Who was Sewdass Sadhu, mentioned by PM Modi in Trinidad & Tobago speech?
Modi also mentioned the somewhat lesser-known Sewdass Sadhu, an indentured labourer who is credited with single-handedly building the famous 'Temple in the Sea' in the Gulf of Paria, the shallow body of water between the island of Trinidad and Venezuela in the South American mainland.
We look at the story of Sewdass Sadhu, sometimes called the Dashrath Majhi of Trinidad & Tobago.
Also known as Sewdass Sadhu Shiva Mandir, the temple off Waterloo, Carapichaima, south of Port of Spain, was first constructed in 1955. The temple, surrounded by the scenic waters of the Gulf of Paria, is connected to land by a walkway, somewhat like the Haji Ali dargah in Mumbai. The 85-foot Hanuman statue at the Dattatreya temple in Carapichaima stands nearby.
The Sewdass Sadhu Shiva Mandir is a spiritual and cultural landmark that attracts pilgrims and visitors from around the world. It has classic Hindu architectural features like domed mandaps, colourful gopurams (entrance towers that are a distinctive feature of Dravidian temple architecture), and ornate ceiling designs.
The temple becomes a vibrant hub during religious celebrations in the country, which has a significant Hindu population with Indian roots, especially during festivals like Diwali.
The Sadhu who built it
Sewdass Sadhu had constructed the first temple on the seashore in 1947, but it was demolished because it was built in MacMillan Park, a private property belonging to Tate and Lyle Limited, a leading sugar company, and Sadhu was sent to prison.
But he was determined to build the temple, and subsequently built it the sea, arguing that the water does not belong to any one individual. He did this alone, over 25 long years, using only his bicycle to transport building material to the site where an octagonal, one-storey temple finally came up.
Sewdass Sadhu's story echoes that of Dashrath Majhi, the 'Mountain Man' of Bihar, who worked for 22 years with only a hammer and chisel to singlehandedly carve a path through rocks to connect his village Gehlaur to the city of Gaya.
The diaspora connect
Indian-origin people make up almost 40 per cent of the population of Trindad and Tobago. About half of all Indo-Trinidadians are Hindu; the rest are Muslim, Christian, Buddhist and Sikh.
The first Indians arrived in the islands in 1845, mainly from Bhojpur and Awadh regions in today's Bihar and Uttar Pradesh respectively, as indentured labourers.
In 2025, T&T is celebrating 180 years of the arrival of Indians. During his address, Prime Minister Modi announced that OCI cards would now be issued to the 6th generation of the people of Indian origin in Trinidad & Tobago. He also underscored that the Indian government will support several initiatives to nurture the Girmitiya legacy.
Divya A reports on travel, tourism, culture and social issues - not necessarily in that order - for The Indian Express. She's been a journalist for over a decade now, working with Khaleej Times and The Times of India, before settling down at Express. Besides writing/ editing news reports, she indulges her pen to write short stories. As Sanskriti Prabha Dutt Fellow for Excellence in Journalism, she is researching on the lives of the children of sex workers in India. ... Read More
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
24 minutes ago
- Time of India
‘Half way through our journey to become a global airline by 2030:' IndiGo CEO Elbers
NEW DELHI: 'I know the opportunity is huge. The only thing I don't know is how huge.' This is what co-founder Rahul Bhatia had three years back told Pieter Elbers, then KLM president. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now That was the time the domestic market leader had set its sight on spreading its wings in the international skies. Last week, IndiGo started its first flights to the UK and Europe using wet leased (hired with pilots) wide body planes and will now grow its long hauls aggressively. After Jet Airways' collapse in April 2019, Air India was the only Indian carrier with twin aisle aircraft in its fleet for nonstops across the world. 