Dear Editor
On May 15th, Stabroek News published a letter from the Sanatan Vaidic Dharma Pandits’ Sabha of Region 3, signed by Pt R Balbadar, as President, condemning the manner in which the May 7th, 2106, Mother’s Day festivities were celebrated at the Tuschen South Shiva Mandir, Tuschen, EBE.
Mr Balbadar used of the words “unsavoury act”. If these were intended to describe the entire event, then it should be noted it was attended by more than 300 guests, of which more than half were youths. It was these same very excited yet determined Mandir youths who managed the event. They spent considerable time in decorating to create the ambience for this social Mother’s Day occasion. Tables and chairs were wiped clean before being strategically juxtaposed in the Mandir and surrounding areas, to manage the limited space. To create a convivial atmosphere, a Bollywood video of songs and dances was shown as the guests were filtering in. Before their entry, however, youngsters managed the shoe bay by placing the guests’ shoes in bags and issuing numbered tags for easy retrieval. No guest entered with shoes on. The ushers smilingly escorted the guests to their tables and the servers ensured that each guest was treated royally by constantly replenishing their glasses with coconut water, fruit juices and soft drinks. No alcohol was served. The waiters/waitresses excited the most undiscriminating palates with an assortment of signature recipe fruits and overwhelmed the guests with tantalizing, aromatic vegetarian dishes. Concurrently, a live performance of soft Indian/Bollywood themed songs was crooned by various artistes punctuated by extemporaneous positive plaudits by surprised audience members.
As dinner tailed off, DJ music wafted through the air, and a few mothers slowly swayed to the rhythmic beats. As an aside, music and dance have invariably been integrated in most cultures. In Hindu theology, Lord Shiva, performed the Shiva Tandava, a cosmic dance of creation, preservation and dissolution. Bharatnatyam, Kuchipudi, Odissi and Kathak are the hallmarks of Indian classical dance. With much delight and gusto our Hindu/Indian folks pride themselves in re-inventing these dance forms at social functions. Therein lies another thread in preserving Hindu culture. The entire evening event came to a closure a bit thereafter.
A pandit or pundit (Sanskrit word) is defined as a scholar and a teacher, particularly skilled in the Sanskrit language, who has mastered the four Vedas, Hindu rituals, laws, religion, music and/or philosophy, and enjoyed a Guru/Shishya institutionalized relationship. Are all in his group in alignment with the above before castigating others? As for a governing body, which group is the pre-eminent authority for all things Hindu?
Does Mr Balbadar have any empirical evidence to claim that the Mother’s Day event at the Mandir single-handedly brought Hinduism into disrepute? At the very least, does he have a signed petition from, let’s say, twenty members of this Mandir attesting to this perceived transgression? Or perhaps an ad hoc poll of the attendant guests, after the event? In all honesty, in the absence of this, his writing and that of his group is simply conjecture and biased opinions.
In my humble opinion, these impressionable youngsters, displayed maturity and élan, by industriously working as a team and creating a ‘can do’ attitude. Religion has and will continue to evolve. For the continued relevancy and success of one’s religion, and to ensure its perpetuation, youths must be involved. These youngsters dared to think out of the box and fashioned an overwhelmingly successful initiative. Kudos to them, and they should be encouraged to continue to accept greater responsibility in future endeavours.
Mr Balbadar and company should be applauding, not denigrating, this initiative. Sadly, some older folks seem unable to embrace changes and paradigm shifts. I can say with confidence that Mr Balbadar should lighten up and give these youngsters the encomiums they so richly deserve.
Yours faithfully,
Jonathan Subrian
