Indian Arrival Day

Indian Arrival Day – Trinidad and Tobago

imagesHere in Trinidad and Tobago, Indian Arrival Day is celebrated on May 30th every year and, as of 1994, is a public holiday. Before I get into the story behind the celebration itself, I must bring to the forefront that Trinidad and Tobago is a small twin island that contains a great multicultural mix. And as our anthem declares,

Here every creed and race find an equal place….

Of course it isn’t always perfect but there is much more unity among the races than a lot of countries out here.

Pic 2.JPG_1369329275333On this day, we commemorate the arrival of the first East Indian indentured laborers in May 1845 on the Fatel Razack. Journeying from India to Trinidad, they were brought as labor force for economic development. (Sugar plantations were numerous as sugar was the main trade.)

At first this day was celebrated only among the East Indian community but over time it became a general celebration for everyone. I want to believe that we embrace all the cultures present on our little twin island, at least the majority of us.

On this day there are re-enactments of the arrival of the Fatel Razack at various beaches throughout the islands along with music and dance and the honoring of outstanding members in the communities for their contributions.

food_9Numerous are the things they brought that we all love. These include, FOOD!! Curry dishes, roti, different fruits and vegetables and tasty sweets! Their traditional dishes, seasoning and cooking methods plus beautiful spices!

dance-1WEB

 

 

Then there’s the celebrations like Divali, music like chutney (from which a fusion was made to form Chutney soca!) and their musical instruments like the sitar and popular tassa drums, Indian dance, customs like Mehndi/Henna and fashion such as the sari. No matter what ethnicity you belong to, you must fall in love with at least one, if not all, of their contributions! tassa

If it weren’t for Africans and East Indians, also the Spanish, I wouldn’t exist lol! I’m a mixture of the three and what we refer to as Dougla (dough-gla). This mix makes particular features and most evident (not to mention adorned) is my curly hair! Many of us are products of ethnic mix-ups lol Chinese, African, Spanish, East Indian, White and much more! But! We are all Trinbagonians, West Indians! And proud!

I may be late but as a True Trini I was celebrating and in holiday mode all day yesterday. Nevertheless, Happy Indian Arrival Day!! ❤

😀 enjoy! 😉

 

Day 5 | Insanity

lIt’s 12:43am in Trinidad and I am just preparing for bed (of course my daughter is up in play mode yay!! -_-). Yesterday was day 5 and sadly I have missed it! Something told me to get up early and get it done but I was so tired I figured I would get to fit it in during the day at least before family came over but I couldn’t…

It was Indian Arrival day over here (I will surely share some insight on this later today for those of you who are clueless as to the what and why surrounding such a day) , which is a public holiday, so we planned a little scrabble game night. I had to get some laundry done, clean the house and cook while carrying around my sweetheart who, as per usual these days, did not want to take any good naps. Up until family started arriving I was still busy and needed to have a good bath!

Anyway, I’ve decided I’m going to push myself to get up around 6am and get it done and then fit in day 6’s workout in the evening. Double dose, but I’m gonna get it done instead of beating up myself about it! I know now that next time i predict a busy day I must get my lazy butt of my bed at 5am!

Enough rambling for now though, this little critter can’t seem to stay still and we should both be catching some Zzz’s. Catch you guys later!! Wish me luck lol!!