Seychelles Hindu Koil Sangam

ONE IS WHERE HIS / HER HEART IS

Maravanpulavu K. Sachithananthan

The consecration of Arulmigu Pillayar at Victoria, Mahe, Seychelles on 6 May 1992 marks the culmination of the dedicated effort and sincere services of a large number of devotees in Seychelles and elsewhere. This is a day of historical importance.

For 222 years Tamils have had a continuous and uninterrupted history in this island. For 300 or more years they have had a history in this region comprising of Seychelles, Mauritius, La Reunion and South Africa.

Even though South Asia is in close proximity to Seychelles, evidence is yet to unfold for any human interaction between these maritime locations. However, tombs of Arabs have been located in one of these islands providing evidence for their maritime activities in this region,

Pondicherry in Tamil Nadu, had a ship-yard built by the French and to supply timber to this ship-yard, Tamil seafarers braved the monsoon and the winds to sail between Pondicherry and Seychelles 250 years ago. They cut timber and carried them to Pondicherry. However, there were no Tamil settlements.

1770 A. D. saw the arrival of the first colonists brought by Captain of Telmaque from Mauritius. There were 15 whites, 7 slaves, 5 Malabaris, and a Negress. The word Malabaris in those days was synonymous with Tamils. The names of the Tamils are, Acharry, Comaran, Moudaly, Govindan and Dominique.

From then on it was a history of continuous arrivals of Tamils along with others either from Mauritius or La Reunion or Pondicherry or other parts of Tamil Nadu. One Ramalingam assumes significance during this period of Tamil migration when he becomes a confidant of the then Governor. He and his nephews were conceded large extents of property in Mahe.

Even though fellow Tamils in other settlements in this region had started establishing centres of cultural and religious significance for themselves, Seychellois Tamils did not proceed to establish any such centre. Their cultural thirst and religious needs were satisfied through periodical visits to their native Tamil Nadu.

Attempts were made to hold cultural festivals. Tamils assembled and celebrated their days of cultural importance. However, the absence of an established centre made these efforts futile. This resulted in the continuous mixing of Tamil genetic material with that of the other ethnic groups extensively that a significant proportion of the present day Seychellois can easily claim Tamil ancestry. An analysis of the records of arrivals, births, marriages and deaths since 1795, indicate the presence of Tamil surnames in these records up to 30% of the population at a given time.

I went to Seychelles as a UN/FAO consultant in Feb. 1984. N. Subashchandran Pillay was running a Tamil Video Club. I was thrilled to see the name board. I walked inside. N. Subashchandran Pillay was seated there with shelves of video cassettes.  

He told me about becoming a member. I asked him for the subscription rate. I paid an year’s subscription forthwith. He was amazed. He told me that few Tamils were members. If one member borrows it comes back to him after circulation to many non-members.

Next day he was at my house. He brought with him his friend G. Sivashanmugam Pillay. Both were complaining about the lack of unity among Tamil-Hindus. Chinese had a Pagoda, Gujarathis had a Ram Narayan temple. Muslims had their mosques. Christian churches were in plenty. But not a Hindu temple. They asked for my support. I asked them to convene a meeting of interested Tamil Hindus.

Next day they came to me with a date (1^st May) and place (Premier building in Victoria) for the meeting. The birth of the Seychelles Hindu Kovil Sangam, on 10th June 1984 is the result of the initiative of two young men, N. Subashchandran Pillay and G. Sivashanmugam Pillay, who around April, 1984 intuitively thought that the time has come to establish a religious-cultural centre for the Tamils.

They worked with missionary zeal and convinced conflicting opinion-holders into streamlining their thoughts and deeds towards building a coherent association, the consequence of which became the Seychelles Hindu Kovil Sangam. I happened to be their counsellor during this initial period. With God's blessings, I had the privilege to work with these two young men and many others for the next 20 months of my stay in Seychelles.

The consultative meeting which preceded the inauguration of the Sangam was held on 1 May 1984 at the Premier Building in Victoria. I was in the chair. Participants emphasised the need for joint effort, a place of worship, a crematorium, Tamil classes for children, and religious education for all age groups and promotion of cultural programmes.

These objectives were enshrined in the Constitution framed by a small committee appointed by this consultative meeting. The Constitution also recognised the priority needs of the Seychellois Hindus and the relevance of a significant number of expatriate Hindus employed in Seychelles.

At the inaugural meeting, the Constitution was formally adopted, the office bearers were elected and a programme of work was outlined. Energetic, hard-working, enterprising, culturally active and religious minded K. D. Pillay was elected the Chairman, This also made him the de facto leader of the Tamils in Seychelles. In N. Subashchandran Pillay the members found a good Secretary. Ramakrishnan Naiken was the choice for the post of Treasurer. The election of the other committee members were also unanimous.

N. Subashchandran Pillay, S. Kailayanathan, S. Balasundaram, K. Sachithanantham and G. Sivashanmugam Pillay constituted themselves into a team to go round the country and visit every Tamil home on the membership drive and temple fund collection. Other Hindus, viz., Gujaratis, Punjabis Malayalees and Telugus were also contacted and they gave their active support and contributions.

1984 August saw the celebration of Vinayagar Chathurthi. Ten days of pooja and worship at the newly rented prayer hall at Quincy street was followed by a procession to Bel Ombre. Cars lined up from the prayer hall in Victoria to carry the clay-moulded Vinayagar idol to Bel Ombre for immersion. Palani and Kailayanathan dipped themselves in the sea to shower blessings on all the 200 odd devotees of men, women and children assembled there.

