Six sons, ten grandsons are pundits

In all her majestic glory, she sits like the queen Khausilya of the Ramayan in a palace that was built over a period of 50 years. Chandrawtie Prasad, the mother of six sons and one daughter, today boasts of having six successful sons all of whom are UWI graduates and practising pundits and spiritual leaders in different communities in the country. All of her grandsons are also pundits. Her only daughter, Binamatee, died of cancer a couple years ago. 

Chandrawtie is called “mother of the village” in Aranguez. Her fifth son, Pundit Manideo Prasad is a Government senator and is tipped to be the next High Commissioner to India. Seated on her front porch of her beautiful home wearing a simple cotton dress, Moya as she is fondly called, carries a look that is distinctly royal but religious. When she puts in an appearance at any of the various temples where her sons are spiritual leaders, devotees are often moved to tears. But she refuses to sit up front or go before any cameras. Instead she prefers the simple life, filled with devotion and love for her husband and children. Moya and Pundit Hari Prasad have been married for the past 58 years. Their youngest son Pundit Parmanand Prasad, who is the spiritual leader of the popular Sukh Shanti Mandir of St Augustine, lives with them.

Moya said that having been born in the house of Vyas Pundit of Charlieville, she was brought up in a highly religious surrounding where prayer was the order of the day and the principles of the Ramayan were kept by her parents. At age 14 she was asked to prepare herself for marriage. She did not see the man who was chosen by her father but she trusted her parents’ judgment of choosing her husband. After the marriage ceremony she did not see her husband until four days later and became afraid for he was a boxer with bulging muscles and a big chest. “I didn’t like him at all, she said laughing.” She was young and immature and it was days after, when her husband started to talk to her, then, she realised what a brilliant and gentle human being he was. It was then she actually fell in love with him. As a young girl in the then rural village of Aranguez, Moya set about doing her household chores and duty as wife of a pundit.

In the early days she lived in a simple house made of board and galvanise. Her husband would tend to the many cows before going out to conduct puja at the various Hindu homes in the central areas. Moya would start her day as early as 4 am when she would prepare breakfast in the chulha. She noted that with the absence of electricity, the atmosphere was sacred as one was able to witness the rising of the sun as the first light and then there was the mantra to be said as the sun comes up in the east. After doing her own devotion to Mother Durga (Hindu goddess of protection), she got her children ready for the morning devotion and then sent them off to school. Later she would spend a lot of time tending the cows, cleaning the pen and planting her vegetable garden.  “In those days it was so different from today. The women would look forward to cleaning and decorating their homes and they would take pride in caring for their children. 
 
“Today they are busy shopping and travelling and feteing that they have very little time for their children,” she said. She said she kept her children close to her because of the fact that boys tend to get out of hand when they are left alone. She would make sure that on reaching home after school the children assisted in the household chore of watering plants and then tending the cows before having their afternoon bath and evening devotion. “Prayer in home is the most important part of the day. If we don’t have the blessing of the gods then how can we live in this world. We must depend totally on them for guidance. We don’t have to beg the children to do devotion. It must come naturally. When as mother you approach the murti of Mother Durga and offer your mantras then the children will learn how to go before the murti without you asking them,” she said.  In the early days Moya had to play the role of both mother and father as her husband would leave the home for long periods when he went out to conduct “seven day” pujas. Sharing a joke with her son Pundit Manideo who was present for this interview, she remembers when disciplining her sons she would use the slang, “I will bury you and then kill you”. It was a joke they shared for years. She did not spare the whip in having them do their duty as children.

“While they were small they could not see the benefit in doing their devotion, and their duties and studying hard. Today they see why it was so important,” she said. Devotion is the key to realising any goal in life, she added. She lived by the philosophy that God is in control of everything and one must consider God first before starting their day’s work.  Her sons are proof that Moya had the formula for success. She has done her family proud in bringing up her children in the perfect settings. She has 16 grandchildren, ten boys who are now pundits and six girls. Her eldest grandson, Omardath Maharaj, 31, is already a recognised pundit in SWAHA organisation.  Moya has travelled to India on 17 occasions visiting religious places, all the beautiful rivers and mountains. Her home is filled with many ornaments from India. She advises women that in order to have successful children they must do their devotion and live an honest and dedicated life and their children would follow in mother’s footsteps. She said that many people look for happiness in the wrong place. “True happiness is doing devotion to God. Not in dressing-up and going out,” she said.