Tuesday February 9th, 2010
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FACE-TO-FACE
Sharma: Disunity part of the Indian psyche
Published: 18 Oct 2009
Deokinanan Sharma
Divali Nagar is arguably the largest religious festival in Trinidad and Tobago. The week-long affair is presented by the National Council of Indian Culture (NCIC) in the week leading up to the annual Hindu observance of Divali. The free exhibition of music, dance, art, with Oriental cuisine, attracts thousands each night at its site on the outskirts of the town centre of Chaguanas. Toward the end of a hectic week, Deokinanan Sharma, the long-serving president of NCIC, spared some time to discuss the event.
Q:How has the annual Divali Nagar festival promoted the ideals of Hinduism?
A: It has done so through the medium of the exhibition that we present each year. We put up an aspect of Indian culture and especially of Hinduism. We have done so since the inception of the Nagar. About ten years ago, we employed the services of someone from Mumbai, India, who put together the exhibition after doing the research along with other experts from his city. He has put together exhibitions whose formats have been quite stunning and he goes into fairly good depth in aspects of Hinduism appropriate to the chosen theme of the particular year.
You have criticised the Government over funding of the Nagar. Can you provide details?
Our funding comes from the Ministry of Culture and amounts to small amounts. Over the past two years, the sum has dwindled by considerable amounts. Last year the funding declined by between 40 and 50 per cent; this year there was another 30 per cent cut. I don’t know whether this trend will continue. I hope the Ministry sees the value of the Nagar to the national community and reverses its trend. I look forward very much to that.
What do you say to critics who complain of the commercialisation of the Nagar?
We just have to live with the criticism. I have explained on stage, time and again, that without rental of the booths, it would be difficult to stage the Nagar in the grandiose manner in which it is staged. The commercial area also provides employment and helps out people generally. It is a positive feature. Those are the plain facts.
Is Hinduism on the rise in T&T?
I may not be the most appropriate person to answer this. I do not have statistics to back this up, but it appears that religion is generally consolidating, with more and more people going into their religions and practising their faiths, especially with the state of our nation today. With respect to Indian culture and Hinduism, some people point to crossover music bands, saying they are diluting the culture. I hope we would not lose our traditional culture. I hope it would be preserved and maintained.
Is Hinduism losing out to full-gospel churches?
Again, you are asking this of the wrong person. Our culture is growing and our faith is being propagated. But in a society like ours, you can expect that there would be crossover in worship. That would not be unusual. I do not feel, though, that Hinduism is being affected.
Are youth being attracted to the faith in large numbers?
I would think so. Although some promote Indian culture and Hinduism separately, it is difficult to separate the culture and Hinduism, and more and more youth are involved in the culture. You could see evidence of this everywhere. Just look around. So, it is clear that the culture is in good hands, and, of course, the culture is linked to the religion. So, I feel there is a strong presence of youth in the Hindu faith.
While US President Barack Obama hosted a Divali function at the White House, there has been no official event by the T&T Government. Does this upset you?
Yes, we wonder why this is so. A few years ago there was a Divali function at the Prime Minister’s residence. We do not know why there are no more such functions. We have no idea why this was stopped. Christmas is still celebrated, I think. We are all part of the nation of Trinidad and Tobago. I think it should be reinstated. If this is done, it would send a positive message to the nation from the top.
Is disunity among Hindu leaders affecting the faithful?
It seems that disunity is part of the Indian psyche, and we just have to deal with that. We have tried from time to time to bring the groups together as one body; we have not succeeded. Several people have been involved in that exercise. Efforts would continue to be made. We hope that at some time there would be an umbrella body to deal with issues facing the Hindu community. We would not stop our efforts and we look forward to achieving our desired goal. On the other hand, there are good reasons for what appears to be disunity. There are different strands of Hindu culture, and this has led to various perspectives. We have to be fair and look at things from all sides.
What was your message to the Nagar this year?
I spoke of the Hindu concept of God. Hindus believe that each individual is a part of The Divinity, a part of a supreme soul and we are all divine in nature. This is especially so of good souls. Our outlook would change if we all accept that we are part of the divine. It would assist with respect to things affecting the country if we all see the good in each other. I request that everyone sees the divine in each other. That was my message.
