The first-ever “One Guyana” Diwali Jalsa was opened at the Skeldon Recreational Park, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), on Tuesday evening, setting the tone for a massive celebration of Diwali this weekend.
As President Irfaan Ali and First Lady Arya Ali joined Cabinet Ministers to kickstart the festivities, he dubbed this new initiative one that would not only bring people together, but would serve as both a tourism product and one that brings the diaspora back to Guyana.
“This celebration will be one that will continue in the coming years. It will be one that we continue to invest more and more, so that families in the diaspora can plan their activities around this period, to be here in Berbice to celebrate this rich spiritual experience,” the President underscored.
Diwali is widely regarded as “the Festival of Lights”
as homes are decorated with many brightly-lit diyas, and as the celebration nears, President Ali has called on Guyanese to reflect inwardly and shine their individual brightness.
“It allows us that scope through which we can understand each other better. Today, we live in a world that is marked with immense darkness, to the extent that many avoid looking at the news these days. Under such circumstances, as a nation, we must re-energize ourselves, brighten our individual light to create a collective brightness that will make the changes that are positive for our country,” the President said.
The Head of State, speaking on the uniqueness of the Guyanese community, and how people from all walks of life are brought together during national festivities, said:
“This period of enlightenment will add to the richness of who we are as a people; will add to the closeness that we bring ourselves to in celebration of such a great festival.
“Today, we are continuing off the very great tradition of many who came before us.
It goes beyond the lighting of diyas; it goes to the foundation, the value system, principles through which we celebrate Diwali. One of the things we want to do as a country, as a people, is to celebrate together, acknowledge together, and the only way we can do this is if we bring community life to everything we do,” he adumbrated.
Ali underscored that every single community today is benefitting from the prosperity and development that Government is investing in. However, one key aspect is the ‘human prosperity’ side of the coin.
“That human prosperity allows us to be thankful, respectful, true to our conscience, satisfied. That does not come from monetary investment; that comes from individual, family and collective action through which we become each other’s keeper and support each other,” the Guyanese leader told attendees.
Tourism, Industry and Commerce Minister Oneidge Walrond described the spectacular initiative as a ‘compelling’ tourism product.
She explained, “Visitors want to come and immerse themselves in our traditions, our art, our food, our culture. They will want to immerse and embrace this experience. The diaspora comes back, and this is the type of thing they relish in…It is a profound and compelling tourism product. This intangible and cohesive product that we have was articulated when he [Ali] became President under the umbrella of ‘One Guyana’.”
The evening was also graced by the presence of Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh, who linked the presence of inner light to the eradication of ignorance, weakness and evil.
“It is imperative that we not only light diyas and lamps and beautiful motorcades, but it is important that we light the inner light. We cannot claim to celebrate such an important fixture in the Hindu calendar and only celebrate it by lighting superficial lights,” he declared.
Diwali Jalsa is a prelude to the grand observance on Sunday. The private sector has pledged to support the 26 temples involved in this initiative with a donation of $100,000 to each. (G12)
