During the Calypso Fiesta competition held last week Saturday, social media was abuzz with one line in particular. That line was “75 can’t go into 14”.

It was a line that featured in the calypso of veteran Calypsonian Dr Hollis Liverpool better known by his sobriquet Chalkdust entitled Learn from Arithmetic, which addressed the issue of child marriage in this country.

This year, “Chalkie” celebrates his 50th year as a calypsonian.

It has been a long and successful career for “Chalkie” who is currently tied with Slinger Francisco also known as the “Mighty Sparrow” for the most Calypso Monarch wins in this country.

Both Chalkdust and Sparrow have eight wins each.

Liverpool is carded to again take the Big Stage at the Calypso Monarch final on Dimanche Gras night tonight in search of a record breaking ninth win.

Earlier this week, Sunday Guardian sat down with Liverpool.

Q: How did you get involved in Calypso?

A: Well first as a boy I used to hear calypso on the airwaves from in the parlours and cafés in Belmont and I just liked the calypso.

And then I was a school boy in St Mary’s (College), where I am now a distinguished son, but in those days you could not sing calypso in school etcetera but I used to compose little calypsoes for Intercol so that is how I began.

And then I went to (Teachers) Training College where I officially began to sing calypsoes

So when you actually attended Training College that is where you came up with the sobriquet Chalkdust to go with the concept of teaching?

Correct, but not only that.

Chalkdust was also a book written by one of my lecturers, De Wilton Rogers. He taught us sociology and he was a very good teacher. He wrote a book called Chalkdust about the problems of teaching in a denominational school and I used the name because I identified with the book at the time

Calypso for me is the ability to take a difficult topic and deal with it in a creative manner and one of the perfect examples of that this year is your calypso Learn from Arithmetic. So how did the creation of that song come about?

Well, that came about because of the calypso tradition, which you rightly said is how we entertain people but at the same time let people see issues and understand important things in the country.

So all the calypsonians in the past, what they would do as the mouthpiece of the people is they would take issues and sing on them.

But you can’t sing on the issues like a journalist, you have to spin the ball, so you have to bowl off breaks and leg breaks and use satire and all the metaphors.

If you listen to early calypsoes that is what they did. They used a lot of metaphoric language.

Like one fella was singing about George Weekes and sang ‘two weeks, two weeks I ain’t get no food’. So I simply copied them.

All the great calypsonians have done that. When Sparrow sang for example London Bridge is falling down, you understood that London is no longer the great power that she was in the 19th century.

This is the art form and what I am doing is simply following the art form.

You won your first Calypso Monarch title in 1976 and in 2017 you are still a strong contender for the title. To what do you attribute your longevity and success?

In the art form what I have always found is that you get many calypsonians getting a tune and they rise and next four, five years you cannot hear them again.

The great calypsonians—Black Stalin, Valentino, Lord Relator—you sure to get a good calypso every year because they understand the art form and they go to the tent and sing a calypso and if it does not go down well, they go back and make another one or they will change the lines or the verses because they always have a good song.

Like Sparrow and Ras Shorty I always have a good song.

So what I do is I simply make songs, I may make four or five, sometimes I would call a friend and ask them ‘what you think of this line?’.

I don’t make a whole calypso, I make a verse and when you sing it you will know whether it is good or not.

I try to keep the standards. Good calypsonians keep their standards.

My standard is that I have the most appearances in the Grand Stand (Calypso Monarch final) and I have the most appearances in the semifinal.

This is my 50th year and I have the most appearances and what I try to do is maintain the standard.

When you compose for yourself you are able to maintain the standard because when you don’t compose for yourself, you cannot maintain the standards because you are dependent on somebody else and singing somebody else’s values and you are singing what other people would like to say.

History is going to be kind to people who write their own songs because they are leaving footprints on the sands of time.

You have mentioned Sparrow and the both of you are currently tied for Calypso Monarch wins. What does a 9th Calypso Monarch win in your 50th year of Calypso mean to you?

