Meet our Honorees
Gaiutra Bahadur
Author "Coolie Woman: The Odyssey of Indenture"
Icon Award
Gaiutra Bahadur is the author of the critically-acclaimed book “Coolie Woman: The Odyssey of Indenture” which reconstructs and reimagines the journey of indentured women, including her great-grandmother, from Calcutta to the Caribbean. Her careful research and captivating narrative allows for an extraordinary insight into this area of history, culture and identity perhaps like none other before. Gaiutra’s work has opened the past to a new round of questions and curiosity from Indo-Caribbean and non-Indo-Caribbeans alike. The book has been short listed for the Orwell Prize, Britain’s most prestigious award for political writing, and is a candidate for the Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature.
Gaiutra is a journalist and a book critic whose reporting, criticism and essays have been published in The New York Times Book Review, Washington Post Book World and Ms. magazine among others. She previously worked as a staff writer at the Philadelphia Inquirer, where she covered stories on asylum seekers and immigrants in Philadelphia and its suburbs and reported from Baghdad, Iraqi refugee outposts in Syria and Jordan, and the U.S.-Mexico border.
Gaiutra was born in Guyana and immigrated to the United States with her family at the age of six. She studied literature at Yale University and journalism at Columbia University and was a 2007-2008 Nieman Fellow at Harvard University.
Author "Coolie Woman: The Odyssey of Indenture"
Icon Award
Gaiutra Bahadur is the author of the critically-acclaimed book “Coolie Woman: The Odyssey of Indenture” which reconstructs and reimagines the journey of indentured women, including her great-grandmother, from Calcutta to the Caribbean. Her careful research and captivating narrative allows for an extraordinary insight into this area of history, culture and identity perhaps like none other before. Gaiutra’s work has opened the past to a new round of questions and curiosity from Indo-Caribbean and non-Indo-Caribbeans alike. The book has been short listed for the Orwell Prize, Britain’s most prestigious award for political writing, and is a candidate for the Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature.
Gaiutra is a journalist and a book critic whose reporting, criticism and essays have been published in The New York Times Book Review, Washington Post Book World and Ms. magazine among others. She previously worked as a staff writer at the Philadelphia Inquirer, where she covered stories on asylum seekers and immigrants in Philadelphia and its suburbs and reported from Baghdad, Iraqi refugee outposts in Syria and Jordan, and the U.S.-Mexico border.
Gaiutra was born in Guyana and immigrated to the United States with her family at the age of six. She studied literature at Yale University and journalism at Columbia University and was a 2007-2008 Nieman Fellow at Harvard University.
George Subraj
President, Zara Realty Holding Corporation
Business Leadership Award
George Subraj's success began in the 1980’s when he and his brothers purchased a 44-unit apartment complex. He began renovating and upgrading the facility himself to make it “Clean, Safe, Comfortable and Affordable”, a mantra he developed to drive his business. Today, as President of Zara Realty Holding
Corporation, George and his family have developed dozens of apartment complexes housing thousands of families and providing employment to over 200 individuals. George takes particular pride in the impact his investments have made in improving the quality of life for residents and in driving
economic development in Queens.
George is the fourth of ten children and was born in Georgetown, Guyana. He moved to the United States in 1971 where he attended the
Midtown School of Business in the evening while working during the day. He has received numerous awards including a US Army and Navy Medal and Commendation, a New York City Council Member Award and a Medal of Service from the Government of Guyana, the fifth highest award of the Order of Service of Guyana.
George and his brothers, Ken and Jay, are perhaps best known for their philanthropy. In 2008, George sponsored a team of doctors from the
Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. to conduct the first kidney transplant in Guyana on an 18 year old. By 2013, they had funded 21 kidney transplants in Guyana. In 2010, they also funded the introduction of Pediatric Heart Surgery in Guyana. The brothers have funded the construction and outfitting of computer labs in Guyana and in New York, upgraded Mandirs with elevators to assist the elderly and disabled in addition to undertaking major blood drives for New York Hospital in Queens.
Ken Subraj
Executive Vice President, Zara Realty Holding Corporation
Business Leadership Award
Ken Subraj has a background in engineering and spent most of his professional career across the world building roads, industrial complexes and in the mining sector. Born in 1941, Ken left school at age 12 to work with his dad on their family’s rice and cattle farming business. At age 16, he enrolled at the Guyana Technical Institute while working at various industrial shops part time, making as little as $3.50 per week. In 1958, Ken passed GTI’s City and Guild Certificate course as a Motor Vehicle Mechanic, a coveted certificate at the time, and was hired by the Government of Guyana in the Ministry of Works. At 20 years old and now married with a child on the way, Ken moved to England to pursue his education and after several setbacks, graduated with a degree in engineering. He returned to Guyana where he spent years working in the bauxite mining industry.
After independence and nationalization of the bauxite sector, Ken moved to the Middle East to become a Construction Plant Engineer in Muscat, Oman where he would spend the next twenty years. He built pipelines, gas plants and one of the longest roads in the world. In the 1990s Ken returned to New York to join George and the rest of his family as part of the Zara Realty Holding Company, which continued to expand with his support. He is the father of three boys and one girl.
Jay Sobhraj,
Senior Vice President, Zara Realty Holding Corporation
Business Leadership Award
Jay Sobhraj is the sixth of ten children, who rigorously pursued his education. In 1966, the same year as Guyana’s independence, he was among the first in his family graduate with a secondary education from Kitty Progressive College. Following Ken’s example, Jay
also registered at the Guyana Technical College and completed his certificate there in 1968. He then moved to England with Jay and registered for a degree in Mechanical Engineering. While pursing his degree, he took on several menial jobs including dishwashing, pumping gas and just about any other part time job that was available. In 1972, he graduated and began working at several industrial companies and in 1975 he got married and moved back to Guyana where he worked for the Guyana Bauxite Company.
