Indian Heritage Month Exhibition

The Guyanese of Indian Ancestry Association (GIAA) recently held a very well-received “Indian Heritage Exhibition” on May 27 to 31 at Texila American University at Providence, East Bank Demerara (EBD), as part of their observance of Indian Heritage Month. For the entire month, the organisation had published a daily feature in Guyana Times that illustrated thirty-one themes on what they declared to be “Girmitiya Indian Heritage” from India to Guyana.
Now that the organisers have had time to relax after their obvious exertions, this newspaper interviewed the President Khandai Seenanan (KS) and Secretary Sorojini Mohabir (SM) about their exhibition.
Guyana Times (GT): First let us ask GIAA, what is Indian Heritage Month?
KS: GIAA has been around since 2017 following the commemoration of the Abolition of Indian Indentureship in March of that year. Then we organised a grand Mela for Indian Arrival Day at the Leonora National Track on West Coast Demerara that attracted thousands from across the region. In the following year, we broadened our horizons to encompass a wider range of activities during the month because we found that many Guyanese, even those of Indian Heritage, were not aware of their history.
SM: Yes. Especially the youths who are only exposed to what is on social media and movies, with them there is no awareness of the conditions under which their ancestors were brought here and the contributions they made to their country’s development. We conducted several heritage camps and also some sports activities.
GT: Tell us a bit more of the Heritage Exhibition.
KS: Well, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, our activities were curtailed since 2020 and even this year there were challenges since many were unsure of the protocols. The major focus of the exhibition was information on our Indian Guyanese Heritage. The plan was to use the daily “factoids” on our heritage published in the Guyana Times – and written by our group’s mentor, Mr Ravi Dev – as the core. Each day’s contribution, such as, for example, “The Journey across Kala Pani” was blown up to poster size and these were mounted to be exhibited.
SM: In addition to the information summarised on the posters, we also exhibited artefacts that our ancestors brought with them. Most important to them were what they felt were necessary for survival – cooking utensils!! The “Taawah” or cast-iron griddle, for instance was essential for cooking roti which is an integral part of their diet.
Many persons do not realise that they also brought many seeds that were important not only for agriculture, such as mangoes and paddy, but also for worship such as “Tulsi “and “Madaar”. The Holy books of the Quaran and Ramcharitmanas of Tulsidas were also brought.
GT: We saw some clothes and food also.
SM: Well, most people think of Indian clothes when they think of “heritage” but the actual clothes worn by our ancestors when they came were very different and gradually, they evolved unique styles of dress. The rumal or Madrass woven headdress, for example, has now almost disappeared and all that we have now are the Bollywood-style clothes that have come with the movies.
KS: The food we brought were very simple since our ancestors were recruited from the farming sector for agricultural labour. Dhal, rice, roti and cooked vegetables like bigan, bora and lauki (squash) were staples and remain so in many homes. Interestingly these are now considered a very balanced meal with protein, carbohydrates, green vegetables. Sweets like pera made from sugar and milk were also popular.
GT: Any closing words?
KS: We would like to thank those who assisted with the Exhibition. Mr Ravi Dev for writing the articles, Texila University for hosting the exhibition, Mr Chris Persaud and the Indian High Commission for assisting with the costs of creating the posters, Krishna Balram Printers/TP Image and Ms Ryhaan Shah for the mannequin to display the clothes.
SM: GIAA would like to say to all Guyanese that we must be knowledgeable and proud of our heritages since they all help to make up this wonderful mosaic called “One Guyana”.