What is the fondest memory you are taking from this year’s edition of Divali Nagar?
It is the image of thousands of people of all races and classes coming together at a function with no alcohol and meat. Also, the sight of so many people and no serious incidents is another high point. I do not recall any major incidents ever taking place. On the closing night, there were more than 30,000 people present and their behaviour was exemplary. It proves that we are capable of appropriate behaviour. I hope this permeates throughout the year. The Nagar promotes a wholesome atmosphere and is enjoyed by so many people. That makes me happy.
How much of your time does the Nagar take?
Oh, I spend most of my time there. But I enjoy it all.
Taken out of context, that's
Taken out of context, that's a pretty broad and probably negative brush with which Indians are being painted. From where I sit, I see a lot of unity among Indians in many spheres: this Divali Nagar celebrations especially, other religious festivities, family, village actvities, education, etc. There is quite a great deal of evidence of co-operation and unity among Indo-Trinidadians.
On the other hand, there appears to be a lot of disunity in all the above too. However, if political unity is being implied here, then that's another story. It also begs the question: is there necessarily a need for 'Indian political unity' in a diverse population such as ours here in TT? Except, of course, if Indian hegemony is being advocated.In any case, save for the diehard 'apan jaat-ers' or the 'race first' voters, political unity along lines of race or ethinicity, religion, or any other special interests is impossible, and may not serve the best interests of our country.
Merit and talent is what will serve us best, ideally.
Politicians and other people seeking power are clever people and know how to 'win friends and influence people'. One (in)famous method by which they do this is by the principle of 'who-have-more-corn-feed-more-fowl'. Politicians can influence people, whether Indian, African, Chinese, mixed etc by offering many 'carrots' or varieties of 'corn', among other things, money, contracts, positions of prestige and power, such as a ministerial or a diplomatic posting. Is there evidence of this in Trinidad and Tobago?
ajfyzabadbutlertown
DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILIES
DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILIES -
Most of us are aware of some dysfunction in our family. What is the way forward? We have the recognition, we need the recipe. Apparent dysfunction is sometimes a function of growth, a fusions of old and new value systems. This is not unique to Indian families.
Divali Nagar - Mr. Sharma:
Divali Nagar - Mr. Sharma: -
Mr. Ali, I find the Headline Misleading, as this article is realy about Hinduism today in T&T and the Divali Nagar; not about Disunity of the Indian Psyche. You did us a dis-service, Sir. You sensationalized a brilliant article by the wrong choice of words. You could have done better.
HOWEVER, I find that you were able to conduct a very solid interview with Mr. Sharma, as you had prepared yourself with pertinent questions prior to their meeting. It was quite evident that you conducted yourself with professinalism and Mr. Sharma's responses showed his calm disposition, as he never got ruffled with the questions being asked; even though one of the questions, which I will get to later on was a bit 'off coloured'. ***
May I be presumption enough to assume that you, Mr. Ali is a Muslim and Mr. Sharma a Hindu. There is a history of both religions existing side by side, but walking gently, so as not to cross/annoy the other, as we see happening in South Asia the motherland of most of our 'indian' forefathers, where violence has been known to erupt from time to time. We in T&T are very fortunate in that we, a collection of races, religions, and ethnicity can live side by side embracing each other's similarities and diversities.
The Divali Nagar is an annual event that gives the opportunity for all our peoples to join with the Hindu community in celebration of warmth, love and brotherhood. This is a positive undertaking, and it helps to erase some of the hostilities we have to face in today's world where negativity is literally destroying us. Any event that creates positive long term results should be encouraged. For our government to keep chipping away at the funds they provide sends the message that they wish to 'stifle' the Hindu community and prevent their growth as an integral part of this country.
This is no different to what I see Mr. Manning doing in the 'black' community, among the challenged people. He aims to 'dumb it down' and would rather see them remain underprivilege and uneducated and constantly struggling to survive. In this process he can throw them a few goodies at election time and they will vote for him, no questions asked. How else can he justify bringing in all those Chinese workers to 'build' our country while we have so many, especially in the 'black' community who could be property trained to do many of these very jobs. This P.M. aims to suppress his people in order to remain in a state of 'absolute power'.
