TRINIDAD, September 25, 2004: A monument of Mahant Ramdass was unveiled at the El Dorado Shiv Mandir last Sunday. The late Mahant, fondly called “Kutia Baba” by villagers, came to Trinidad from India as an indentured immigrant in 1889. During his lifetime, he was “guru” and godfather to many, rendering social and religious service to his community and people around the nation. The unveiling ceremony last Sunday was preceded by the chanting of bhajans by devotees of the mandir. Sat Maharaj, secretary general of the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha (SDMS), performed the unveiling ceremony. Amidst the reciting of mantras by Pundit Vinai Sharma, devotees offered flowers while Maharaj, assisted by Kumar Sammy, president of the mandir, unveiled the statute of the late Mahant. The warm morning sunshine lit up the white marble statute and devotees bowed in reverence before the man who was an exemplar in his community.



“The strength of Hinduism today is the series of institutions created around the country,” said Maharaj. “The SDMS has created more than 160 religious and 60 educational institutions and also branched out into social welfare,” he said. “From tapia houses in El Dorado, we have inherited, expanded and created. Today we have the El Dorado North Hindu School, the El Dorado South Hindu School and the El Dorado Shiv Mandir,” he noted “The initial work was done by Mahant Ramdass. We will honor our people in our own way. We have built a monument in his memory,” Maharaj added.



As an indentured immigrant, Kutia Baba was assigned to the Ogden area, which comprised St James and Boissiere. At an early age, he was recognized as a very pious man with spiritual powers and knowledge. Around 1926, Ramdass moved from St James to El Dorado on the invitation of another immigrant named Moorgan, who was influential in obtaining a parcel of land for the Mahant to build a mandir. On the land, the Mahant built a Drupadi Mandir, the very spot that the El Dorado Shiv Mandir stands today. At the mandir, Mahant Ramdass conducted puja and distributed parsad to the village’s children. He was loved and revered by all the villagers. He also officiated at Hindu weddings, bhagwats and other rituals. His medium of communication was in Hindi for Ramdass knew little English. His name spread far and wide and people from around the country came to him to cure their ailments and resolve domestic problems. He never took money for his services.



Mahant Ramdass died on September 25, 1975, leaving a legacy of rich religious and cultural tradition for the El Dorado community. Within recent times, the El Dorado Shiv Mandir has initiated a special award in his name. This award is given to persons who attained excellence in social and community work.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK, August 28, 2004: Celebrations of the 150th Sree Narayana Gurudeva Jayanthi were held across the world during the weekend of August 28-29. The followers of Sree Narayana Guru in the North East region of the U.S. celebrated under the auspices of Sree Narayana Association of North America with a full day’s events celebrating the life of the great saint and reformer of Kerala. The festivities were held in New York on August 28. The festival was filled with symposiums, discussions and discourses, speeches, cultural festivities and a grand feast. The celebration of the 150th anniversary were combined with Silver Jubilee celebrations of the Sree Narayana Association of North America. For the full summary of the festivities and guest speakers, click on “source” above.

NEW DELHI, INDIA, September 24, 2004: Spectacular spins, rhythmic footwork, graceful detailed movements, this Kathak dancer has it all. Meet Masako Sato, a Japanese chemical engineer, who has dedicated herself to Indian classical dance, her passion and now her life. “Since childhood I was interested in dance, but my family couldn’t afford it. My mother taught me Japanese classical dance and Ikebana, flower arrangement. I also learned piano,” says Sato who lived in countryside town of Niigata, 200 kilometres from Tokyo. When Sato was nine years old she saw a Russian Ballad for the first time, but could not express her desire to her parents, for fear of being refused. At the age of 15 during her final year in engineering, Sato went to Spain where she started learning Flamingo dance during her holidays. She joined Toshiba company in Tokyo as a chemical engineer. Her visit to India in 1996 changed Sato’s life forever. “In February 1996, on an official trip to New Delhi, I saw Kathak dance for the first time at Kathak Mahautsav,” recalls Sato. “It was amazing, the graceful and crisp movements fascinated me,” says Sato. “I stayed back for three-four months and learned Kathak from Marutishyam and Saswat Sen, the two dancers whose performance hooked me to this classical dance form,” she adds. (HPI adds: The Spanish Flamingo dance was brought to Spain by the Gypsies or Romana people, originally of India, and has ties to Kathak.)

BRAMPTON, ONTARIO, CANADA, September 13, 2004: When Sat Malik arrived in Canada over 30 years ago, he decided to settle in the province of Ontario. Malik recalls this time, “When I arrived in the early 1970’s, I could hardly find another South Asian man on the street, never mind a Hindu temple.” Wanting to connect with his religious roots, Malik and four other Hindu families gathered together every Sunday in a rented schoolhouse room to perform religious services. Now almost 35 years later the Hindu community has flourished in the province. In Brampton, Hindus have built the Hindu Sabha Temple , a 32,000 square foot $11 million temple. The article says, “The main prayer hall can accommodate close to 2,500 people, a Hindu school, community hall and 440 parking spaces. It has become the centre of many new residential developments.” Located on 8.5 hectares, the 37-metre tower is a landmark for the surrounding community. Many Hindus have moved to Brampton to be near the temple. Mahan Gupta, a 42-year-old teacher who came to Canada in 1989, says, “I have a 78-year-old mother. She used to ask me to take her to the temple. Sometimes I just wasn’t able to. Now my mom can walk here by herself to volunteer here and spend time with her friends.” Dinesh Chander, age 47 and temple congregant, adds, “It’s just natural evolution that people move out of the city for a better life and move close to a temple, which is the magnet and center of their lives.”

MUMBAI, INDIA, September 21, 2004: A Mumbai-based non-governmental organization, the Sadguru Shree Aniruddha Upasana Trust, headed by Dr. Aniruddha Joshi, is spreading awareness about environment-friendly Ganesh icons. “One-and-a-half months back we decided to encourage people to make Ganesh icons using paper pulp, which will reduce pollution and won’t harm fish,” said Sandhyaveera Jaykar, a member of the trust. Earlier Jaykar said, icons were made of clay, which is not easily available and is heavy. So artists started using plaster of paris, which is cheaper and lighter, and chemicals. But these cause pollution. The organization collects waste paper, shreds it, and turns it into pulp, which is then rinsed, dried, and again put into a mixer to get fine powder. The powder is then mixed with water to be made into papier mache. Around 20 percent clay and starch is added to the material so that it binds well. Except for the golden color used for the crown and other ornaments, the colors used are natural, mostly vegetable dyes. Idols prepared in this fashion dissolve in water within a few hours. The trust’s job doesn’t end with making icons. There is also a post-immersion plan in place, where devotees visit various seafronts a day after the immersion and collect all icons that have floated back. These icons are then re-immersed.