, respect, disgust, etc.

Take the Mahatma, for instance. Majority of people the world over has great respect and admiration for his indomitable courage and great human spirit. Even the great American scientist Albert Einstein paid tribute to him by saying: "Generations to come will not believe that such a man as Gandhi has walked the face of this earth."

In Guyana, one of my favorite subject was History. In First Form, the History teacher told us about the travels of the ambitious Christopher Columbus, who landed in the New World in October in 1492 (If memory serves me right). He sailed with a group of criminals at the behest of Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain in search of land and wealth.

At that tender age, it was hard to distinguish the good or bad behaviour of the sailors of The Pinta, Santa Maria and (can't remember the 3rd ship's name) towards the native people of the New World.

In college over here, I recalled my professor had the good human decency to question the barbaric behaviour of Columbus's men towards the native children, women and men of the countries they landed.

I'm not going to go into details, but that professor was correct. And I wonder how the Mahatma would have thought of these historic events.

Heroism is not heroism if it is recognized at the immense pain, hardships and suffering of other group of human beings who were less fortunate and less arm than the more powerful groups. True courage is the hallmark of men and women who stand up against injustice at all cost.

Anyways, I was able to snap at some of the floats-in-waiting for the Columbus Day Parade on 6th Avenue. Enjoy ...

These little kids seems to be enjoying all the hoopla...

Chilly me ... all bundled up even before winter arrives...

This is important ... US Census 2010 ... take notice.

My favorite ... I like ships and boats...

GREAT DIWALI PARADE 2009 ON LIBERTY AVENUE

Hindus across the globe will be celebrating Deepavali - the Festival of Lights - on Saturday 17th October. In the NYC Metro area, the Hindu community organized a huge Diwali Parade, which started at the Arya Spiritual Center on 133rd Street and Liberty Avenue. The Diwali Parade here is reminisced of the Diwali Motorcade that the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha organized in Guyana.

It wasn't so cold, so folks came out in large numbers to support this grand event and at the same time, enjoy the cultural presentation that is one of the main feature in the program. The floats, which were beautifully decorated, slowly made their way on Liberty Avenue and through the streets in Richmond Hill.

It was nice the see New York Bravest's participation to the fullest in helping to block streets and keeping traffic in order. Thank you very much.

I also met Rick Ramdehal, after a long time. Rick, one of our most prolific singers of many genre of music, was the host of the Diwali program. He came over to say Hi (very nice of him) and briefly talked to me about the documentary I'm producing on our ancestors' history. That was the first time "Footpaths of Our Indentured Ancestors" was talked about for one of the local television stations. Thanks, Rick! Hopefully, I did justice to the time.

I had fun at the Diwali Parade. Many thanks to the organizers of the Parade .. and for making all effort to keep our culture and the mighty flag of Sanatan Dharma flying very high. Keep up the good work folks.

Shubh Diwali to all .... May Mother Latchmi shower all with Happiness, Health & Wealth....

Some photos of the Diwali Parade - 2009 ....

Some of the women folks with their diyas ....

Robby Soman, DP of the documentary, is he taking a break?

Beautiful float with a live Maha Latchmi .....

The Tassa group really had it going .... Great job fellahs!

6TH AVENUE MANHATTAN STREET FAIR

It was a lovely Fall day. I had to be in the city today -a day when the trains were experiencing big delays. My ride wasn't too bad, though.

As I was coming out from the subway at Rockefeller Center, lo & behold! A street fair was well under way on 47th Street, 6th Avenue. Streets were blocked and we were able to walk aimlessly in the middle of the busy street!

It was nice to see New Yorkers making the most of the warm weather for outdoors' activities. And well, haggling for the best bargains in high spirits.

Here are some photos of the street affair...

Beautiful semi-precious pendants .....

High Fashion --- the Big Apply way ....

Wanna go on a bicycle ride...

GANDHI PEACE MARCH IN RICHMOND HILL

It was a beautiful day in NYC, brilliant sunshine minus the heavy wind - a great day to be out and about. So, how did you do spend your day? Care to share?

My cousin invited me to an important meeting at 3 PM today at his office - Main Street Insurance on the Avenue.

I went with good intentions to listen and participate. But, somehow, I couldn't bring myself to tune in to the meeting. It was an important meeting about a political campaign to elect one of the local officials to represent the folks in the Richmond Hill area. But, it wasn't my day to be at such meeting. So, after some time reading the local papers, I left.

And, I went to see the cultural show at the Gandhi Peace March - a march which took place from Liberty Avenue and Lefferts Blvd to the Arya Spiritual Center Ground on 133rd Street and Liberty Ave. I enjoyed this outing so much more.

October 2nd was Gandhi Jayanti in honor of the Mahatma. The Gandhi Peace March was organized by the Federation of Hindu Mandirs USA, Inc. and the speeches were delivered in his memory. His legacy of Truth and Non-violence lives on and are universal in their scope. These are values we need more than ever. For me, the Mahatma is the only person whose life was a reflection of the sacred teachings of the Bhagavad Gita.

