By Arti Panday
For several decades, the Caribbean community has been inspired and religiously connected through the efforts of Cyril Patraj Singh. Born and raised at Mahaicony, Guyana, Singh was the eldest son of Patraj Singh. Intrigued by politics as well as religion from a very young age, he took pride in leading a very humble and democratic life. At a very young age, he took a specific interest in the media and the arts which played a significant role in the person he grew up to be. While originally residing in his native country of Guyana, he first became a member of the Guyana Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha. He later became the youngest elected General Secretary of this renowned organization. Although Singh was a very religious person, he was also interested in politics and later resigned as the General Secretary to pursue his passion for politics. Along with the late Peter D’Aguiar, Singh founded the United Force (UF) party.
After spending five years in the US, Singh migrated to Canada in 1973. He was disappointed at the lack of religious presence in the community. The religious voice within him shone through as he was determined to bring the Hindu society closer together. He united many Hindu Canadians as he organized and coordinated religious gatherings at the homes of various believers. This small group flourished and blossomed through word of mouth as they celebrated special festivals and services. Eventually, this society became known as the Canadian Vedic Sabha.
Singh’s aspiration to connect the Canadian Hindu society had motivated him to obtain permission from the city to further strengthen this organization. This was his first step in making his religious goals into reality.
Following on the success of forming the Canadian Vedic Sabha, he was inspired to collaborate with Dr. B Doobay and Harry Panday to form the Voice of Vedas. From this organization, Cyril Patraj Singh was able to use his enthusiasm for media in producing and hosting the first Hindu Television program. The Voice of Vedas, now commonly known as the Vishnu Mandir is located in Richmond Hill, and the television program still continues today. His experience in television sparked an interest to engage in another form of media - radio. For 25 years, the voice of Mr. Singh was welcomed into the homes of various Canadian listeners through the program, Indian Memory Album. The show first aired on CHIN Radio and continued there for 16 years, until it was later moved to 530 AM for 3 years, and finally to 770 AM for 6 years.
Shortly after, Singh further explored media as the Indian Memory Album was transformed into written a format as a magazine. Singh humbly distributed these magazines free of charge throughout both the United States and Canada. He was awarded for his outstanding ability in media with an Indo-Caribbean MCC Award for 2008.
In his lifetime, Singh was able to strengthen the faith of the Canadian-Hindu society. He will be missed tremendously, but never forgotten for the outstanding role he played as a leader in the community.

The Indo-Canada Federation (ICF) was founded on February 7, 2009 as a result of "the desecration of the Indian flag and harassment of people of Indian origin and friends of India during the celebration of the 60th Indian Republic Day at Pearson Convention Centre on Sunday, Februray 1, 2009."
This was explained at a media conference held at the Host Restaurant in Mississauga by Yogesh Sharma, one of the conveners of the conference.
What is alleged to have happened is that on February 1st of this year more than 2000 persons of the Indo Canadian community in the GTA were hindered by a group of people from entering the Pearson Banquet Hall in Brampton because the Indian flag was spread on the pathway where people entering had to walk or drive.
According to the media conference conveners "these blatant violations of peoples’ right to assemble peacefully took place in the presence of Peel Police officers who refused to intervene and provide any assistance to the Indian community, so as to ensure trouble free entry to the celebration venue i.e. Pearson Banquet Hall."
Since then, about thirty leaders of Indian Canadian community organizations in the GTA met at the Vedic Cultural Centre, Markham, to register their deep concern and to condemn the incident. They took the decision to form ICF.
The outraged members of ICF are inviting "all organizations i.e. boards and trusts of Temples, Gurudwaras , Mosques, Churches, community service organizations of Indo Canadians and social organizations of Canadians of Indian Origin" to join the newly formed body.
They are further organizing a rally of all Indo Canadian organizations, friends of India and others at Queens Park on Sunday, March 22 at 12:30 pm. At this rally, it is expected that attendees will be addressed by some members of Parliament who may then take up their cause and try to introduce legislation to ensure that the flags of nations are respected in order to avoid such confrontations happening again. Those attending may be asked to sign a petition to be sent to Prime Minister Stephen Harper..
Dr. B. Doobay, present at the media conference, explained that it is not illegal to walk or drive on a National Flag. It would be illegal if the flag were hanging from a pole and was destroyed by someone. What he then suggested was that the law be changed to make it an illegal act to place any country’s flag on the road or pathways.

