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Panday's body to arrive home at 6pm

The body of former Prime Minister Basdeo Panday and his family will be arriving at Piarco International Airport at 6:00 pm today from Orlando.
His body will be taken from the tarmac and the state will take possession of his body.

Panday died on Monday at the age of 90. It was announced on Tuesday that his family has agreed to a state funeral.

He died from Congestive heart failure..his heart was to weak. Lungs filled up with water..

Trini Comments :

What matters most about Basdeo Panday's passing is not what the UNC or the PNM have to say now or ever about this great man, but what every citizen of this country feels in their heart about Basdeo Panday, Mr Panday was loved by every Trinidadian of all ethnic backgrounds and that is all that matters and his family can stand very proud to have had a man like him in their family because he was one of the very few who can be described as a true Trinidadian and a great man. Basdeo Panday had a large heart, and whoever came in contact with this man felt that big heart of his. He exuded passion, mirth and hope, for every Trinidadian and was a very proud citizen of his country. Its sad the lions he fought were within his own party, then he was pushed out of his own party...

Randolph .
13 minutes ago

You have served you beloved country with pride and dignity, upholding the PM office to a very high standard. Thank you for your many contribution that makes the life of Trinis better may you RIP.

Eugene Ramcharan
47 minutes ago

It's only fitting that this great man, who has done much for Trinidad and Tobago, should be afforded a state funeral. The nation needs to mourn those who have given so much.

In reply to sgtdjones


According to a relative, his body is expected to arrive at the Piarco International Airport from Florida, USA at around 6.15 p.m.

In reply to Narper

The legend of the cascadoux

He ate the Cascadura the native legend say... his bones must come back and rest in T&T..

Welcome home Bas..

Thanks for introducing me to BH sugarcane ...that was the best ...

I just drove by Red House and the 4 kin flags are not at half mask...

Staying in Federation park with Sabga's...

Eiye, close by Sah....We can meet for dinner or the ddialfitnessclub (You need it)

In reply to Narper

Red House Flag

Flag not at half mask today 1:30pm...

White hall

NAPA

Stay off my threads please ...
I don't know what language they taught you in India ...
But kindly 4 off my thread..

‘Om Sadgati, Bas’

After returning to normalcy after political life, he said Panday was never heard creating bacchanal and trouble. “He became a true patriot. My challenge today is those leaders who fail to acknowledge the greatness of him while he was alive. This is fast becoming the norm in T&T– praise you when you’re dead. Let’s open our eyes and recognise people and their contributions in life while they’re here,” Duke added.

“Mr Panday will surely be missed by many, especially Couva North constituents, who kept a picture of him on their altar,” Ratiram said.Ratiram recounted Panday’s famous lines: “‘If you ever see me and a lion fighting, don’t feel sorry for me, feel sorry for the lion.’ ‘Never, never, never surrender!’ ‘Send me off in a blaze of glory!’”

“As I salute Mr Panday, on behalf of my constituents, my executive, councillors and staff, I express deepest condolences to his family and I pray that his soul attains liberation. Om Sadgati.”

Military procession in PoS for Panday tomorrow

In reply to Narper


Narps we playing All fours ..Card game...Wake for Bas..

Ah getting beat up...these locals to good..My jack just got hanged...

Twin sons giving me tips...they have never played it

They Giving me bridge clues...

Most likely cards are marked...

Most Hindu funerals have three parts:
A wake or funeral in the family's home immediately upon death.
A cremation ceremony (MukhAgni) at the cremation site.
A ceremony (Shraddha) to help the soul of the deceased enter the next world.

Funeral Ceremony...Hindu Rites

Maharaj said Hindus believe in the rebirth and reincarnation of souls, therefore, not too much emphasis is placed on the body during the last rites.
So while Hindus mourn the passing of their loved one, they also celebrate the onward journey of the soul to the next incarnation, which they see as a step closer to nirvana (Heaven), he said.

“Whatever rituals are performed are done in such a way that the body is laid to rest, but all emphasis in Hinduism is placed on the soul. In a Hindu funeral ceremony, according to our beliefs, the body is invested with the five senses and five elements, so at the beginning of the funeral, we indirectly pray to God, asking him that the five elements and five senses trapped in the body be returned from the source from which they came,” he said.

Broken thread

According to Maharaj, rituals performed in honour of the soul and worship are done to Lord Krish­na.
He explained that each ritual is symbolic.
The water sprinkled about the body symbolises a bath and purification, and the chandana (sandalwood) placed on the forehead, ears, throat and wrists is symbolic of the five senses.
Maharaj said fragrance is sprayed on the body to prepare it to be offered back to God.
Then, he said, garlands are placed on the body by loved ones of the deceased. But before the malas (flower garlands) are placed on the body, the string is broken, Maharaj said.

“The thread that holds the flowers is broken, and so it is teaching indirectly the lesson to all of those who are looking on that a time will come when we will have to break the bond with the things we shared and enjoyed the most.“It is also a reminder to the family that they are now breaking the bond that we once shared with this body. But there will be no body after that ritual is performed, and all that will remain behind are the beautiful flowers of the rituals performed,” he said.

