Money problems affect Tobago Arrival Day

The Society, with a membership of approximately 12 persons, has been meeting at Swallows Bay, Pigeon Point for the past nine years to re-enact the arrival of their ancestors but for the past two years, a lack of financial contributions has forced them to downscale the celebrations which were normally supported by local businesses and the Maha Sabha. Annually a prayer session at the bay was usually followed by a procession to the Golden Star Entertainment centre a short distance away and a cultural programme in the evening with invited members from Trinidad and performers.

However, this year there was none of the usual fanfare as the group could only afford to “bring over” Pundit Devindra Maharaj of Aranjuez to officiate over the ceremony. “We had applied to the Tobago House of Assembly last year for assistance but we didn’t get any for Indian Arrival Day nor Divali so this year we realised that probably if we wrote to them we might not be able to get any at all. Tickets and accommodation for the artistes for the cultural programmes have gone up and we were unable to foot that bill by ourselves so we decided to have something small this year.

“It is not easy having to beg people for donations all the time,” Pulwaty Beepath, president of the Tobago Hindu Society told Newsday following the ceremony yesterday. She pointed out that they had recently purchased a lot of land at Carnbee to build a temple and that had also contributed to the dwindling of funds.

Beepath said that the membership was growing slowly and that the younger members were currently being trained to perform as well as play the various instruments so that some of the costs incurred from inviting artistes from Trinidad to perform, would soon be eliminated.

Efforts to contact THA Chief Secretary Orville London on the issue were futile.

However, while the membership held their celebrations, most Tobagonians took the opportunity to flock to the island’s beaches for the day except for a few students who were seen dressed in uniforms on their way to write the CXC Principles Of Business (POB)examination.