By Adit Kumar
It was an outpouring of genuine support as a capacity crowd showed up to participate in the fund raising dinner and dance hosted by the Three Rivers Kids Foundation at the Empire Banquet Hall on March 7. The support was indeed overwhelming as several persons had to be turned away for lack of accommodation.
Foundation President, Jeanette Singh, told ICW that she was happy to see so many people respond to this appeal in such a positive manner. She was very grateful for the kind support to the cause and wants to express her gratitude to all the donors and supporters on behalf of the foundation.
Jeanette had just returned from Guyana where she went to pick up a batch of kids who would be journeying to India with her for life saving surgeries. Each kid was accompanied by a parent who would also be heading to India with them.
It was quite a hectic period for the group as they were at the Pearson Airport at 3:00 pm on Sunday on their way to India after a busy Saturday evening at the dinner event. This batch includes ten patients who would be undergoing various medical treatments at the Batra Hospital, New Delhi.
For further information or to donate to the Three Rivers Kids Foundation visit the website: www.threeriverskidsfoundation.org or email Jeanette Singh at: Jeanette@threeriverskidsfoundation.org
The appeal went far and wide and Pandit Suresh Sugrim of New Jersey Arya Samaj Mandir, Inc., Humanitarian Mission flew in from New Jersey for the event. Pt Sugrim told ICW that one of the kids was sponsored by his Mission. Pt Sugrim is also heavily involved in raising funds to support charitable causes in Guyana and last year donated thousands of dollars there.
Pt Sugrim can be contacted by phone at 201-938-0220, Fax: 973-680-1593 or e-mail at: njarya@aol.com
The New Jersey Arya Samaj website is: www.njaryasamaj.com.

Professor Keith Sandiford's lecture "Cricket as a Liberating Force in the West Indies" was originally scheduled for last November 15, but was postponed because of a lengthy strike at York University. This was a part of the Jagan Lecture Series.
The lecture will now be given on Saturday 21st March, at 7.30 pm in Vari Hall Lecture Room B, at York University, 4700 Keele Street. Downsview, Ontario M3J 1P3. Admission is free.
Prof Sandiford is internationally recognized as an outstanding pioneer in the historical sociology of sport.
For further information call 416-736-5237.

By Vishnu Bisram
The festival of Holi or Phagwah was celebrated by the Guyanese community in the NY area with great fervour, zest and gusto last Sunday afternoon attracting over ten thousand at the annual Parade. The cosmopolitan neighborhood of Richmond Hill came alive with the Phagwah revelry bringing together different people in a sea of color.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg graced Sunday’s Parade as Grand Marshal marching and waving to the crowd on Liberty Avenue. Thousands lined the parade route for about fifteen blocks before making their way to Smokey Park where the revelers gathered for a cultural mela. In the streets and at the park, people celebrated in a great display of traditional songs, dance, music and playful jollification just like they do in Guyana .
At the start of the parade, the mayor praised the community for celebrating their culture describing NY as a city that welcomes all.
It was the 20th edition of the NY Phagwah parade that was organized by a confederation of organizations. The scene was one of unbridled enthusiasm with a dozen magnificent floats and with people waving to the huge crowd of onlookers, sprinkling colorful confetti on them. People danced on top of the floats as Phagwah music blared loudly.
The floats wended their way with groups singing and dancing to the accompaniment of drums or loud chowtaal music. Many groups came with dholaks, cymbals or jaals and majeeras; others followed clapping, dancing and singing.
On the route, residents looked out at the spectacle from vantage points in their homes in order to avoid being stained with abeer. Several Africans, Muslims, Whites and Hispanics were seen in the parade clapping and dancing to the rhythmic tunes. Some of them also brought their children who were bathed in colors. They cheered on the participants and seemed to be having a wonderful time.
At the park, there were bhajans, kirtans, chutney, chowtal singing, classical and modern dances, and a dance skit to entertain the crowd for about four hours.
Representatives of various organizations as well as politicians delivered greetings at the park. Many prominent singers sang as well.
Several dignitaries addressed the huge gathering. Congressman Greg Meeks whose district includes the largest number of Guyanese in America, including the Richmond Hill area, promised to introduce the festival and its meaning in the US Congressional Record. He extended Phagwah greetings to the crowd and talked about the magnificence of the festival. The Congressman brought along his beautiful daughter who was bedecked in the traditional Indian sari with matching shoes and jewelry. He praised the community for holding on to its culture in America which he describes as an ethnic mosaic. His face was smeared with colorful abrack.
AFC Member of parliament, Khemraj Ramjattan, was also present for the festival. He confessed he had heard and read about the celebration in Guyana but did not realize it was so massive.
Several organizations prepared snacks and hot drinks which were distributed free to the thousands.
The popular Dil-E-Nadan orchestra brought the curtain down on the afternoon’s entertainment much to the delight of the large crowd which danced along to songs sung by band members.