'You find Indian travellers all over the world. But for very long, (a vast majority of them) have been deprived the opportunity to fly an Indian operator,' Elbers, who joined IndiGo as CEO in Sept 2022, told TOI after the inaugural Mumbai-Amsterdam flight touched down in his home country. In the last 2.5 years, Bhatia and Elbers have been executing a strategy to change this. Asked where is the airline in its plan to become a global airline by 2030, he said, 'We're half way through. ' The post-Covid travel boom made desi carriers realise they needed to get a bigger slice of the international travel pie to and from India. This was enabled by the mega Tata Group acquiring Air India & AI Express in Jan 2022 and well-capitalised IndiGo deciding to replicate its domestic success in international skies along with a big boost in the country's airport infra. 'The fact that we are touching down now in Europe is a big thing because of a number of firsts for us — flying long haul, serving hot meals and having stretch on international flights. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now So it is much more than just two new destinations in Europe. It is the start of a very new chapter in the book of IndiGo. When IndiGo started in Aug 2006, Rahul Bhatia had a certain vision and he created that (making IndiGo India's biggest domestic airline),' Elbers said. Three years back when he met Elbers, Bhatia started making moves to replicate IndiGo's domestic success in the international market too. Their ambitions were on the same trajectory as that time Elbers was looking to be part of something that had the potential become really big. 'All the things we have been doing (since 2022) were building blocks to making IndiGo a global airline. These steps are not just individual or random. They are all part of a holistic plan.' These 'building blocks' include starting Stretch (or business) on some domestic flights since last Nov 'we have some experience in serving serving (premium) customers when we go to Europe. The loyalty programme was started to have corporates and SMEs on board,' he said. The focus on internationalisation comes from an aspirational India's prowess as an economic giant with a booming GDP, middle class and spending power. 'When IndiGo was was created 18 years ago, there was a vision and there was a relentless execution of that vision. What we see now (international growth) is, I believe, a bit similar to what we had seen then.' IndiGo currently has one wet leased Boeing 787 from Norse Atlantic which is being used on the Mumbai - Amsterdam and Manchester routes. It will get three more B787s this calendar year and then two early in 2026. The Dreamliner routes announced so far include London and Copenhagen. The airline expects to start getting its single aisle Airbus A321XLR (extra long range) from this year which will be used for routes like Athens, Delhi-Bali and southeast Asia. The closure of Pakistani airspace meant Mumbai got the first two flights to Europe as flights between Delhi and the west are much longer these days. When the Pakistan airspace opens, Delhi will also get flights. 'You have seen our network over the past few years. How we expanded at both Delhi and Mumbai. And even Bangalore and Hyderabad. We're not a single hub operator. We have multiple origins — Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore. They all have their own kind of focus areas, and and even even natural flows.' IndiGo has 30 wide body A350s on order whose induction will start in 2027. Given the fact that aircraft delivery delays continues due to supply chain constraints, will IndiGo wet lease more wide bodies to augment its international capacity. 'We are not ruling out any opportunity or any chance. We keep looking and keep evaluating options,' Elbers said. IndiGo has seen a large number of its Airbus A320 grounded for years due to Pratt & Whitney engine issues. The peak aircraft grounding number on this count was 79 and the same is down to 30s. Then post Covid supply chain challenges meant slower deliveries of everything right from planes, engines, seats, components and parts. 'Overall, we still have supply chain challenges. But our big order book (IndiGo was yet to receive 916 of the ordered Airbus planes as of last month) helps us average out deliveries. I don't want any delays, but the reality is what it is. I still hope and am cautiously optimistic that we'll have our first A321XLR before the end of this calendar year,' he said. While North America is on IndiGo's radar, the CEO says he will first like to 'make sure that we are well positioned in Europe. There still are parts of Asia where we don't have any operations like Japan, Korea. And there's Australia too. With our partners Delta and, we will connect passengers to 20 North American cities (from Amsterdam),' he said.
