Fearing the defilement of Diwali observances, a group of Hindu organisations have issued a public call for the National Diwali Committee to rename and reschedule its Miss Diwali Sari Pageant.
In a joint statement published in yesterday’s Kaieteur News, the Guyana Pandits’ Council and Radha Krishna Mandir, the Gandhi Youth Organisation, the Guyana Sewashram Sangh, the Mahakali Organisation of Guyana, ISKCON, the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (Guyana), the Hindu Society of Berbice and Shri Krishna Mandir, and the Paropakarik Sabha (Essequibo) urged that the pageant be rescheduled to a time outside the sacred Diwali period later this month and called on sponsors to pull their support if the organisers go ahead on October 25th.
Spokesperson for the collective, Swami Aksharananda told Stabroek News yesterday that the pageant was a vulgar use of the festival and described it as a commercialisation of Hinduism. “This has been going on a long time in our country,” he said, adding, “but we are now waking up.”
In the statement, the groups said they were dissatisfied with the decision to go ahead with the pageant during the sacred and auspicious period, when Hindus are engaged in the worship of Mahalakshmi. It noted that for Hindus everywhere, Diwali is about the propitiation of Mother Lakshmi, who grants the devotees sustenance, fullness and enlightenment. And while Hindus will celebrate the Beauty of the Divine as part of the festival, the groups said the pageant cannot in any way pretend to represent what Lakshmi means to Hindus since it does not recognise or promote the social and spiritual values associated with worship of her. The groups explained: “Consequently, we are of the firm conviction that ‘Miss Diwali Pageant 2008’ violates the sacredness and spirituality of one of the most revered Hindu festivals and constitutes a blatant exploitation of Hinduism.”
Since advertisements were first published for the pageant, it has attracted a stream of divided opinion on its appropriateness. There have been as many defenders as detractors.
Swami Aksharananda said he has always opposed the holding of Diwali pageants and rubbished the defence by organisers that the pageant is not about Mother Lakshmi. He said the festival rests upon the worship of Mother Lakshmi and said the organisers are exploiting it by using the word “Diwali” and staging the pageant during the sacred period.
Guyana National Diwali Committee Chairman Pradeep Samtani, who had previously said he had no difficulty renaming the pageant, said yesterday that no one had approached the committee about the issue. He acknowledged the debate in the press but said the committee remains unconvinced that the pageant desecrates the festival. He also said it is too late now to do anything.
Samtani added that the across the world there continue to be events organised around Diwali, including cruises.
He also noted that the pageant has a long history and has had strong support. He drew attention to a comment posted on the Stabroek News website by a person who claimed to have attended a Diwali fair organised by the British Guiana Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha in 1963. The writer said the fair’s main feature was a Miss Diwali beauty contest, which was won by Janet Rajnarine, daughter of a coconut estate magnate. “The then Premier Dr. Cheddi Jagan sashed and kissed her on stage and people cheered,” the writer said, adding, the Master of Ceremonies was the Maha Sabha’s then General Secretary, Pandit Reepu Daman Persaud. (Persaud is a member of the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha, which has also publicly criticised the pageant.)
Another comment came from someone who said she was a past winner. She felt that the resuscitation of the pageant is a good idea, but in the same breath urged that the sacredness of the festival be respected. She suggested a compromise: calling the pageant a “Sari Pageant” and not a “Diwali Pageant” in order to avoid the controversy. “The pageant does bring Indian women to the forefront,” she said, “proving that we are not docile. As many may perceive us to be.”
