Headed to Georgetown to visit the beautiful Caribbean destination of Guyana? If you are destined for your sojourn in May this year, then better be prepared to take yourself down the memory lane. A pleasant surprise awaits you as the history of East Indian’s arrival is all set to be retold on the sea shores of Guyana.

The Indian Arrival Day will be celebrated in Guyana on May 5, 2014. This annual celebration is an important event on Guyana’s calendar. The day commemorates the arrival of Indian indentured laborers to Guyana for working in the sugarcane plantations.

The Indian Arrival Committee (IAC), an NGO committed to safeguard the history of Indians in the country and promote their cultural traditions, has made elaborate plans to mark this significant event in the country’s history. A boat cruise along the Demerara River would be held on April 27, 2014 to re-enact the arrival of indentured laborers to Guyana.

The aesthetics of the Hesperus or the Whitby, the two prominent ships that transported the first batch of indentured laborers to Guyana in 1838, are being recreated in order to aptly showcase the bygone era and all that took place during those times.

 This historic event would be exciting indeed. Those people who would be taking part in the cruise would be required to dress up in similar outfits as worn by the East Indian forefathers on the day they first arrived in Guyana. The event would be sought to be mimicked to the greatest possible extent.

The annual Pagwah Mela will kick off the event marking the celebrations. The Phagwah Mela has been titled “Rang Barse”. A rich cultural show would be held on Bath Settlement Public Road’s tarmac in West Coast Berbice. The magnificent Indian Arrival Day Melas would also be held featuring renowned international artistes giving their spirited, soulful renditions alongside local musicians, dancers and singers. The event will be a gala affair proudly showcasing the Indian cultural heritage in Guyana.