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Diwali motorcade dazzles thousands
By Rabindra Rooplall
The Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha’s Annual Deepavali Motorcade saw thousands of persons lining the East Coast Demerara (ECD) seawall to observe the dazzling spectacle, which ushered in the Festival of Lights.
Saturday evening saw motorcades gorgeously bedecked with representations of Mother Lakshmi and other depictions from the Scriptures, devotional music, intricate designs and much more.
Most floats sat atop pick-up and Canter trucks, while the more elaborate ones were astride 18-wheel trailers. Apart from the many lights, and colourful costumes, some floats were supported by dancers and singers, accompanied by the beats of the tassa drums, while some lucky spectators were able to catch sweets thrown into the crowd.
The fabulously decorated floats assembled at the Shri Krishna Mandir, Campbellville and then moved west along Campbell Avenue into Sandy Babb Street, north into J.B Singh Road and east along the Rupert Craig Highway to the LBI Community Centre Ground, ECD.
The motorcades have grown over the years to include artistic depictions of Hindu Gods and Goddesses, namely Mother Laxhmi, hailed as the Goddess of light and wealth. The motorcade also comprised of children dressed as the God Vishnu and the Goddess Laxhmi. The event also displayed the creativity of Hindu believers, as marvelous pieces glided through the streets.
The motorcades commenced in 1974, after the Sabha’s President, the late Reepu Daman Persaud, thought that the festival of Diwali was too significant an occasion to just be restricted to the lighting of diyas on Diwali night.
While Diwali is popularly known as the “festival of lights”, the most significant spiritual meaning is “the awareness of the inner light”.
In Hinduism, across Guyana, Diwali is the homecoming of Lord Rama after a 14-year exile in the forest and his victory over Ravana. In the legend, the people of Ayodhya (the capital of his kingdom) welcomed Rama by lighting rows of lamps.
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