Dear Editor,
The late Pandit Arjun Doobay of the East Coast was remembered last week at a special ceremony in Richmond Hill on the occasion of his 10th death anniversary. He was a stalwart of Hinduism in Guyana and America coming from a family of Sanskrit scholars. Pandit Doobay was the Dharmacharya of the USA Pandits Parishad and had a long list of chelas (followers) in America, who came from afar for this remembrance ceremony.
He was born in Triumph and grew up on Ogle Estate where he was the spiritual leader of the very old temple built during the indentureship period. His father emigrated from Jaunpur District in the State of Uttar Pradesh and practised Panditai work.
Seven nights of religious discourses were held in his honour attracting full houses at the Maha Lakshmi Temple in Richmond Hill. His son Pandit Swasti presided over the discourses.
He served the Hindu community in New York in a variety of ways, including organizing the Phagwah parade and leading a school to train pandits. He was one of the founders of the Holi Sammelan (concert) held in 1988 at the Hillcrest auditorium, which was among the earliest concerts held in America featuring Guyanese artistes. Panday Arjune was respected and admired by other pandits and the Guyanese population at large. Pandit Arjune migrated to New York in 1976 after he was sponsored by his daughter who had settled earlier in the US.
According to Ramesh Kalicharran, one of the initiators of the Pandits Parishad of America, Pandit Doobay performed exemplary service to the Hindu and Guyanese community in the US. I, myself, remember him attending meetings for the First Global Conference of People of Indian Origin at the Sheraton, Manhattan in 1989 when myself, Dr Ravi Dev, etc, represented Indo-Guyanese and presented papers at the week-long academic conference. Pandit Arjune died at the age of 89.
Several community advocates lauded the contributions made by Pandit Arjune who was remembered for his peaceful smile and his mastery of the scriptures. His knowledge of the Hindu scriptures led to other pandits voting him as the Dharmacharya of the USA Pandits.
Yours faithfully,
Vishnu Bisram
