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CULTURE & THE ARTS
My Heart longs for Mausica
Every now and then, a few of the six thousand students who had graduated from the sprawling campus carved into remote farm-land at Mausica, east Trinidad, would meet by design or accident somewhere in the world.
Spontaneously caught up in nostalgic ole talk and banter about the place which made such a deep impression on their young lives, they would suddenly go silent, engulfed in a wave of fond memories that will not go away for the rest of their lives.
An Icon Gone
Trinidad and Tobago awoke this morning in a state of unsettlement – not out of the stressful Tobago House of Assembly matter– but because Sandra de Vignes had died in the wee hours of the morning.
Like the shadow cast by the assemblymen over the changes that must come to the island soon, Sandra cast a new wave of possibility of her people.
It was almost as if, in the early morning dew, she was cutting a way through for those of us who need help to venture safely forward.
How many times have various poets and priests failed to plumb the depths of our souls with lines that could never reach the bottom of our hearts much less our beings?
Pain in Trini Bone
One of the stories currently injecting arthritic pain into the bones of at least one Trini in Canada is that of George Maharaj who’s willing to “sell or donate away” his collection of Trinidad and Tobago and Caribbean music to a foreign institution.
“I come from a large family of six siblings, five still alive. I was born in Chaguanas and moved to San Fernando at the age of two years old, but moved to New York in 1969 and Toronto in 1974.
I am married with two children and three grand-daughters. I went to San Fernando Boys Government, then ASJA College.”, says Maharaj from his home in Canada.
Carnival in Danger
As plans unfold for a remodeled version of Carnival, evidence is fast emerging that Trinis will do whatever they can to prevent the closure of their beloved national safety-valve festival.
Ticket sales for the “Soka in Moka” virtual fete have increased over the past few days, according to Trinity College Soka in Moka Foundation PRO Dexter Charles. The virtual event, titled Soka in Moka XXII Uploaded, is scheduled for January 17 at 8 pm.
Some of the featured artists will be Aaron “Voice” St Louis, Olatunji Yearwood, Nadia Batson, and Nailah Blackman.
A Young Poet’s Journey
Where does a young and confused soul go to “hide my identity”?
This is the perplexing question that pops up in the jagged lines of mpule who’s obviously searching for something that was lost in an early childhood and not likely to be recovered again.
The Painter Warrior From Gonzales Hill
The sage notes that the double 11 number event which happened on November 11, 2020 was the first in 101 years and marks a cycle of change in the universe with new endeavours to be embarked upon while old life-style fade away. For Leroy Clarke who celebrated his 82nd birthday on that day, it may …
STATE OF THE NATION
Seniors Under Siege
Perplexing photographs of senior citizens baking in the hot tropic sun while waiting for COVID 19 vaccines that never arrive provides just another painful expression of how an administration can shoot itself in the foot despite its best intentions.
While there may be justifiable argument to show that “No one is to blame”, such excuses ring hollow for citizens who have been faithfully following every rule during this distressing “lock down” where deprivations that were once thought to be trite and harmless are proving to be of serious consequence to an unprepared nation.
Watching the last red men with a cokee-eye
Vaulting ambition recently came to a screeching halt when Acting Police Inspector Mark Hernandez was charged for misbehavior in public office recently. Hernandez was appointed head of SORT (Special Operations Response Team) by Police Commissioner Gary Griffith a few short months after he himself had assumed his exalted position.
That these two “Red Men” seemed to enjoy a special kind of synergy in the black-dominated TTPS, was evident in what Hernandez was attributed as saying when he was charged.
In this connection, the 46-year old aspiring DCP was reported as expressing hope that the SORT unit, established by Police Commissioner Gary Griffith, would not be tainted by him (Hernandez) being charged.
RIP, Fine Soldier
As Trinidad and Tobago’s tired Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley looks for someone to replace deceased Energy Minister Franklin Khan, it’s obvious how weak the government front bench really is.
Besides Rowley himself, the only one left to stoutly defend the besieged Balisier-entwined democratic republic is Works Minister Colm Imbert, a veteran who ranks high in political experience but low in people appeal.