Georgetown: As is customary, the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha has organized eight spectacular Deepavali Motorcades across the country.
According to the Sabha, Diwali will be celebrated on Wednesday November 11, 2015.
This will be the 42nd year for the motorcades. Thousands of Guyanese will line the streets and converge at the various venues to enjoy the dazzling spectacle which ushers in the Festival of Lights. There will be gorgeously bedecked representations of Mother Lakshmi and other depictions from the Scriptures, a kaleidoscope of lights, devotional music, spectacular cultural programmes and much more.
The first motorcade will be held on Friday November 6th at the Anna Regina Community Centre Ground, Essequibo. Floats will assemble at Affiance and Sparta from 18:00hrs and proceed to the Anna Regina Community Centre Ground.
On Saturday November 7th, motorcades will be held at the Oceanview Mandir Compound, West Coast Demerara and the Diamond Market Tarmac, East Bank Demerara. In West Coast Demerara, the beautifully decorated floats will leave from Ruimzeight and the Parika Junction and converge at the Oceanview Mandir Compound where there will be a grand cultural presentation featuring the Dharmic Nritya Sangh, top Guyanese singers Mohan Nandu, Sookrane Boodhoo, Mona Gowkarran, Rekha Singh and others. The programme will also feature dances, drama and a special presentation to the children and youths depicting gods and goddesses on the floats. In East Bank Demerara, floats will leave from the Providence Parking Lot and Soesdyke Vishnu Mandir at 6pm for the Diamond-Grove New Scheme Market Tarmac.
On Sunday November 8th, four motorcades will be held in Berbice. In West Coast Berbice, the motorcade will converge at the Bath Community Centre Ground. In East Berbice, the floats will assemble at Main and Vryheid Street opposite Church View Gift Shop and proceed to the Rosehall Community Centre Ground, Canje. In Upper Corentyne, floats will make their way from Crabwood Creek and No. 36 Village to the Tagore High School Ground. The Central Corentyne Praant’s Motorcade will move from Bushlot, Corentyne and No. 1 Village and converge at Port Mourant Community Centre Ground. All of the motorcades will culminate with grand cultural programmes and presentation of prizes beginning at 19:00hrs.
The spectacular Georgetown/ East Coast Demerara Motorcade will be held on Tuesday November 10th. Often described as the single largest event on the Guyanese calendar, this year’s motorcade promises to be exciting as ever. The fabulously decorated floats will assemble at the Shri Krishna Mandir, Campbellville from 17:30hours and will move west along Campbell Avenue into Sandy Babb Street, north into J.B Singh Road and east onto Seawall Road to the LBI Community Centre Ground. Guyanese are encouraged to line the route of the motorcade to enjoy the fantastic display of Guyanese creativity. More than 25 floats from Mandirs, Youth Groups and families have confirmed their participation. They have been working tirelessly and, from all indications, the floats will be simply magnificent this year.
At the LBI Community Centre Ground, the stage programme starts at 19:00hrs. There will be performances by ZEETV Saregamapa finalists Bishakh Jyoti and Shreyasi Bhattacharjee, Dharmic Nritya Sangh, Sookrane Boodhoo, Rekha Singh, Artie Sookhai, Mona Gowkarran and others. There will also be a short Ramlila presentation. In excess of 3M in cash and trophies will be presented to the winning floats in the small and large categories. Prizes will also be given for the most outstanding mandirs in each category and a special Andrew Arts Trophy will be the presented the best overall designed float.
Admission to all motorcades is free and no alcohol is allowed. There will be a number of food stalls offering a wide variety of vegetarian cuisine, mehendi stalls and lots of Diwali shopping opportunities at all venues. The Sabha wishes to express its special appreciation to its major sponsor Digicel for its support to all of the motorcades and to all the other sponsors who have generously contributed to the various motorcades including ICEE & Coca Cola, Caribbean Airlines, NTN Radio and Television, Massy Guyana Ltd, CellSmart, GPL, Guyoil, PKF, Barcellos Narine & Co, TCL Guyana Inc, Kanhai’s Guyana Electrical Agency, L Seepersaud Maraj & Sons, Apex Insurance Brokers, Rent-a-Tent, TVG & RGI, Fernleaf, King’s Jewellery World, Ready Mix Concrete Ltd, Golyn & Sons, Annjees Store, BK Marine Inc, Guysuco, Maggi, Smalta, Court Guyana, Umda Palka Ghee, GBTI, Demerara Bank Ltd, TSD Lal & Co, Digicom, Denmor Garments, E-Networks and Andrew Arts.
In addition to the motorcades, the Sabha is hosting a Pre-Diwali Dinner and Concert at the Marriott Hotel Ballroom on Monday November 9th at 7pm. Along with a sumptuous authentic Indian vegetarian feast, patrons will be treated to magnificent performances from Indian artistses and ZEETV Saregamapa finalists Bishakh Jyoti and Shreyasi Bhattacharjee. Both Bishakh and Shreyasi are fantastic singers who have visited Guyana before and gained much love following their success in the Saregamapa Singing Superstars Show and Lil Champs. Their song repertoire promises to be a real treat with melodies ranging from yesteryear’s classic hits to the chartbusters of present day. This event will also mark the launch of the building designs for the new Dharmic Rama Krishna Primary and Secondary Schools in East Coast demerara. All proceeds will go towards this project. Tickets for this event can be booked by calling 227-6181.
Dharmic Sabha has also organized rangoli competitions in several schools around the country to encourage student participation in the festival. On Sunday November 15, the Mahila Mandalee, women’s section of the Sabha, will host a children’s Diwali party at the Pandit Reepu Daman Persaud Dharmic Sanskritik Kendra in Georgetown.
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