After an economic downturn in Guyana, Jay applied for a job in the Middle East, where Ken was residing, and began working in Adu Dhabi as a Mechanical Engineer for a large petrochemical company. Jay and his wife, Sylvia, then spent the next ten years of their lives on Sadiyaat Island in Saudia Arabia where they also began raising two children, Zarah and Amir. In 1988, Jay returned to New York to work with George and Ken at Zara Realty Holding Company.
President, Zara Realty Holding Corporation
Business Leadership Award
George Subraj's success began in the 1980’s when he and his brothers purchased a 44-unit apartment complex. He began renovating and upgrading the facility himself to make it “Clean, Safe, Comfortable and Affordable”, a mantra he developed to drive his business. Today, as President of Zara Realty Holding
Corporation, George and his family have developed dozens of apartment complexes housing thousands of families and providing employment to over 200 individuals. George takes particular pride in the impact his investments have made in improving the quality of life for residents and in driving
economic development in Queens.
George is the fourth of ten children and was born in Georgetown, Guyana. He moved to the United States in 1971 where he attended the
Midtown School of Business in the evening while working during the day. He has received numerous awards including a US Army and Navy Medal and Commendation, a New York City Council Member Award and a Medal of Service from the Government of Guyana, the fifth highest award of the Order of Service of Guyana.
George and his brothers, Ken and Jay, are perhaps best known for their philanthropy. In 2008, George sponsored a team of doctors from the
Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. to conduct the first kidney transplant in Guyana on an 18 year old. By 2013, they had funded 21 kidney transplants in Guyana. In 2010, they also funded the introduction of Pediatric Heart Surgery in Guyana. The brothers have funded the construction and outfitting of computer labs in Guyana and in New York, upgraded Mandirs with elevators to assist the elderly and disabled in addition to undertaking major blood drives for New York Hospital in Queens.
Ken Subraj
Executive Vice President, Zara Realty Holding Corporation
Business Leadership Award
Ken Subraj has a background in engineering and spent most of his professional career across the world building roads, industrial complexes and in the mining sector. Born in 1941, Ken left school at age 12 to work with his dad on their family’s rice and cattle farming business. At age 16, he enrolled at the Guyana Technical Institute while working at various industrial shops part time, making as little as $3.50 per week. In 1958, Ken passed GTI’s City and Guild Certificate course as a Motor Vehicle Mechanic, a coveted certificate at the time, and was hired by the Government of Guyana in the Ministry of Works. At 20 years old and now married with a child on the way, Ken moved to England to pursue his education and after several setbacks, graduated with a degree in engineering. He returned to Guyana where he spent years working in the bauxite mining industry.
After independence and nationalization of the bauxite sector, Ken moved to the Middle East to become a Construction Plant Engineer in Muscat, Oman where he would spend the next twenty years. He built pipelines, gas plants and one of the longest roads in the world. In the 1990s Ken returned to New York to join George and the rest of his family as part of the Zara Realty Holding Company, which continued to expand with his support. He is the father of three boys and one girl.
Jay Sobhraj,
Senior Vice President, Zara Realty Holding Corporation
Business Leadership Award
Jay Sobhraj is the sixth of ten children, who rigorously pursued his education. In 1966, the same year as Guyana’s independence, he was among the first in his family graduate with a secondary education from Kitty Progressive College. Following Ken’s example, Jay
also registered at the Guyana Technical College and completed his certificate there in 1968. He then moved to England with Jay and registered for a degree in Mechanical Engineering. While pursing his degree, he took on several menial jobs including dishwashing, pumping gas and just about any other part time job that was available. In 1972, he graduated and began working at several industrial companies and in 1975 he got married and moved back to Guyana where he worked for the Guyana Bauxite Company.
After an economic downturn in Guyana, Jay applied for a job in the Middle East, where Ken was residing, and began working in Adu Dhabi as a Mechanical Engineer for a large petrochemical company. Jay and his wife, Sylvia, then spent the next ten years of their lives on Sadiyaat Island in Saudia Arabia where they also began raising two children, Zarah and Amir. In 1988, Jay returned to New York to work with George and Ken at Zara Realty Holding Company.
Barbara Lemoine, Natraj Center for the Performing Arts
Community Impact Award
The Natraj Center for the Performing Arts traces its origins to the renowned Natraj Cultural Group, which was founded in 1988 by a group of mothers led by Barbara Lemoine, affectionately called "Aunty Barbara”. The initial objective was to support a group of young dancers to perform innovative and creative dances. Today, Natraj proudly continues to provide a forum where our youth can hone their talents and nurture their creativity both collectively and as individuals. These young artistes share their knowledge of their rich Indian culture and heritage with the youths of the community through classes and workshops in dance, drama and music. Natraj currently conducts regular dance classes in Queens Village, New York.
Throughout the years, Natraj has assisted, and continues to assist, many cultural and religious organizations in their efforts to promote
cultural awareness and respect through professional performances. This work has allowed Natraj to forge strong relationships with
philanthropic organizations in North American and in the Caribbean, which has led to Natraj garnering international recognition.
All of Natraj's teachers and senior performers are classically trained by respected professionals in Indian Classical Dance traditions and their areas of expertise include Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, Kathak, Odissi, and folk dances, as well as the more popular Bollywood film and pop genres. Natraj fuses modern innovations in dance with old-world grace and dignity while maintaining reverence for the legacy passed on by Indian artistes for centuries. This is what has empowered Natraj to set - and continually raise- the standard for excellence in dance within our community.
Aunty Barbara continues to be the director of Natraj Center for the Performing Arts twenty five years later.
