Historic fly-past over 52-ft Hanuman murti

…salute from Guyana’s warriors to a Hindu Warrior

On Sunday, history was made in Guyana when a helicopter from the Guyana Defence Force air wing, on behalf of the entire Guyana military, made a flypast over the historic 52-foot murti (sacred image) of Lord Hanuman on the island of Leguan during the commissioning of the figure.

As had been reported by this newspaper, the sculpture was constructed by a local home-grown talent, Jainarine Prahalad, in collaboration with his brother-in-law, Pandit Sunil Sharma, who is the “pandit-in-charge” of the Mandir in the village of Blenheim, on Leguan. All of the funds to construct the edifice were donated by the Guyanese public at home and in the Diaspora.

According to Malcolm Harripaul, the first commissioned GDF officer from Leguan and who also helped to coordinate the programme, Lord Hanuman was a soldier in the army of Lord Rama and fought so bravely, he was called “Mahabir” ever since – meaning Great Hero”. Harripaul, who is now attached to the Ministry of the Presidency, arranged for the military flypast, because he felt this was a fitting acknowledgement to the great warrior. He advised more Hindus to join the army.

The pilot of the helicopter, Major Michael Charles also has Leguan roots and as his craft circled the huge murti, the attendees at the day-long ceremony spontaneously exclaimed, “Money Man grandson!”. Evidently, Charles’ grandfather is from Leguan and as is customary in rural areas, is known only by his “call name”. The participants appreciated Harripaul’s identification of Hanuman as a warrior, and prayers were offered regarding the role the members of the Army and its new Chief-of-Staff play in defending our borders.

The ceremonial Hindu rites to install, consecrate and sanctify (“shtaapan) the murti started at 07:00h in the morning and was conducted by Pandit Sunil Sharks. At 10:00h, a programme of speeches and bhajans (Hindu religious songs) was chaired by Harripaul. The speeches were kicked off by the Chairman of the Leguan Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC), the People’s Progressive Party/Civic’s Albert James, who is also the Pastor of the historic Anglican Church on the island. He said in a multi-religious society like Guyana, there has to be an acceptance that all religions advise the same relationship between man and God, and there was no need for conversion once a person practises the tenets of his faith sincerely. Anna Catherina Islamic Complex (ACIC) President Hakim Khan congratulated the Hindu community on their act of faith to construct such a sculpture and also emphasised for each to practice their faith scrupulously.

Ravi Dev, representing the Hindus for Selfless Service (HSS), used the analogy of Hanuman, who, although a repository of wisdom and strength, had to be reminded about who he was as he was sent on a mission to reconnoitre the enemy island city of Raven – Lanka. He reminded the Leguan residents that one of the first of two Hindu Mandirs was described in 1870 as being in Leguan. He also spoke of the prominent residents of the island, in addition to its role as the major producer of parboiled rice from the 1960s. Junior Public Infrastructure Minister Annette Ferguson also acknowledged her Leguan roots and congratulated the Leguan islanders on their achievement. She affirmed that the recent asphalting of the island’s roads would be completed in two weeks.

Social Cohesion Minister Amna Ally concluded the programme with an exposition on the nature of murtis in general and that of Hanuman in particular. She also spoke of some achievements of the Government, but wrongly stated that the roads on the island had never been asphalted.

Jonathan Subrayan, a visiting social worker from New York, supplemented the local singers with a wide array of “appropriate” Bhajans.