Some photos of the cultural presentation.

A picture of the Mahatma in repose ... (Wikipedia)
These little ones were having a blast. They represent the ISCON group....
Youngsters from the Shri Trimuri Mandir singing for BapuJi ....

The Guyana Community Development Foundation Tackles Serious Issues in Guyana

Mr. Vince Ramcharran is the Chairperson of the Guyana Commmunity Development Foundation (GCDF) - a registered Non-Governmental Organization (NGO). GCDF's main purpose is to help stop domestic violence and suicide among youths, particularly in Berbice and Essequibo.

Mr. Vince lives in Prince George, Canada, but travels quite frequently to Guyana to see his work being done. He has an office in Belvedere, Albion, Berbice.

I'm very impress with the great work he, his foundation and team are involved in Guyana for our women folks and the youths. He is also very courageous and brave to tackle two of our society's greatest ills - domestic violence and suicide. These two issues have been plaguing our society for ages and going unchecked. It's time someone help put a STOP to these issues.

Thank you Mr. Vince for having the wisdom, understanding, courage and perseverance to tackle these problems. It must involve alot of work, but you persevere. Keep up the great work. The folks back home must be very grateful to you and your team.

Often time, I hear people say they would like to do this and that to help the folks back home, but Mr. Vince is actually doing the hard work and seeing results and making major difference in people's lives.

In March, he organized three community enhancement conferences held at at the University of Guyana, Tain Campus to enhance young people's leadership skills and to help them to make responsible decisions.

Topics discussed included, "Leadership,” “Peer counselling” and the final conference was on “Suicide Intervention.” I'm very happy to see one of my former teacher from Corentyne Comprehensive Secondary School, who is now the headmaster of the Winifred Gaskin Secondary School, Pandit Kamal Dhanessar, participated in the Suicide Intervention seminar. Good to see great work being done, one step at a time to help our youths back there.

At the end of each presentation the youths were involved in workshop sessions and members of the groups were then given the opportunity to present their findings on various topics to their colleagues.

The GCDF is working with a women’s group at Airy Hall, Essequibo to provide a program for domestic violence prevention with a grant of G$2 million [ US$10,000 ] which the women received from the Canada Fund. The GCDF has provided funding to a group at Vilvoorden in Essequibo for computer training, with an objective of producing a DVD for their centre, for fundraising purposes.

According to statistics, in 2006, Berbice had 74 suicides, while the figure for the previous year was 50. In 2007, there were 63 suicides in the county. Alarming indeed.

Mr. Vince noted that there is a great need for suicide intervention in Berbice as it has been found that counselling services are inadequate. He also hopes to have “outreach programmes at schools to implement these programmes effectively.”

Mr. Vince is one of the nice person who writes to me frequently and gave me pointers on how to improve the work I'm doing. I really appreciate his emails. I'm very impressed with his great work, I dedided to write about it too. Excerpts for this article was taken from emails he sent to me. Hopefully, he wouldn't mind my doing this. But, I also want folks to know about his great work and the people's need in Berbice.

Mr. Vince can be reached at: Lot 26 H, King Street,Belvedere North, Albion, Berbice, Guyana, South America.Office: 592-322-4044Cell: 592-698-2224.

Folks if anyone of you can help, please do so. Your intervention can save a life or stop the next domestic abuse. Let's act today!

I've searched for photos of the UG - Berbice Campus onl ine and I downloaded few from GINA.

One of the youngsters at the conference at Tain Campus ...

Berbice UG - Tain Campus ....
Berbice Campus ....
Mr. Vince Ramcharran .....

Nauratri Celebrations at Sanatan Dharma Mandir in NYC - September 2009

Hindus across the globe observed the Nauratri celebrations from September 19-27. Nauratri is nine nights of fasting and prayers dedicated to the worship of the Feminine aspect of God - called the Shakti or Durga Devi.

The first three nights were observed in honor of Durga Devi or Goddess Kali. The real meaning behind the first nights of observances was to help us to get rid of our impurities or Tamasic qualities.

The second three nights were dedicated to Latchmi Devi. Here, we were supposed to be at the mid-point level of our spiritual progress where the Rajasic qualities are evident.

The last three nights were dedicated to Saraswathi Devi. At this stage, our minds would have reached a very calm state and be ready to absorb spiritual knowledge.

Each Nauratri, the devotee's spiritual consciousness should reach a higher level - closer to God.

I enjoyed Nauratri Celebrations for this autumn season. My friend, Jenny and I attended the Sanatan Dharma Mandir every night. Like many devotees, we kept a strict fast.

On Saturday night, we observed the Kanya Puja - worshiping of nine little girls. Below are some photos of the celebrations.

Four of the Kanya Devi at the ceremony,

Folks at the mandir ...
Pandit Yoga Ramnarain reading from Durga Saptashati .... the scripture dedicated to Durga Maa.