Photo credit: Jason Tang
There must be a few times in life when you stand at a precipice of a decision. When you know there will forever be a Before and an After…I knew there would be no turning back if I designated this moment as my own Prime Meridian from which everything else would be measured. ― Justina Chen, North of Beautiful
I am a Carnival junkie. There is glitter in meh blood. There are no words to describe the feeling I have when I am in full costume on the road, just enjoying the music and the sun. But I think the photo above captures my bliss beautifully. For the uninitiated, this is a sample of what Trinidad Carnival looks like.
Saying I LOVE CARNIVAL is putting it mildly.
And yet I quit the festivities this year. I chose to have a mini vacation instead of glitter, sunburn and soca.
And guess what?
Life went on. People had mad fun in Trinidad.
And MOST importantly I had fun right where I was.
I was at peace and so present to the little moments on my vacation, that there was no time for regrets.
I am glad I chose something different for myself this year.
Because now I know that I can and I will be just fine.
When you feel life at crossroads, you need higher perspective view. ― Toba Beta, My Ancestor Was an Ancient Astronaut
Choice is a beautiful thing isn’t it?
Carnival Tuesday 2011, Spice Band
This is not a fete in here, this is madness…
It seems as though when these ministers get their instruments of appointment it comes with a slap in the face that leaves them stupid and dazed for 5 years.
This PP is a government of ideas and this latest headline grabber joins other Hall of Infamers like the tunnel from Tunapuna to Maracas, Allowing PH Operators the same privilege as H car Owners, Laptops for every secondary school student and the Airport in South. Whatever happened to these ideas?
And why can’t we hear from our PM? A masquerader herself…how does she feel about this latest verbal diarrhea?
Can you privatize the intangible? Can you privatize air? Because trying to privatize this spontaneous combustion of artistic expression, rhythm and music, the heartbeat of a people is what attempting to privatize Trini Carnival will be about.
This newly minted Minister of the Arts and Multiculturalism, Dr Lincoln Douglas seems to have forgotten that Carnival existed before NGC, TUCO, PanTrinbago, before the PP, UNC, and PNM. It existed before The Mighty Sparrow, Shadow and long before Ambassador Machel.
On d road, Carnival Monday 2011, Spice Band
Carnival cannot be privatized.
Carnival may not be profitable for the Government of the day, but the Trinbagonians profit big time. From Bandleaders to Newspapers, hotels to the doubles man by the corner, DJs and even gas stations…the people profit from Carnival.
Maybe you can privatize an event within the festivities…maybe…but not the Carnival. Mr Douglas has to be out of his damn mind if he thinks that this is so. Aunty Verna where are you, when we need you? This one should be sent to St. Ann’s for evaluation.
What Minister Douglas should seek to do is equip the bodies charged with the responsibilities of producing our various Carnival events with trained staff to produce a better product.
But yuh know what I feel, I feel this man was reading papers and saw that Dean A looking to secure the Miss Universe Franchise and he had a “light bulb moment”. But padna before you roll out this idea, think, think some more, stop, think again, speak to stakeholders – bandleaders, heads of the various carnival and Arts related bodies, formulate a game plan aaaaaaand then talk to a PR person BEFORE you make a statement to the public.
I remember, I was helping a cousin with some school projects, proof-reading and editing and she insisted that she pay me. She also thought it was a good way to make some extra money. When I rolled out the idea to a friend, he grilled me worse that the sharks in Shark Tank. I got upset and defensive, but what he did was, show me that having a great idea is one thing, execution and follow-through however, demands a lot of thought and planning. A lesson I will always remember.
Minister Douglas, for your sake, “doh play mas and fraid powder” let this one, like the other stillborns before it, die a natural death.