A Hindu tradition celebrates moms

BY TERESA TOMASSONI

Wednesday, May 12, 2010 1:04 PM EDT

One by one, the 10 oldest mothers in Ozone Park’s Shri Trimurti Bhavan were adorned with sparkling silver crowns and garlands of fuchsia-colored orchids in celebration of Mother’s Day – Hindu style.

Sitting on plush, red-velvet loveseats with silver lion-headed armrests, the moms were revered like queens by at least 500 congregants sitting knee-to-knee inside the cramped 97th Avenue temple on Sunday, May 9.

“I try to look for one gray hair and can’t find it,” the temple’s priest, Pandit Chunellal Narine, said of jovial 80-year-old Evelyn Morgan, who still loves to sing and dance.

And if you want a great dinner, Narine said with a smile, just call on 96-year-old Mataji Maharajie Bahori, who has more than a few gray hairs, but lives independently and cooks for herself.

Every day is Mother’s Day in Hinduism, said the temple’s president, Dr. Dhanpaul Narine. Hindus worship three goddesses: Saraswati, Lakshmi and Durga.

“We see our goddesses as our mothers and our mothers as our goddesses,” said Denise Ramdawah, 20.

Since the temple’s opening on Mother’s Day 12 years ago, the predominantly Guyanese congregation has made a point of celebrating both its eldest moms and anniversary annually. Over the years, Guyanese Hindus in the U.S. have adopted the western tradition of offering special recognition of mothers on the first Sunday in May, said Dhanpaul Narine.

Babita Phagu almost did not come to the service because she wanted to stay home with her children. But her grandmother Bahori, who was among the honorees, convinced her to accompany her for the third year in a row.

Bahori has outlived all of her children, Phagu noted. “It means a lot to her to be honored like this,” Phagu said. “She says without us (her grandchildren), she would die.”

As the service drew to a close, women and children approached the senior mothers to perform aarti, a ritual where they show gratitude and ask for blessings. The younger women each drew circles in the air above each of the honorees’ heads with copper plates, topped by small, flaming wicks.

When they finished, the octogenarian, Morgan, pleaded for more.

“One more song!’ she cried as she rose from her seat of honor to dance as the harmonium, drums and jingling of multicolored bangles filled the room again.

Photos by Teresa Tomassoni
Sitting on plush, red-velvet loveseats with silver lion-headed armrests, the 10 oldest moms in Ozone Park’s Shri Trimurti Bhavan were revered like queens.