Mint
25 minutes ago
- Mint
India-US trade deal: Industries prepared for trade talks outcome, national interest in focus; says CII President
India-US trade deal: The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) President Rajiv Memani emphasised that the Indian industries are prepared for any outcome which is proposed after the bilateral trade talks between the United States and India, reported the news agency ANI on Sunday, 6 July 2025. Memani also said that industries will not pursue deals that are likely to compromise the national interest. The Indian government consulted industry stakeholders before entering trade negotiations with the United States. 'The Indian government has given considerable time to understand industry concerns, issues and opportunities. Every industry, every size of industry has been consulted to understand how India should be positioned,' said the CII President, cited in the agency report. The executive also shared that India is not compelled to conclude the trade deal with the US at any cost until the deal is in the interest of both nations. 'There is no doubt that India will only do this deal when it is in India's interest and America's interest. Until it is not in the interest of both countries, this deal will not happen. There is no compulsion in this regard,' Memani told the news agency. The CII President also pointed out that Indian industries will only support the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) if it offers them favourable terms compared to those of the other countries affected by the Trump tariffs. 'The 26% tariff that has been imposed will come down, and industry will get opportunities to operate there. We will remain more competitive compared to other countries,' said Memani, according to the agency report. Acknowledging that certain sectors like automotive will face difficulties if the trade deal doesn't provide a suitable outcome, Rajiv Memani highlighted that automakers in Mexico would be the primary beneficiary with the nation's tariffs at a near 0% level, making them the 'most competitive.' 'The maximum alternative replacement will come from Mexico, with some possibility from Vietnam,' he said, according to the agency report. Vietnam has a 20% tariff deal with the US, making it 'slightly less competitive' than Mexico compared to India's 26% tariff. The CII chief's assessment cited in the report suggests that the existing trade relationships can harm India's competitiveness. 'Many American companies may also invest in India to export from India. Indian companies will also have to focus on their competitiveness,' he told the news agency, suggesting that the government may need to implement reforms and support measures to help the domestic industries become more competitive in nature. CII President Rajiv Memani also highlighted that India needs an average nominal GDP growth rate of 10% annually to achieve the Viksit Bharat target by 2047, reported the news agency PTI on Sunday. 'India would require an average about 10 per cent nominal growth to achieve the Viksit Bharat vision,' Memani told the news agency. The nominal GDP of a nation is the total value of goods and services produced in the nation, determined by measuring the current market prices. This nominal GDP data is without adjusting the values for inflation, unlike real GDP data. Memani was appointed as the President of the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) on 1 June 2025. He expects both the nation to finalise the trade pact shortly and remove the uncertainties looming over the market due to the negotiations.
Hans India
37 minutes ago
- Hans India
PM Modi receives spiritual welcome in Rio with 'Om Gan Ganpataye Namah' performance
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was given a unique and spiritually charged welcome as he arrived in Rio de Janeiro for the 17th BRICS Summit where a local musical ensemble performed the revered Sanskrit mantra 'Om Gan Ganpataye Namah'. The powerful rendition, blending traditional Indian rhythms with Brazilian musical arrangements, featured both male and female vocalists and created an atmosphere of devotion and respect. Prime Minister Modi was visibly moved, standing with folded hands and a smile. Following the ceremonial welcome, PM Modi personally met with the performers backstage. 'It gave us so much hope and joy to see Prime Minister Modi truly enjoying the performance,' one of the artists said. 'He shook hands with each one of us and thanked us personally. It was a very special moment, something we will never forget,' the artists said The spiritual welcome set a symbolic tone for the Prime Minister's four-day visit to Brazil, reflecting India's growing soft power and the global resonance of its cultural heritage. PM Modi's visit to Brazil comes as part of his five-nation diplomatic tour, with the Brazil leg being the fourth. He arrived from Argentina, where he held extensive bilateral talks with President Javier Milei. In Brazil, PM Modi will participate in the 17th BRICS Summit in Rio, followed by a formal state visit to the capital, Brasilia, at the invitation of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Posting on social media platform X, PM Modi wrote: "Landed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where I will take part in the BRICS Summit and later go to their capital, Brasília, for a state visit... Hoping for a productive round of meetings and interactions during this visit." The BRICS group, now expanded to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, continues to shape global economic and political discourse, and PM Modi's participation underscores India's commitment to multilateral cooperation.
