The Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha (SDMS) created history in Tobago on Friday when the Bago India Cultural Society (Bics), the Tobago arm of the SDMS, staged a portrayal of Ramleela celebrations for the first time on the sister island. The tropical storm watch issued for the island did not prevent Bics from going ahead with plans to bring Divali celebrations to the community of Clarke Trace, Signal Hill. Ramleela players from Aranguez and Dow Village, Couva made the trip to the sister island where they donned full costume and staged a street procession re-enacting excerpts from the Ramayan. Villagers said they were unaware of Ramleela and wanted to learn about it.
RIGHT: Rayan Ramoutar, the head of Bics, greets fellow Tobagonians. Photos: Shastri Boodan
Rayan Ramoutar, the head of Bics, said the community had been excited about Divali celebrations and many villagers got involved in preparing the area for the lighting of deyas. Ramoutar said Bics plans to go to various communities annually to expose the people to Divali and other facets of Indian culture. "We are all citizens of this great country and our aim is to foster a better understanding of each other's culture to ensure a sense of greater community cooperation and to dispel any misconceptions about Hinduism." The event was attended by Oswald Williams, the Secretary for Tourism at the Tobago House of Assembly and Vernie Shields, the head of the Tobago arm of the T&T Chamber of Commerce.
Shields, delivering the feature address, said when she came to Tobago in 2005 little was said about Divali outside of the Hindu community. Tobagonians, she said, are now learning more about Divali through organisations such as Bics. She called for the light of Divali to enter the hearts of all nationals to create a better T&T. "Let the light that this great festival of Divali symbolises capture our minds, hearts and soul. Let it be the reason for our very existence and form the basis of our offerings to the divine Creator," she appealed.