Well, if the God Lord permits, it would be a milestone for me in my 50th year. I didn’t want to break Sparrow’s record.

I told him so a few years ago because Sparrow has done so much.

But Sparrow told me don’t skylark boy, go and break the record. So because of Sparrow’s urgings I said I would take part because I wanted to come out of it long time and pass the baton on to the youngsters. Sometimes people tell me I am competing with children, I get hit both good and bad. But I sing what I sing because so many people tell me if I don’t sing they can’t enjoy the Carnival. They remind me that apart from being a professor that I am Chalkdust.

One of the issues that came up this year was the fact that you were the only representative from the Calypso Revue tent who was selected for Calypso Fiesta. What are your thoughts on that entire situation?

Well, one must understand that the judges need training. I tired saying that and I will say it again. But the judges need training meaning we must take those judges and all those who want to judge and put them in the schools and teach them the art form. Let me give you an example, I did a one-day workshop once in Tobago for the calypsonians and I showed them a basic rhythm pattern, basic...and they were laughing at one guy who could not make it, and I told them don’t laugh at the guy but they were still laughing and when I asked what they were laughing at the guy for, they said he was the chief judge and he could not make out what was C on the music sheet. If I show you my music sheets, if you see the bad English, some of the judges cannot write English. How can you judge calypso? So the judges need training in literacy, in world affairs because calypsonians sing about world affairs. So the judges have to be literate, they have to know history. And how could a man judge calypso and he has not even done Caribbean Civilisation? So that the judges need to be taken and trained. You don’t have to have a degree or a Masters but you should have a certain standard. So I don’t blame the judges because they are untrained. Unless you sit down in a classroom for four, five months, six months, you really can’t judge the art form and that is what is needed. You can’t give a judge a one day or half way thing and tell them to judge calypso, you can’t do it, so I am sorry for the judges. Judges need to know what is the difference between a simile, a metaphor, a hyperbole, they need to know these things. So I don’t blame them, the judges need training...

So with respect to the Revue, the Revue knows that out of an entire programme you can’t pick only one calypsonian. You can’t. So that is why the guys are angry but you can’t get vex with Tuco (Trinbago Unified Calypsonians’ Organisation) you have to get vex with Tuco’s judges. And then what happens is that they (the judges) came by Revue first when some of the calypsonians were settled as yet, to gel. In the first case the calypsonians in Revue didn’t even know what song to sing for the judges because when you sing for the crowd after a week or two, you may say this song is better than that song or I am singing in the wrong key.

CALYPSO MONARCH ORDER OF PERFORMANCE

​1. Marsha “Lady Adanna” Clifton
2. Kurt Allen
3. Devon Seale (Reining Monarch)
4. Miguella Simon
5. Anthony “All Rounder” Hendrickson
6. Victoria “Queen Victoria” Cooper-Rahim
7. Lornette “Fya Empress” Nedd-Reid
8. Terri Lyons
9. Lynette “Lady Gypsy” Steele
10. Winston “Gypsy” Peters
11. Karene Asche
12. Roderick “Chucky” Gordon
13. Rondell Donawa
14. Weston “Cro Cro” Rawlins
15. Sasha Ann Moses
16. Heather Mac Intosh
17. Dr Hollis “Chalkdust” Liverpool
The Dimanche Gras, Kings & Queens of Carnival Finals starts at 7 pm at Queen’s Park Savannah.

Forty years ago, Linda McCartha Monica Sandy-Lewis, best known by her sobriquet Calypso Rose, won her first ever Road March title and took the country by storm with her song Gimme More Tempo.”

Yesterday, around 12.35 am, Rose, “the Calypso Queen of the World”, rolled back the years when she belted out the tune before a packed Grand Stand at the Queen’s Park Savannah, Port-of-Spain.

The crowd, which included Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, who were seated at that point, were brought to their feet when Rose began her rendition of the song that has stood the test of time.

Young and old were seen dancing in the aisles when Rose sang the line “we going down San Fernando, down there have plenty tempo”.

Earlier this month, Rose won the World Album of the Year award at the Victoire de la Musique ceremony in France.

