Toronto – A capacity audience of devotees, invited guests and supporters of the Pranav Mandir were treated to a memorable 19th Annual Pre-Divali Gala and Pranav Dharma Prachar Award ceremony hosted by the organization on Saturday October 20, 2018 at the Elite Banquet Hall.
Two highly respected and deserving community activists – Mr. Deochand Bahadur and Mr Vic Sarju – were recipients of this year’s Dharma Prachar Awards.
A former student of the Guyana Hindu College and now Manager of Humber River Hospital Pharmacy, Mr Bahadur is a committed philanthropist who has made significant contributions to various charities and humanitarian causes. Originally from the island of Leguan, Guyana he worked as a pharmacist at both the Georgetown Public Hospital and the St Joseph Mercy Hospital before migrating. In Canada, he was attached to the Princess Margaret Hospital and was later a clinical pharmacist at Toronto Western Hospital. In 2008 he owned and operated two Shoppers Drug Mart franchises.
Also of Guyanese heritage, Mr. Vic Sarju is a well known contributor to the uplift and promotion of several community and social organizations here in Toronto. He is an experienced and highly qualified professional in the financial field presently employed at the Versatile Financial Group in the capacity of Independent Financial Advisor & Life Insurance Advisor. Mr Sarju is married and has two kids.
The Pre-Diwali Gala component of the evening’s program featured music and songs by the well trained teachers and students of the Pranav Ashram’s Heritage & Cultural group. Those making presentations included Reshmi Geer, Denece Chanderpaul, Brandon Ractoo and Dillon Chanderpaul supported on the keyboard by Harold Boodoo and on the drums by Devin Ramoutar.
The evening’s event climaxed with the special appearance of New York’s top entertainer, Terry Gajraj, popularly known as Guyana Baboo, who weaved his magic and had the youths, seniors and everyone from the audience shaking a leg until the wee hours of the morning.
All agreed that though the entertainment was superb, it was the sumptuous vegetarian dinner that took the cake as the real highlight of the evening’s proceedings.

Toronto – The Canadian Museum of Indian Civilization hosted a grand evening of entertainment, feasting and social interaction at its annual Diwali Gala on October 28, 2018 at the Pearson Convention Centre.
The welcoming atmosphere was evident from the lavish cocktail and appetizing hors d’oeuvres to live music by the well known Hasheel Lodhia and Hemant Patel.
The Ganesh Stuti and the Canadian and Indian national anthems by the gifted Anuja Pandit Rao signalled an evening of great performances bolstered by the Sri Sanskriti Dance Academy, Jadoo entertainment and the Karma Projects. Crooner Mahendra Sharma mesmerized the audience with his charm and beautiful voice.
Chair of the CMIC Dr. B. Doobay outlined the life-saving work done by the Doobay Renal Centre in Guyana. He thanked McMaster University for its sustained support for the project. Dr. Alistair Ingram spoke about the dire need for dialysis services in Guyana and the preventive care they are providing. Dr. Azeem Gangi and Dr. Ram Mohan, strong supporters of the Renal Centre, were also present.
Dr. Doobay recognized the invaluable support received from various key players, including Dr. and Mrs. Balbahadur.
President of the Laxmi Sabha Vijayantee Ramkumar detailed the work of the Laxmi Sabha and the CMIC youth group.
MCs were Terry Sawh and Sagar Sethi.