In time for today’s Indian Arrival Day celebrations, a local not for profit organisation has been launched with the aim of preserving the legacies of Indian indentureship.
The Girmitya Foundation, which is a non-governmental organisation registered in T&T, was officially launched last week Sunday at The Mahatma Gandhi Institute for Cultural Cooperation.
Founder Nutan Ragoobir stated that Indian immigrants were made to sign a Girmit (agreement) as part of their bonding to hard labour and as such were called Girmityas.
Ragoobir stated that the foundation was able to successfully achieve its first goal of creating and implementing a digital library dedicated to Indian history—Girmitya Archives (www.girmityaarchives.org).
She explained that important documents were currently scattered throughout various sources and if not digitised, they could easily perish.
“The Girmitya Archives is a digital library for scholars, academics and students, providing access to research relating to the Indian Diaspora and Indian History,” the website stated.
“We will help and encourage you to explore a wide range of content as we collaborate with an academic community, connecting students, activists and scholars while lowering costs and saving time,” it stated.
Stating that “remaking that what we did yesterday is not always sufficient for tomorrow,” Ragoobir said the Girmitya Foundation had already identified its next project, one that would preserve a most popular art form brought with the Indians when they crossed the Kala Pani (black waters).
Dr Jerome Teelucksingh, senior lecturer at the University of the West Indies and advisor to the Foundation described our elders as walking libraries as they possess a wealth of historical knowledge.
Telucksingh encouraged the younger generation to listen to stories of the past as they are filled with struggles and triumphs so that they could appreciate the importance of values, morals and ethics.
He also emphasised the need for historical snapshots to be collected and encouraged families to send any such recordings to Girmitya Foundation for preservation.
At the launch, guests were greeted by tassa performed by First Citizens Dragon Boys Tassa Group.
Local band Kaveesh The Band then performed the best of Bollywood melodies, including the hits from actors actors Amitabh Bachchan and Rajesh Khanna.
There was also a special performance by seven year old Katelin Sultan who stunned the audience with her renditions.
Mohip Poonwassie, an entrepreneur treated guests to instant photos with his photo booth, Perfect Shots Ltd, capturing happy moments while Kashmiri Chaiwala provided chai, pakoras and various Indian snacks, ensuring that everyone had the best of delicacies.
Attending the launch were Pundit Abhedanand Persad-Sharma, Pundit Baldeo Maharaj, Pundit Narain Tewari, Justice Frank Seepersad and his wife Camille Ramkalawan-Seepersad and Director of the Mahatma Gandhi Institute for Cultural Cooperation, Ramya Ajay.
The launch of Girmitya Foundation was sponsored by The Guardian Group, Hand Arnold Ltd, Novo International Ltd, First Citizens Bank Ltd, Xtra Foods and The Meena House.
Thanking the sponsors for not only supporting the Foundation but for sharing in its vision, Nutan Ragoobir stated that the launch was not only a celebration of Indian legacies but also a celebration of life itself as persons were able to return to normalcy after two years of frustrations and traumas.