Honouring excellence: Prakash Gossai

Shri Prakash was honoured posthumously by the installation of a bust of his physical likeness within the Indian Monument Gardens in Georgetown. There were four days of religious and cultural events, leading up to the final unveiling of the bust on April 28. On the first day of the ceremonies, April 25, Shri Prakash would have been 60.

Prakash’s early years were forged in the remote agrarian community of Handsome Tree, Mahaica Creek. The youngest son of deeply religious parents who were representative of the significant percentage of Indians who settled in the far-flung reaches of this country and brought with them their culture, civilisation, and agricultural acumen, Prakash was one of eight children. His was an upbringing which emphasised educational achievement, adherence to the teachings of Sanatan Dharma (literally, “duty which is not of the body” – suggesting duty to the philosophical underpinnings of Hinduism as espoused in the Vedas), and lacked most of the standard amenities of modern living – running water, electricity, and shoes. It was an upbringing which instilled a sense of humility that was to define the character of the man in later years, even after his name had become a household one, and his followers numbered in the hundreds of thousands and spanned continents.
The young Prakash and his older brother Bankim were talented students, and since there was no secondary school in their community, they were sent at an early age to live with relatives in Cummings Lodge so that they could attend secondary school. It is perhaps these early influences, born out of a need to forge friendships and alliances far from the protective bosom of his close-knit family, which allowed the young Prakash to develop the remarkable interpersonal skills that were to define his success in later years among all ethnicities, religions, and social strata.
As early as the age of four, Prakash began to demonstrate signs of his superb musical talent. His father was a talented musician, adept with the harmonium, and a vocalist of some distinction, so Prakash and his brother were nurtured in the musical traditions, which were to be introduced to the world by Shri Ravi Shankarji and the great Mukesh and Mohammed Rafi of Bollywood fame. The young Prakash soon began to be recognised from his regular appearances on national radio and at musical events around the country.
Prakash grew up in a period of Guyanese history when academic prowess provided an opportunity for emergence from an agrarian life. Prakash was determined to become a medical doctor. In those days, there were no facilities to train medical doctors locally, and the Gossai family lacked the financial resources to send Prakash abroad.
Therefore, he attended the University of Guyana, where he graduated with a distinction in marine biology. Determined to still pursue his dream of becoming a medical doctor, Prakash took a job at the Georgetown Hospital as a laboratory technician, and around this time also got married and fathered two children: Pratiksha and Arun.
The 1980s were a time of economic depression in Guyana. The meagre salary that Prakash earned was hardly sufficient for sustenance. This was to be a period of great difficulty and turbulence. Prakash’s focus on music became increasingly pronounced around this time. He acquired a loyal following and so encouraged to enter the Mukesh singing competition in 1983. The first prize was an all-expense paid trip to the United States, and winning it became a pivotal event in the continuing development of Prakash.
Immigration to the United States and a job as a high school teacher in New York City led to a growing sense of responsibility and an ever-increasing feeling of unease within the narrow confines of the immigrant existence that was the lot of the Guyanese diaspora living in Queens and Brooklyn. The mandirs that the Indians had built everywhere they settled in Guyana, were not to be found. Gone also was the presence of the village priest or guru, the adviser to whom Hindus turn for wisdom on everything, from social and financial decisions, to the naming of a child at birth. As an educated man, whose upbringing had exposed him to the teachings of Hinduism, Prakash’s counsel was sought; he quickly became a focal point of strength for the Indo-Guyanese community.
The result was that Prakash realised that the rest of his life was going to be spent in the propagation of Hinduism. In addition to his personal qualities, the crowning qualification was Prakash’s mellifluous vocals and inimitable musical style, which made him superbly suited to the grand tradition of ‘Harikatha’, where the priest conveys the philosophy of Hinduism via music, oration, and prose, than more so rituals.
Following an intense period of study and self-examination in India, Prakash returned to the U.S. a forever changed man. He had become a figure of ‘Shakti’ (energy), adept at Hindi and Sanskrit. His knowledge of the ancient texts of Hinduism elevated him to a level comparable to the best in the world. Moreover, his musical talent was now employed much like a summoning flute of legend – for Prakash was to become the pied-piper of Hindus.
He quickly became the most sought-after Hindu priest on three continents, and devoted himself entirely to the strengthening of Hindu communities; constructing Hindu places of worship (for example, two Bhuvaneshwar mandirs in New York City) in the U.S., Canada and Guyana; and rejuvenating pride among Hindus, at a time when their conversion to other religions had reached epidemic levels in Guyana, the Caribbean and North America. Importantly, he accomplished this resurgence in Hinduism, not by condemning or attacking other religions, but by making Hinduism itself appealing, using the arsenal of talents that he had developed. Indeed, Prakash began to be received increasingly among the Muslim and Christian communities in Guyana and North America.
It was inevitable that as his appeal and his ministry spread, his homeland would lay claim to him. In 2006, then President Bharrat Jagdeo made an appeal to Prakash to return to Guyana. Despite a trajectory which clearly had become only limited by his own increasing cardiac health issues, exasperated by a gruelling travel schedule, Prakash’s patriotism prevailed.
This period was to define his swan song, and was one of great happiness for Prakash. He was greeted by all wherever he went, and being fortunate observers, blessed to be close to him during this period, we observed the happiness with which he infused all with whom he came into contact. This was a halcyon time, a time of peaceful ministry, a time which revealed the effortless elegance of a man who had travelled a long road into a hazy future of success.
Prakash’s passing left a gaping hole in the fabric of Indo-Caribbean and Hindu identity and culture. However, his labours and his teachings have left us richer – they have imbued us with a sense of renewed identity, pride, and purpose. For this gift, we all stand in salute of a life spent in service. We are all proud to acclaim him as one of the architects of our nation and one who has indelibly impacted the psyche of our collective self.