The youths of the Shiv Milan Mandir got the judge’s nod and took away the trophy as the winning Chowtaal Goal at the Indo Caribbean Golden Age Association’s (ICGAA) second Chowtaal Samelan, which was held at the Vishnu Mandir last Saturday.
Leader of the youthful group, Vidya Chatterpaul, told ICW “Winning was not important. It was participating and being part of the Holi Celebrations that mattered to us more.” She said she “liked the togetherness and meeting of friends that this activity fostered”. And speaking about Holi, Vidya said she “enjoys Holi and looks forward to the fun and sharing of love and friendship that the festival brings”. The youth group, of about 45 participants, was bubbling with excitement as they displayed their trophy and shouted "Happy Holi" to everyone in acknowledgement of winning.
They were trained by Pandit Harry Ramsingh who told ICW that he was happy to impart his knowledge to the youths of the mandir. He said that he held training sessions with the youths every Sunday since the burning of Holika last month. He added that they were a dedicated bunch of kids who were excited to learn and sing.
Based on the success of last year’s program and the positive feedback received, President of the ICGAA, Leila Daljeet and her group of dedicated volunteers gave it another shot. She said that they will now make it an annual event and to attract greater participation they would hold play-offs as the competition progresses. Over 500 people attended the program which included songs, dances, instrumental music and a talk on the significance of Holi.
The other groups that took part in this year’s sammelan were Enmore Chowtaal Goal, which was adjudged winner at last year’s sammelan, Shiv Shakti Chowtaal Goal and Prakash Chowtaal Goal. The judges of the competition were Dr Krishna Persaud, Chetram Singh, Geeta Leo, Vishnu Sookar and L Bharat.
The ICGAA in partnering with the Vishnu Mandir said that they want to make sure this part of our culture continues and are dedicated to engaging youths to upkeep the tradition.

By Kanayalal Raina
It is said "Life turns Colourful" when it is time for Holi. HOLI HAI... HOLI HAI... Come Holi and the temples will reverberate with the chants of Holi hai.... This very scene was felt by thousands of Shri Ram Mandir devotees who thronged into the temple on 10th March to celebrate Holi right up to 10 pm.
Millions of people all over the globe celebrated the Holi festival with music, dance and delicacies to herald the arrival of spring. At Ram Mandir, men, women and children took a break from their everyday chores to boisterously join the celebrations by smearing colored powder on each other amid shouts of "Holi Hai!" (It's Holi!).
The celebrations were at their colourful best when Pandit Roopnauth Sharma sang wonderful songs of Holi to the delight of devotees and burning of Holika.
Holi is an ancient festival of India and was originally known as 'Holika'. Holi celebration takes place with lots of joy and verve throughout the country. The enthusiasm of the people reaches its peak and matches with nature which is in full bloom at the time of Holi.
Ideally, the joyous festival of Holi is meant to celebrate the arrival of spring while the colors used in Holi are a reflection of the various hues of spring season.
The literal meaning of the word 'Holi' is 'burning'. According to Narad Purana, this day is celebrated in the memory of Prahlad's victory and the defeat of his aunt 'Holika'. There are various legends to explain the meaning of this word, most prominent of all is the legend associated with demon king Hiranyakashyap. Hiranyakashyap wanted everybody in his kingdom to worship only him but to his great disappointment, his son, Prahlad became an ardent devotee of Lord Naarayana. Hiranyakashyap ordered his sister, Holika to enter a blazing fire with Prahlad in her lap. Holika had a boon whereby she could enter fire without any harm to herself. However, she was not aware that the boon worked only when she enters the fire alone. As a result she paid a price for her sinister motives, while Prahlad was saved by the grace of God for his extreme devotion.
The festival, therefore, celebrates the victory of good over evil and also the triumph of devotion and the arrival of spring.
At the Ram mandir, all the devotees were enjoying themselves and putting a little colour on the faces of the elders and young ones. Most of them were enjoying themselves with family and friends.

Toronto Arya Samaj held its Annual Holi Concert at the Vedic Cultural Centre last Saturday. Over 300 people joined to enjoy songs, music and dances. Leading the entertainment was the Dynamic Saffron Orchestra led by Rajesh Sharda. The program was supported with dances by Geetika Dance Group led by Geeta Leo. Popular karaoke singers Lakeram Rampersaud and Suresh Amin also took part in the program and the youths of Toronto Arya Samaj chipped in with a Holi rendition. Lots of door prizes and raffle prizes were given away to lucky winners. This program culminates a hectic Holi schedule at the Vedic Cultural Centre which included the celebration of Holi last Wednesday. That program included singing of chowtaal and playing of Phagwah in traditional style. In picture at right youths of the Toronto Arya Samaj present a holi song at the Annual Holi Concert last Saturday at the Vedic Cultural Centre
(Pix by Adit Kumar)