Toronto Loves Basdeo Panday

Friends of Trinidad & Tobago .

Toronto Loves Bas

For many, it was an opportunity of a lifetime to actually see and meet former Prime Minister Basdeo Panday. For others, it was a dream come true. “We love you Bas”they shouted and we want you back, only you can fix things” they echoed.

This was the reaction of those meeting Bas during his visit to Toronto this past weekend and to receive recognition from Friends of Trinidad and Tobago for his tremendous contribution to Trinidad and Tobago and its citizens.

From the moment Bas walked out the doors of Pearson International Airport in Toronto on Friday evening, people started recognizing him and their cold faced turned into a smile. At first they pointed and whispered “is that, is that Mr. Panday my former Prime Minister” then it turned into recognition and they came over to meet him.

What an exhilarating weekend having Bas here, and one of the questions that I asked Mr. Panday was, “should I address you as Mr. Panday as this is how I grew up to respect my elders, but most importantly to show respect especially to a gentleman like yourself?” He responded that he will feel much better if I called him Bas because it reflected a friendship and bond between both of us.

This is the humility that I saw with Bas. This is the very first time that we are meeting and I was positive that he would not know me and he would probably be wondering how he will be able to recognize me when he arrives and walks out the gates. But now knowing this man, this humble and gentleman, he didn’t give it a though about how he’ll recognize me because he knew that we’ll recognize him.

My time with Mr. Panday (4 days) is perhaps the most precious and entertaining in my life. I have hosted many individuals but none as pleasant and humble as Bas. Those who had indicated that they did not want to see him and asked why we are bringing him, changed their views and are now once again Bas fans.

Mr. Panday left yesterday evening to return to Trinidad and this Tuesday morning, writing a blog, I cannot help but miss him. I felt like he was like a father and a grandfather to my children. My son asked when he returned from school if Mr. Panday left and I said yes. I sensed the sadness in his voice because he wanted to say goodbye. I saw the excitement in my daughter’s eyes went she met him and also the sadness went she said goodbye. We were sad to see him leave but grateful and happy that we had the opportunity to have met him and spent the time that we did with him.

I can’t begin to write about Saturday night’s event. Goodness, it was such a high and Bas was again his awesome self. He spoke,answered questions and he met everyone and posed with them for pictures.

Sunday morning we visited with FOTT Secretary Ian Maharaj at his mandir Satya Jyoti Cultural Sabha and again the outpour of love and happiness was like the old days. After the mandir we went for lunch at Vishnu’s Roti & Doubles Restaurant. The Ground ShakersTassa Group was again on hand to play tassa for Bas’ arrival as they did earlier on Saturday evening. Vishnu and his family adore Bas. His parents, brothers, sisters and their kids just love him. They prepared everything for him and all of us who accompanied Bas to eat. At one point Bas felt that he would explode with all the food.

Basdeo Panday Greets Guests at the Centre, Mississauga .

This was a tremendous weekend for the people of Toronto and all those who were fortunate to meet Bas will remember this past weekend for the rest of their lives. For me, Bas will forever be in my heart for I was able to meet a great man who is so humble and passionate about his family and country. We pray that he will have the strength to continue his lifelong duty to uplift the lives and protect the rights of the citizens of T&T.

Thank you to Bas (Honorable Basdeo Panday) for giving us a glimpse of your life and for sharing with us memories for a lifetime.