one of the first aryan missionaries arriving in trinidad was pandit bhai parmānand in 1910. later various other "pandit"s followed him. in 1929, pandit mehtā jaimīnī arrived and encouraged the construction of a building in marabella where hindi classes were held. in 1934, pandit āyodhyā prasād arrived, and the local arya samaj community was so impressed by him that he was asked to prolong his stay for three years. prasad performed the "shuddhi" (conversion) ceremony on many people of other faiths. this is very important, because unlike in guyana and suriname many east-indians in trinidad had converted to christianity. now the people who regretted their decision or the decision of their parents were in the opportunity to return to hinduism. consequently, the ārya samāj in trinidad had far more former christians among its members than the ārya samāj in other caribbean countries. the movement even included a small number of members who were not willing to undergo the "shuddhi" ceremony and, in fact, remained christians.