It was a triple celebration for the Shri Datta Treya Yoga Centre in Waterloo on Monday: the 83rd anniversary of its spiritual leader, Indian Arrival Day, and a welcome to the United National Congress government.
Neval Chatelal, Kaveesh The Band, Reshma Rajeev, and a cultural connection to India through the music of Indian singer Dr. Shailesh Srivastava and her team set the mood for the celebrations in Waterloo.
Reflecting on Indian Arrival Day, Minister of Justice and Minister in the Ministry of the Attorney General, Devesh Maharaj, spoke about the resilience of the Indian forefathers who fought to preserve the culture, identity, and religion of East Indians in Trinidad and Tobago.
“Today we can stand and sit here in this wonderful ashram in Trinidad and Tobago, that we have brought our tradition; our forefathers have brought their traditions to Trinidad and Tobago to blend into the tapestry of lives of Trinidad and Tobago, where we are able not only to thrive but to live in coexistence and adapt to a Western lifestyle but still preserve our identity and our religion.”
India’s High Commissioner to Trinidad and Tobago Dr. Pradeep Singh Rajpurohit said he’s amazed by the traditions that East Indians have been able to adopt and preserve here.
“Indian Arrival Day is definitely a landmark occasion this year because of 180 years, and we say that even after many years, we all coming from Bharat we are amazed to see the kinds of the norms, the traditions, the values being maintained, preserved — many of them actually more than what we have in Bharat. I have been here for a year and a half, and I see all over, Indian Arrival Day is a befitting occasion.”