India News | 'Girmitiyas' Kept the Culture of India Alive in Their Hearts in Foreign Lands: Lekhi
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. Indentured labourers from India who were taken away to work on plantations in Suriname, Fiji and elsewhere kept their homeland's culture "alive in their hearts" despite facing exploitation, Union Minister Meenakashi Lekhi said Tuesday.
New Delhi, Oct 18 (PTI) Indentured labourers from India who were taken away to work on plantations in Suriname, Fiji and elsewhere kept their homeland's culture "alive in their hearts" despite facing exploitation, Union Minister Meenakashi Lekhi said Tuesday.
The Union Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture said this during an interaction with reporters at a get-together hosted by her here ahead of Diwali. The event was also attended by Union Culture Minister G Kishan Reddy, ambassadors of many countries, senior diplomats and other officials from various missions.
Various cultural performances were presented to the guests during the event hosted on the verdant lawns of Palika Services Officer Institute in Chanakyapuri.
The event began with Ramayana Chaupai which narrated the story of Lord Rama in the form of prose. It was followed by a 'Ramleela' which was thoroughly enjoyed by all diplomats and it apprised them about the significance and the story behind Diwali -- the festival of lights, the Culture Ministry said.
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The 'Ramleela' was followed by a beautiful rendition of 'Sundar Subhumi' (Batohiya) written by Babu Raghubir Narayan in Bhojpuri in 1911. It depicted India as a heaven on earth and portrayed how indentured Indians felt about their homeland from foreign soil. It also extols the virtues of Lord Rama, Goddess Sita and Lord Krishna in its lyrics.
During the rendition of this 'Girmitiya' song, a few members of the diplomatic community, hailing from Suriname, Fiji and Trinidad & Tobago -- where the indentured labourers were taken to -- joined the artist on stage on invitation, said a representative from Lekhi's office, adding, Diwali is celebrated in these countries too because of the cultural roots.
An English translation of the Bhojpuri lyrics of the song was also shared with envoys and diplomats present on the occasion.
Later talking to reporters, Lekhi said, "Diwali is a festival of light and it talks about conquering darkness.
"We presented our cultural ethos on stage, and also this song about 'Girmitiyas' which talks about indentured labourers and their lives. It was a dark period for them, but they kept the faith going, they kept the culture of their homeland alive in their hearts despite facing exploitation".
"It only goes to show that if one has faith in Lord Ram, Goddess Sita or Lord Hanuman, one will not deviate from the righteous path."
The event 'Diwali Utsav', was organized to give a glimpse of the grandeur of Diwali to ambassadors and other guests from foreign countries.
It saw representation from missions of the UK, Australia, Finland, Romania, Singapore and India's neighbours, Bhutan and Nepal, among many others, the representative from her office said.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)