Thoughts of a minibus traveller

by Vidyaratha Kissoon Minibus is playing loud chutney music – man want to be single fah evah. Bus is full of coolie people and on the front seat behind the driver there is a strategically poised wooden coffee table, and a rolled up red based Oriental Rug. Normal thing at Christmas time. Later the same day , a woman holds a big black bag with shopping and the man with her has one of the red based Oriental Rugs on his shoulder. Black man and black woman and I imagine the owners of the other rolled up similar rug in the minibus. Rolled up carpet. Fixing up House at Christmas. More than jubilee Independence, elections and the contrived Mashramani, the colonial Christmas is probably the closest we would get to any festival which is organically national. More black people and coolie people and other Guyanese probably have some Christmas in their  house than any national flag or other symbol of belonging to the Nation. In December 1997,...

I saw the woman with the fruit basket on her head.. she had to get a hand to take it down it was so heavy.  I bought tangerine, bananas and the cut up pineapple in the plastic bag without wondering about the hygiene I remember as a child a woman with a rumal and then the round cloth to balance the heavy basket on her head. This woman wore a cap, not a rumal. She was cheerful. "1,000 for a soursop. It nice.. " They were wrapped in newspaper.  I don't know if she picked them half ripe. The only time I have used soursop is when I get it free.. and the man who brings it usually has it ripe almost on the verge of rotting and the skin is full of blight. These were green and shiny. I was in a hurry and said nah. I noticed a finger was missing from the woman's hand.. I did not want to ask how. She put back the basket on her head. She said 'Tek it for 800'. It was going to be a hectic day and dealing with a lot of dysfunction and chores. And so...

There is one thing more beautiful than a clean shiny window which needs long sticks, flexible hands and body to clean it. It is the tiny raindrops which kind of glisten on the nice shiny window with everything looking and sparkling nicely. For about 15 minutes though.. because as the raindrops dry the little specks of dust which form the core of the beautiful And if you are managing depression, cleaning windows and walls which you know will be dirty again at some point in time. some sooner than others, will take longer. A man I did work with praised my emotional intelligence. I thought he was joking the first time, but he was serious . The assignment ran late and I was cursing  all the time I had planned to rest, and to recuperate and to clean and so got shorter. I am glad he did not hear the curses. It was not his fault really. He wrote "The emotional intelligence, commitment to work excellence and professional style you exhibited during those tough periods of this p...

by Vidyaratha Kissoon There is a part of the Main Street Avenue between New Market Street and Middle Street which has small beds of flowers on the parapets, nice benches and small lights. It is the part of the Avenue with State House on the Eastern side and GPL on the western side. Ice cream was on my mind and I bought one from Crème Select., the fancy part of the Main Street Qik Serv. The Vat was $68.00. I thought of the flowers on Main Street and thought if I had a choice the VAT would go towards caring for the flowers I don’t have a choice though. The budget will pass in the democracy. The slightly reduced VAT will be paid on more items. I know some pensioners who are trying to stock up on medication to avoid the increased costs. I sat on a bench not far from the entrance to State House. The avenue was quiet. I had choke and rob on my mind I thought that if anything, I could run to State House. There are stately black rubbish bins, ...

Image from https://openclipart.org/detail/221538/frantic-man There is a short walk , a nice walk between the two places where I have to submit the deliverables. The first place, the stress had built up, the stress was underneath though piling up on other things and I didn't realise how bad it was. I submitted. I walked to the second place, Submitted and came out thinking that I could skip jump run and go and do other things like which I used to do years ago after high stress things like exams. I could not move. Back felt stiff. Body felt tight. Legs heavy. Mind also feeling exhausted as I contemplated the next set of chores. It was that kind of exhaustion which also prevented sleep from coming. I managed to move slowly to where I was going. I accessed sugar which was stupid because I know that I should try to stretch. I managed to move around.. go to places.. but all the time.. it was heavy. Fortunately there was a place with good music. It helped a bit. I tried g...

Craving sweet and body feeling tight after acknowledgement of the last deliverable of work which was extended four months beyond the due date due to no fault of my own. Cream soda and milk serves part of the purpose but yearning for more. The first turpentine mango I pick up has a small hole with ants in it and I throw it back. But then I pick it up again and look closer and realise the mango is the biggest since the season started and the hole is small with a dark ring which indicates maybe the rot is starting. I smell the mango though and there is no rot and the faint whiff of turpentine mixed with the sweet scent of ripe orange string less flesh. I keep the mango and wash it out.. and then rub it and wonder oh shoots, was it in the flood water when the rain had fallen but then again, I had noticed it and didn't see it in the flood water. I slice off the hole, deep as I could and then think dark thoughts.. man gets sick from turpentine mango and then I think what the h...

by Vidyaratha Kissoon “Who is de leader hey, is who organise dis… dey must have a leader..” the policeman asked of the protest on 9 December 2016 for justice for Courtney Crum-Ewing. The policeman not know who was Courtney Crum-Ewing . In October 2014 Kaieteur News revealed a recording in which the then Attorney General Anil Nandlall displayed his racism and sexism and his contempt for Guyanese generally. Kaieteur News said there was a threat to the publisher. Courtney Crum-Ewing stood alone for many days , protesting that ‘Anil Must Go’. Some people joined him. According to Sherlina Nagee r “The man was an inspiration. The hours he spent, in the sun, by himself, day after day – I knew how tough that could be. The curses, belittlement, and harassment from the passersby and the police; yes, it can wear down even the strongest soul. There is something powerful beyond measure in standing up for your rights though; a strength that comes from taking ...