1984 September saw the unfolding of the stage screens at the Quincy Street prayer hall to present a cultural show depicting the traits of Hindu culture. Garba dance of Gujarati women and Kolattam dance of Tamil women, presented to celebrate the 9-day Navarathiri festival, were later telecast by Radio Television Seychelles (now SBC). Seychelles saw its first indigenous cultural programme of the ethnic Indians in the national TV screen.

Deepavali brought the Hindus together. Kantha Shasti followed. Thiruvembavai-Thiruppavai festivals were celebrated. Thai-Pongal was a day for emotional reunion. Sivarathiri night was observed in the traditional manner. The Tamil New Year on 14 April, 1985 heralded not only the entry of the Sun into the Mesha House, but also of the launching of the Temple Land Fund.

As part of the programme outlined at the inaugural meeting, Jayalakshmi Balasundaram and K. Sivapatham conducted week-end Tamil classes for children. Every Sunday parents brought their children in large numbers to the Tamil class-room at the Sangam premises.

I brought from India, Idols of Lord Pillayar and Lord Natarajar and other portraits of Hindu gods to be kept at the prayer hall. Abishekam and Arathanai for the idols/portraits were conducted on Sunday mornings. Sunday evenings saw the assembly of the old and the young for the hour-long kootu valipaadu.

Kailayanathan conducted Kathakaletchepam. Bavan conducted music recitals. Music instruments were brought in to become part of the Sangam inventory.

Kala, Vasuki, Vasanthi, Santha Nair, Renuka Naidoo, Natesan, Subramaniam Pillai, Mahalingam Pillay, K. R. Pillai, Rajan, V. Sivasupramaniam and an endless list of persons took active interest in the cultural activities, religious ceremonies, fund collection and building of fellowship among the devotees.

1985 November saw the arrival of the talented Bharatha Natiyam artiste Rajashree Gowtham from Tamil Nadu. She hailed from a family of medical practioners. Her father Professor Dr. J. R. Sankaran  took care of me in Chennai from my student days. She through her exquisite and talented performances delighted the Seychellois audience on many stages within Mahe. The fund raising dance performances inflated the land fund collections.

G. Sivashanmugam Pillay took an active interest in the acquisition of land for the temple. Many locations were identified. Many persons were approached. In November 1985 he brought to our notice the availability of a piece of land on Quincy Street which was eventually purchased by the Sangam on 27th December 1985. Bank of Baroda assisted in providing a loan for the purchase of the land. Government of Seychelles facilitated by waiving the stamp duty.

Land acquisition was another historic step in consolidating the energies of persons interested in the promotion of religion and culture among the Tamils/Hindus,

I left Seychelles in late December 1985. By that time the efforts of N. Subashchandran Pillay, G. Sivashanmugam Pillay, S. Balasundaram, S. Kailayanathan and myself started bearing fruits. The Committee members led by Mr. K. D. Pillay and functionaries from the expatriate Hindu community had by then organised themselves into a coherent and effective instrument for achieving the objectives of the Sangam.

Ganapathy Sthapathy from Tamil Nadu came, surveyed the land, appraised himself of the planning requirements in Seychelles and prepared the drawings for transplanting the cultural traits of the Tamil Hindus from Tamil Nadu to Seychelles.

Manian, Editor of Gnanapoomi, a religious publication from Madras came to lay the foundation for the construction of the Temple on the auspicious day, 6th May 1990.

This Temple combines a cultural institution with a Holy home for religious needs. It purports to fill a void, to rectify a long-standing defect, to facilitate an emotional need and to help in nation building.

In-between, religious books were published; the annual calendar of religious events was strictly observed; cultural programmes of performers from Singapore, U. K. and Mauritius were conducted.

Hon'ble Minister Arumugam Parasuraman from Mauritius paid a special visit to encourage the members of the Sangam to proceed with the work,

Vijay Construction undertook the Himalayan task of transforming the architectural landscape of Quincy Street to accommodate the monumental, artistic and sculptural building which to-day has become the Holy home of the Tamils and other Hindus. They were assisted by Narayanasamy Sthapathi & others from Tamil Nadu.

One is where his/her heart is. Transplanting populations from their traditional homelands to new environments have brought in the conflicting situation of dual loyalties. More so when there are inheritors of a prolonged tradition and a rich cultural heritage. Tamils have had a language for themselves spoken, written and understood in the similar form unchanged for the last 2500 years or more. Their contribution to literature, religion, mathematics, medicine and other sciences is well known. They were translocated by force of circumstances to all the four countries, Mauritius, La Reunion, South Africa and Seychelles. They encountered different landscapes, varied climatological conditions and cross culture traditions. However, they endeavoured to maintain what they have inherited from their ancestors. Few hundred years of their life in this environment has not changed the customs, manners and practices. They are here and their hearts are here. They are here and their needs have to be satisfied here.

Incomplete human personality cannot contribute fully to peace, development, progress and prosperity of the country to which it belongs to. With similar individuals, the social personality becomes incomplete and void. How can a nation prosper with such voids in its social structure? Can such societies hold dual loyalties? A nation cannot afford citizens with dual loyalties; especially a young and relatively small nation like Seychelles cannot progress with a section of its social frame warped.

If Achchary, Govindan, Comaran, Moudaly and Dominique stepped into this group of islands to settle-down by force of circumstances, 214 years later N. Subashchandran Pillay and G. Şivashanmugam Pillay, by intuition, took a historic step to direct their energies to set-up a religious-cultural combine to meet the needs of their country. The objectives outlined in the 1 May 1984 meeting which I chaired, gave the list of minimum requirements to fulfil the needs of this section of the society.