Arti (waving of a ceremonial light) serves as a mark of respect, Maharaj said.

Family members and friends are allowed to perform arti during the service before the body is taken to the cremation or burial site.

Many Hindus prefer cremation, however, where the bodies are ta­ken to outdoor cremation sites.

At the cremation site, Maharaj said there are five stops before the body is placed on a pyre.

“The five stops are symbolic of praying for the atonement of the soul and praying that elements will go back to the source,” he said.

After the body is placed on the pyre, Maharaj said a havan is performed.
“This is a prayer to the God of fire. It indirectly offers the various parts of the body into the fire, asking that the body is consumed by the fire and brought to a state of purity,” he said.

Following the funeral service, the rituals continue with a shaving ceremony on the tenth day and the preta-karma on the 13th day.

On the 13th day of mourning, it's common for the grieving family to hold a ceremony ('preta-karma') where they perform rituals to help release the soul of the deceased for reincarnation. Additionally, on the first anniversary of the death, the family host a memorial event that honors the life of their loved one.

In reply to Narper

Even the Lion is

Meanwhile, there was a small hiccup in San Fernando at the signing of Panday’s condolence book at the City Corporation.
When officials and members of the public went to sign, they were disappointed to see there was no official photo next to the book.

Alderman Viliana M Ramoutarsingh said specific care and attention was not given to the process in San Fernando.
“Well, I came with my colleagues very early, even before one o’clock. And we were waiting and we’ve been here for over an hour and a half now awaiting the photograph to go along with the signing of the book, because it is State protocol. The condolence book and photographs has still has not arrived,” Ramoutarsingh said.

“Well, it’s very disappointing and it shows really a lack of respect.”Marabella West councillor John Alibocus said the show would go on.
“Well, situations do happen you know, we might be disappointed at the point in time but at the end we just keep it positive. We keep it rolling and it’s all about Mr Panday the great, the legend, a man of greatness,” he said.

In reply to Barry

LOVED, IN LIFE AND DEATH

Bas at the Red House

Panday’s own anthem, Frank Sinatra’s “My Way.”


BC Pires was interviewing Basdeo Panday. BC asked Panday, "What do you wear? Boxers or briefs?"
To which he replied, “Why do you think I wear any?”
BC found the answer to be brilliantly spontaneous.

In reply to XDFIX

My resolution for 2024 is to ignore idiots...

One idiot on this site cant take a hint..to get lost.

In reply to XDFIX

I was hoping he would meet in the gym - he needs it—but he’s not here they tell me…

They came to pay tribute to Panday in Port of Spain

SCORES of people lined the streets of Port of Spain on Friday morning to pay their respects to former prime minister Basdeo Panday.
The event saw police and members of the Defence Force blocking off streets and diverting traffic. A military street escort began shortly before 9 am at Broadway, with the national flag draped over the casket that carried Panday's body.People seemed to have put their political differences behind them, and used their phones to capture the event.
They only spoke kind words. “He was a good one,” an onlooker said. Another agreed, “Yes, and we all know he had a way with words.”

As the body arrived at the Red House to lie in state for the day, members of the regiment band played Frank Sinatra’s classic My Way.One of his daughters, Mickela Panday, later greeted people who had gathered outside. She thanked the public for the outpouring of love. Since his death, she said, Panday had received more love, “which I did not think was even possible.” Mickela added that the love from the people has helped and given the family the strength to cope.

On the suggestion that the Piarco International Airport be named after him, Mickela said she would try to think of what he would have responded if he was alive.
Mimicking his voice, “What you naming anything after me for?”
She said he would instead have wanted constitutional reform.

‘A down-to-earth fella who changed lives of sugar workers’

Lochan Ramnath, 82, recalls that it was “a young man named Basdeo Panday” who sought additional income for sugar workers outside the crop season and introduced the concept of guaranteed work, which he said allowed thousands of labourers to buy land, build and furnish homes and “send their children to school”.

A former employee of Caroni (1975) Ltd, Lochan said Panday “did so much for sugar workers and many others” while remaining “a real down-to-earth fella”.A former council member of the All Trinidad Sugar and General Workers’ Union, Lochan said he remembered senior officials in the sugar industry and Caroni Ltd at the time encouraging sugar workers to “take that young Indian man as the union leader”.“However, he would always tell us that we couldn’t steal and we had to do the work, or he couldn’t help us,” Lochan said.

“He brought changes to the sugar industry that changed the lives of thousands and thousands of people, changed the landscape,” Lochan said.A number of people said either they or their children had benefited from Panday’s “Dollar for Dollar” tertiary education programme, through which the government matched qualified students’ tuition fees by 50 per cent.
“The children of sugar workers and many others became teachers, doctors, lawyers and public servants,” Lochan said.

In reply to XDFIX

I wouldn' transfer msg. board angst into real life. Sargie should guh meet Barry n enjoy a meal doubt any 'piysyn' would be involved.