Thoughts of a minibus traveller

I am hooked on Facebook. Or rather I am hooked on current events, distractions, listening to diverse music and most importantly .. minding people business. The survey here says 56% but does not say whether that is normal or abnormal. This Facebook experience has been fascinating. I signed up as an idle experiment. And then school friends 'added me'. I found some University friends.. some of them remembered me, some did not. But it was all good, they still added me - and I do not know even as we like each other's status and pictures and so on, whether they remember me. Facebook intellectual posturing I am lucky that many of my Facebook frenz are smart and engaged in the world.. I get all kinds of wonderful news links, pieces of writing, poetry, videos, links to discussions which I would not get otherwise. My music experience has widened considerably.. Sufi, Rai, Bollywood which I would never have bothered with and I am one of the billion that viewed Gangnam sty...

The rain on Sunday 23rd and Monday 24th made me abandon any plans for last minute market, and gave me an excuse to read out The Inheritance of Loss. I have had this book on my shelf for about three years.  The story is about Sai, a 17 year old living with her grandfather, a retired Judge in an old house in Kalimpong. The story is also about the judge, his neighbours, the cook, the cook's son Birju trying to hustle a living with other illegal immigrants in New York.  The story is about Gyan, caught up in a Gorkha revolution, and about a whole lot of other people who seem hopeless in their powerlessness. The story is about people who seem not to be able to escape their misery (I know... yeah, this is why I enjoyed it, found other people like myself). And the story is interspersed with biting wit and humour. Guyana is mentioned "Don't you know, plenty Indians in Guyana! And the word Guyanese is spelt correctly. The celebration of Christmas is mentioned in the bo...

Bling: Hey. How are you? 20:58  It has been a few weeks. I want to move on, maintain the space I have not checked your Facebook page. I have been trying to forget you, but also remembering you.   I have been wondering what I would say. I should delete and move on, but I am polite, no hard feelings really, life goes on. How do I reply, to protect you while also telling you that I am pissed off that things did not work out, and that my pride has taken a blow from your rejection. How do I be polite.. I normally reply to everyone.. how do I treat you as I would treat others? How do I let you know that I care about how things are going with you, not the face you portray to the world, but the inside person you had let me see at one time? Message Sent: Hey. How are things with you? Let me go, brush teeth. Make up bed. I hope that is it. There is never an answer to that question either.   Bling : Answer the question. Yep, you are smart. We know each other well...

(Images saved from Internet ) Last Friday  14th, three lecturers from the University of Guyana(UG) led a discussion about the Research Environment at UG.  The lecturers - Malcolm Williams, Troy Thomas and Lenandlar Singh were investigating the reasons why research output was low at UG . The discussion reflected on the national culture of limited inquiry and lack of desire or demand for knowledge creation. This is not a Guyana situation alone - the researchers referred to a study in Nigeria and to one done for the University of the West Indies. I am no academic and I am no philosopher or intellectual. I believe scepticism is inherent in the human culture. Six years ago, I had written about ways in which people might gather to talk and think , but things still seem very much the same in terms of our thinking culture. The work against child abuse and domestic violence made me realise that even as the services were offered, the violence was intensifying. The work fo...

"What will you do now?" is the question asked after I explain that I have resigned from Help & Shelter , and from SASOD . A few people thought that something was wrong with me. Others thought I was employed and therefore would become out of work. A few wondered whether I would shut up. Which organisation do you belong to? None of the persons that I knew in my generation had ever imagined that we would be involved in social justice.. most of us wanted out of Guyana and/or dreamt of professions and making money.  But.. through middle-class ideas of doing charitable work, I was made aware of the important work outside of charity to deal with the injustices which fuel domestic violence and child abuse. The work became more than just a few hours a week in another office. The protests had to become political . But being in an organisation helped. I learnt a few years ago from others who were mobilizing citizens, that Article 13 of our Constitution states that  “th...

I am a groupie for choral singing and this weekend I went to both performances by the Georgetown Chamber Chorus . The Chorus has a mission to bring diverse music to Guyana. Their rendition of " Baba Yetu" the Lord's Prayer in Swahili was moving, and it is stuck in my head. (Political note: I learnt that Baba Yetus composed for a Game Civilization 1V - The official music video is rated 10+ and I noted that there is this view of what civilisation and culture are in the video.. that's for another rant, the music is good.) .  The Georgetown Chamber Chorus' 2011 December Concert  was powerful, not only for the music, but also coming soon after the miserable elections period. All kinds of people were willing to gather in one of Guyana's monuments - some kind of unity perhaps after a period of intense polarisation -  to enjoy music from a group which was not well known at the time.  This weekend, the first performance was at Night Cap, in an open venue. It...