By Adit Kumar
For the second time in four years, Panwar Music and Dance Academy presented its musical drama, “Hesperus, 1838” to a highly appreciative audience at the Vedic Cultural Centre in Markham, on October 21, this time as part of the celebration of the Toronto Arya Samaj Diwali Festival and in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the abolition of indentureship.
The play depicted in song and dance the experiences of indentured Indian immigrants who made the perilous voyage across the “Kaala Paani” in the nineteenth century arriving in British Guiana by way of the Hesperus in the year 1838. This was the first of many such voyages that brought hundreds of thousands of Indian immigrants to the Caribbean and South America.
Many of the attendees, seeing the presentation for the first time, were unanimous in their views – that it was a fantastic show which told an important part of Indo-Caribbean history that took them on an emotional coaster ride where both laughter and tears were part of the package.
Cliff Rajkumar, Chairman of the Indian Diaspora Council, obviously impressed with the presentation, remarked that it was “professionally done with class and historical accuracy”.
Vaishali Panwar, director and producer of the play, who researched the history of indentureship, was able to capture the recorded facts surrounding the experiences of the indentured immigrants to Guyana and the West Indies. She told ICW that in her research she discovered that the popular Sundar Popo’s song “Phulouri bina chatni kaise bani” has Bhojpuri origins and she actually sang part of the song in its original Bhojpuri lyrics in the play. Vaishali, a consummate professional in her art, puts tremendous effort in ensuring appropriate costumes and props are used in the stage show. The dramatical presentation was interspersed with fitting songs and dances all composed and choreographed by Hemant and Vaishali Panwar.
The show was a tremendous success and the Toronto Arya Samaj expresses its appreciation and thanks to all those who contributed to this highly acclaimed effort.

Toronto – The Pakaraima Writers Association held its successful 12th Annual Literary Event on October 29 in which several writers read from their works, much to the enjoyment of the attendees.
Special Guest Reader was Bernard Heydorn, writer, novelist and ICW columnist, who presented from his works, including his books Walk Good Guyana Boy, Carnival Girl, Longtime Days, 50 cents (A Play) and Unlit Roads.
Heydorn is an old boy of Berbice High School and St. Stanislaus College in Guyana. He is a graduate of the Universities of Ottawa and Toronto in psychology and education, and of Louisana State University from where he obtained his Ph.D. His first job at age 17 was teaching at St. Joseph’s High School in Georgetown.
Heydorn’s reading captivated the audience, even bringing moments of laughter. One attendee remarked, “Heydorn not only takes me back to days in Guyana, but also to wherever I am in the universe”.
Winner of the Wordsworth McAndrew Award for outstanding contribution to Guyanese history and culture, Heydorn also shared some educational material that he and his wife Vivienne had co-authored.

At this year's event, the Association made its second Literary Award to Dr Ramabai Espinet for her contributions to literature and the arts. The Award was presented by one of the sponsors, Ken Singh, President of Atlas Cargo – an International Freight Forwarding company.
Dr Espinet had read at previous literary events of the Association from some of her publications, viz The Swinging Bridge (a finalist for Best First Book, Commonwealth Writers’ Prize), and Nuclear Seasons (a poetry collection).
Dr. Espinet is also the recipient of the Nicholas Guillen International prize for her Philosophical Literature. Coming Home is a documentary on her work by Leda Seren/Caribbean Tales, directed by Frances Anne Soloman.
Born in San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago, Dr Espinet studied at York University in Toronto, and the University of the West Indies at St. Augustine, Trinidad. She has a Ph.D in English Literature and teaches in the Caribbean Studies Department at the University of Toronto.
Several members of the Association as well as some of the guests – poets, writers and novelists – read from their works. Following is a list of those who made presentations:
• Dr. Ian McDonald read two of his unpublished poems. He has published several poetry collections including The Comfort of All Things and River Dance.
• Janet Naidu read from her collection of poems Rainwater. She has three collections of poetry, which include Winged Heart (short-listed for the Guyana Prize for Literature, Poetry 2000) and Sacred Silence.
• Peter Jailall, teacher, poet and storyteller, read from his collection of poems and dedicated one of his offerings to Odida Quamina. Jailall who has six books of poetry has received the 2011 MARTYS Award for Established Literary Arts and the 2010 Guyana Cultural Association Award.
• Habeeb Ali, writer, educator, poet and community activist, read from his poetry collection. He has published 17 books on interfaith and poetry, among them, Red Coconut (2016).
• Ray Williams, writer and poet read from one of his short stories, entitled "To Market With Mamman."
• Ken Puddicombe, novelist and writer, read from his book, Racing with the Rain ( 2012) set in pre- and post-independent Guyana.
• Nan Peacocke, writer, read from one of her short stories.Nan is a recipient of the Commonwealth Broadcasting Award and the Timothy Findley Prize, both for Short fiction.
• Rubyha McKenzie, teacher and educator, read from her published work, As the Canque Flows (1970).
• Sandy Sue Ping, poet, read her poem "My Native Land" which won the first prize in the 2008 Poetry Competition. The poem speaks of nostalgic memories of Guyana.
Throughout the program, the audience was kept attentive by Master of Ceremonies, Cliff Rajkumar who is also Chairman of the Indian Diaspora Council. Rajkumar’s humorous anecdotes held everyone's attention and evoked moments of laughter and light heartedness.
Rajkumar, who had previously attended this annual event, observed that there was noticeable growth, with more space created for readings and for the opportunity to invite the young generation to participate. This, he noted, would encourage writing with the possibility of becoming recipients of Awards.
The name “PAKARAIMA” is a reflection of Guyana's rich rainforest region. Janet Naidu, a poet and writer, founded the Association with a small group of writers in 2005 as a forum for support in their writings and publications. She felt there was a strong need to have such a gathering in the community to help writers find support in the written expressions of their works as well as in the form of publications if possible.
As President of the Pakaraima Association, Naidu has been at the forefront in leading and guiding the progression of the group to greater heights, reaching out to established poets and writers to participate in this their annual flagship event.