The President of the Dattatreya Yoga Centre is criticizing and condemning a mention of the Temple on a Carnival band’s website.
Spirit Mas has a section for its 2025 offering called Treya.
On its website the band described the costume, “Dattatreya is a tri-faced God who is a representation of the ever powerful trinity. In Trinidad, the Dattatreya Temple holds the largest murti of Hanuman beyond the shores of India.”
The overall 2025 presentation is described as “an ode to the attractions and allure of Trinidad and Tobago.“
However, in a 103.1FM report, several people have expressed concern over the decision to refer to an active Temple.
Temple President Ramesh Persad Maharaj took issue with the “nakedness” of the Treya costume, adding that the mention of the Temple was offensive to its devotees.
He adds that they were not consulted in any way by the band and was unaware of the mention until it was brought to his attention.
He believes there should be a censoring body to approve of costuming, or at least attempts at consultation by bands when deciding to mention other entities.