Coil : Looking up

by Vidyaratha Kissoon

The President of the mandir said that the mandir was built before his time. The congregation is small. Most of the people depend on Wales Estate for their living. The mandir is gradually being restored – depending on donations. The people though, asked that the original wooden octagonal tower remain. 

In the transition, the mandir is a mix of wood and concrete, of new windows and painted wooden doors. .

The last concluded Navratra season, I had the opportunity to look up up at the ceilings of new mandirs. The flat ceilings of the new mandirs, and octagonal towers of the mandirs who maintained the original structures. Some congregations have sealed the windows which were probably intended to let out the hot air.

The Amerindian benabs, like the one at Rupertee have the conical roof. It was easy to get lost in looking up at the roof.

You can look up at the Benab and marvel at the way the leaves and wood are used to make the structure. You could celebrate the decision to make a big Benab in Georgetown so that there is evidence of the indigenous building heritage using materials from the forest at a time when Guyana 

was dreaming of being a nation.

You could look up at the Benab and forget about the loss of the forest. You could forget that the Government of China requested an intervention in the operations of the Guyana Revenue Authority . 

You could forget that the Minister of Foreign Affairs, in charge of the “economic diplomacy” , would have been absent from a trade mission to China to meet new investors. You could look up at the ceiling of the Benab and not feel scared that BaishanLin might be replaced with another forest company whose production has been reduced in China and who would be seeking to expand the forst degradation in Guyana?

The old wooden octagonal shaped mandirs are a more recent form or architecture , probably native to Guyana. You could look up at the towers and wonder question.. where did they get this style from? 

Did they know to put windows at the top to let out the hot air? There were probably coolie and black craftsmen making those wooden mandirs. You could look up and marvel at the workmanship.

You could look up and forget that the citizens who go to mandirs and churches and mosques and so on have voted in people who have had no problems demonstrating their contempt for women. Or who have been accused of child molesting.

You would not wonder how the PNC would have a candidate for local government elections who had been accused and charged with child sexual abuse.

You could look up to avoid thinking about the PNC supporting their Minister who nominated the candidate. The country though seems to be at a standstill where justice for rape and child abuse are concerned. In recent days, one case of rape was never tried as rape; three cases of child abuse were thrown out and others are not being investigated. The Guyana Police Force is hosting an exhibition of paintings by survivors of child sexual abuse. The Guyana Police Force has no guarantees though, that case files will be secured, and that all prosecutions can go ahead successfully. There are no guarantees that those making reports would be treated respectfully. There are no guarantees in the Jubilee year that any person who breaks their silence on rape will get justice.

The intention of the exhibition of art by survivors of child sexual abuse is to highlight the feelings of the children through art. There is no indication whether the President has been moved by the exhibition to convene the National Task Force for the Prevention of Sexual Offences.

The wooden octagonal towers of the mandirs and at the ceilings of the Benabs are reminders of the people who have been innovative and creative in Guyana.

This last week, the Capture Guyana for Jubilee 2016 exhibition was cancelled . The Mash Secretariat in charge of Guyana’s celebration of creativitiy did not give any explanation. Were the organisers scared of the images they saw? Was the Guyana in the pictures too disturbing?

You can strain your neck if you look up for too long. You could fall over if you looking up and moving at the same time . When you are looking up, it is better to stand still or sit. No progress can be made if you are looking up all the time.

In Guyana, we do a lot of looking back and looking forward in directions pointed out by politicians and others. The people get caught up in the mess of promises on how to overcome history to create a new future

We do not seem to be moving though. Maybe it is better to stand still, or sit and look up and dream.