Whether Hinduism is on the rise in T&T or not is a non-issue. We have the freedom to choose what ever religion we wish to follow, and be true to its teachings in our daily lives; respecting the choices others make, and be productive members of society.
However, I have a problem with "full-gospel churches" because they prey upon the Hindu community, in what they call going on mission or conversion journeys. They can do whatever they wish but they tend to become aggressive and disrespectful in their attempts to convert. When you refuse to listen to them, or let then unto your premises, they become a nuisance. They even attempt to disrespet the religion you follow; even tell you that being a Hindu is being a 'heathen, a sinner' etc. Hindus are easy to identify as we have our jyandis (flag) prominently displayed on our premises. If we want to convert to any religion other than our own, we should be allowed to do so on our own volition. Putting it this way - If I want to buy a shirt, I will go to the store to buy it; I do not want the store to come knocking on my door to get me to buy a shirt from them. The same goes for religion; we should do our own research and make our own choices. Many of these 'churches' have ulterior motives, and God, the Almighty and the teachings of morality and spirituality are no where in their master plan.
The Hindu youths are coming into their own. They, like other groups are trying to 'find' themselves, but at the end of the day, they are accepting the teachings and customs of Hinduism. You see Himduism is not really a religion, but rather a way of life.
Mr. Manning, is the Prime Minister of T&T, that means ALL the peoples regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, mental and/or physical challenges or sexual orientation. When he slighted the Hindu community this year, it showed how 'little' a man he really is. His 'delusions of grandeur' has overtaken him. He has lost all sense of reality. He can do whatever he wishes in his private life, and that is none of our business. But when it comes to him carrying out his duties as the Prime Minister of T&T, we expect him to comply with protocol. He did not disrespect the Hindu community, hut rather really disrespected himself. Poor man!
The President of the U.S., Mr. Obama is an intelligent man, and he intends to govern by including all peoples under his watch. He has had many groups, cultural and religious at the White House and joined in celebration with all of them. How sad we could not see some of this 'class and intelligence' in our own Prime Minister. Perhaps the next one will conduct himself/herself with more dignity. We can hope.
*** IS DISUNITY AMONG HINDU LEADERS AFFECTING THE FAITHFUL?
This question Mr. Ali has thrown me off my seat a bit, to try and figure out where you were coming from and what you really meant by this quesion; and what type of responses you were attempting o elicit from Mr. Sharma. I will take a shot anyway. But I think that Mr. Sharma has given you an intelligent response.
Hinduism is not a one-prong religion. We have different fractions such as the Maha Sabha, the Arya Samaj, SWAHA, Devine Life, Sai Baba, etc. All following the same teachings travelling different roads to get to the same destination. So if according to Mr. Sharma this is looked at as "disunity" then it is part of the Indian "psychie" (mindset, our make-up - who we are as a people). This is a work in progress, and I see on-going efforts will be made, taking into account the differences and attempting to come uhder one umbrella, as we all know that we are stronger when we join hands: We can move mountains. In all families, the human family, religious family, etc. there are disagreements, but these are simply 'growing pains' and as time goes by we will be able to make small changes, a litle at a time, which eventually will amount to the big change we deiress.
This year's message of "the Hindu concept of God" was calming. "Hindus believe that each individual is a part of The Divinity, a part of a supreme soul and we are all devine in nature. This is especially so of good souls. Our outlook would change if we all accept that we are part of the devine. It would assist with respect of things affecting the country if we all see the good in each other. I request that everyone sees the divine in each other."
Mr. Sharma fondest memory is a simple one, no glorification. He was happy to see all our peoples coming together as one and enjoying each others company without creating chaos. It is quite evident that Mr. Deokinanan Sharma enjoys his involvement with the Divali Nagar - Dedication and Love. Thats a very good thing.
Thank you Mr. Ali for an interesting article, minus one small glitch.
Gardenia
Divali Nagar - Mr. Sharma:
Divali Nagar - Mr. Sharma: -
Duplicate - Sorry