NY Guyanese in Phagwah Spirit

Mar 12, 2025 Letters

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Dear Editor,

New York based (Hindu) Guyanese have been in Phagwah spirit over the last couple weeks singing chowtaal folk songs accompanied with the live fast tempo music that is part of the festival. Chowtaal is usually sung from the time of Holika Dahan or the planting of Holika (for the fire), continuing for 40 days leading up Phagwah (Holi) Day. The holika is burnt on the night of the full moon in month of Phalgun (in March or April) followed by the celebration the next day. It is one of the most joyful celebrations for Hindus and is celebrated globally with special season dishes prepared for the occasion; Hindus and others familiar with the festival look forward for it.

Phagwah (or Holi) is officially this Friday (not a public holiday in NY) and celebrations are planned nationwide as in Guyana. Some schools in Queens and Bronx where Hindus are clustered plan celebrations (concerts and outdoor festivities), continuing celebrations held at mandirs. Indo-Caribbean mandirs all over New York and throughout the USA held Phagwah (Holi) related (chowtaal) singing at Sunday morning services over the last several weeks. Two Sundays ago, the New York based Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha USA Praant, led by Dave Thakoordeen) hosted the 11^th annual Chowtaal Samelan at the Prem Bhakti Mandir in Jamaica, Queens as part of Guyanese (Indo-Caribbean) American Phagwah celebration; Surinamese, Trinis and Jamaicans also partook in the sameelan that included classical dancing performances and singing of bhajans (religious songs). The Queens Boro office planned a celebration on Tuesday evening March 11. The Mayor’s office and offices of several elected officials of Queens and Brooklyn also plan programs in their offices. This Friday evening is the crescendo when mandirs will hold Phagwah programs, play with talc powder and colorful gulal followed by a feast on delicacies that come with the season.

The large numbers of Caribbean Hindus clustering in communities all over New York and parts of New Jersey and Florida have made it possible for Phagwah to be celebrated similarly as in Guyana. There is an estimated one million Indo-Caribbeans and five million Indians (from India) in USA with the majority being Hindus who have established temples in their communities. There is an estimated 100 Indo-Caribbean mandirs and dozens more among South Asians (India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal) scattered all over USA. They usually observe auspicious days as prescribed by the scriptures and celebrate festivals like Holi, Diwali, Navratri, Shivratri, etc. Parades and melas and large gatherings for celebrations are usually held for Holi in several cities including New York (Queens and Bronx), Jersey City, Schenectady, Atlanta, Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando, Minneapolis, Houston, Dallas, Boston, Chicago, among others. Celebrations are planned all over America where Indo-Caribbeans and Asian Indians dwell in significant numbers. But chowtaal singing is unique among Indo-Caribbeans. Chowtaal originates from the Bhojpuri and Hindi speaking belt of north India where most Indo-Caribbeans trace their origin. Chowtaal is a folk music of village life in the Hindi and Bhojpuri belt in India. The lyrics of the chowtaal involve loud repetitions of chants about life and/or on the Hindu Gods and Goddesses. It was brought to the Caribbean and wherever else indentured laborers settled. It was then transmitted to and institutionalized in the USA and Canada by Indo-Caribbbean immigrants, first at colleges during the 1970s and in communities during the 1980s and thereafter. Initially, celebrations took place inside buildings (rented halls or school auditoriums, basements, apartments, houses) and later in open public spaces. In Guyana, decades ago, chowtaal was used to be sung by village or temple groups with members going from home to home. This practice was brought from India where it is still in vogue as observed by this writer in multiple Holi celebrations in the villages of north India. People of all ages partake in festivities. It is amazing to see millennials and youngsters engage in ancestral Hindu practices in alien environments in America and Ontario.

Holi has become institutionalized in New York with the Phagwah Parade included in the annual calendar of events thanks to the cultural activism of Guyanese and other ethnic groups religious and student organizations going back to the 1970s. The parade on Liberty Ave is on March 23 with several politicians seeking elective office in the lineup culminates the celebrations. A Guyana government float is also being promoted.  The public looks forward for this Friday’s festivities and the parade.

Yours faithfully,

Vishnu Bisram 

(NY Guyanese in Phagwah Spirit)

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• Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha', holika, Phagwah (Holi) Day, Phagwah spirit, The Queens Boro office

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