The award is considered the French equivalent of a Grammy award.

And on Carnival Friday night, Rose was carded to have her first full-length performance in this country since copping the coveted award.

Ella Andall and Devon Matthews (who yesterday placed third in the International Soca Monarch) brought down the power around 8.30 pm to kick off the show titled “SoCalypso”.

Timothy Watkins, also known as the “sweet Soca man Baron”, performed second.

Edghill Thomas aka MX Prime and the Ultimate Rejects then performed their popular hit song Full Extreme and the crowd went wild.

But still there was more to come.

Former calypso monarch and road march winner David Rudder decided to leave the big stage and come into the crowd to perform.

The audience lapped it up with many seizing the opportunity to touch the legend as he performed hits such as High Mas and Trini to the Bone.

Barbadian songstress Alison Hinds and Grammy award-winner Angela Hunt performed one after the other as anticipation kept building in the Grand Stand.

Then at 10.45 pm, Rose took the stage.

Wearing a red pants suit Rose was escorted to the stage by a male companion.

Her voice was strong as ever as she sang songs from her latest album Far from Home as well as her old hits like No madame.

Around 11.45, Rose was presented with an award on stage and the crowd applauded.

And at 12.20 am, five-time Soca Monarch winner Machel Montano took the stage.

Montano, who Rose referred to as her son, performed their collaboration Leave Me Alone.

Rose even thrilled the audience at one point by playing the guitar as she sang her 1978 Calypso Monarch winning song I Thank Thee.

Before ending the show with another rendition of Leave Me Alone, the latest of the 800 calypsoes she has written, Rose sang Fire, Fire.

When American terrorism expert Malcolm Nance in a CNBC news interview last month named T&T as one of the countries that should be watched for its exports of terrorists, Prime Minister Keith Rowley stated that “Mr Nance’s broad and simplistic statement is not supported by fact.”

There are, in fact, two facts which justify Nance’s naming of T&T: this is the only country in the Western hemisphere where Islamic radicals attempted to overthrow the Government; and Trinidad is among the top ten nations sending fighters to Isis on a per capita basis. (See Table One.)

T&T would indeed have the highest per capita ratio of recruits of any country.

In an article titled Isis In The Caribbean published last December in the Atlantic Magazine, journalist Simon Cottee wrote:

“In a recent paper in the journal Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, John McCoy and W Andy Knight posit that between 89-125 Trinidadians—or Trinis, to use the standard T&T idiom—have joined Isis. Roodal Moonilal, an opposition Member of Parliament in T&T, insists that the total number is considerably higher, claiming that, according to a leaked security document passed on to him, over 400 have left since 2013.”

Cottee asserted that even the lower number puts T&T at the “top of the list of Western countries with the highest rates of foreign-fighter radicalisation”. This is not necessarily the case, although there is a twist in the estimate. The paper by McCoy and Knight points to “the high rate of religious converts among those travellers” going to join Isis. In fact, the majority of these people are drawn from the Black Muslim community in T&T, who number just over 4,000 according to the 2011 census. On that basis, T&T would indeed have the highest per capita ratio of recruits of any country.

Contrary to popular perception, however, Black Muslims have a long history in Trinidad, having settled here since the mid-19th century and becoming known for forming mutual aid organisations and giving loans to one another to start businesses. More than one hundred years later, in 1973, Prime Minister Dr Eric Williams noted, “It is an indication of the appeal of Islam to certain sections of the black population, the Black Moslems (sic) with their own self-contained community, particularly with emphasis on social work, the rehabilitation of convicts, dope pushers, prostitutes, petty thieves, all sorts of people.”

Groundwork for 1990 coup

Ironically, it is this very tradition of providing social services which may have laid the groundwork for the 1990 coup attempt and, now, radicalisation in that cohort of the Muslim community. This is the argument propounded by American economist Eli Berman in his book Radical, Religious, And Violent. “Regardless of denomination or faith,” Berman writes, “radical religious groups typically share a common organisational design, which makes them magnificent providers of social services through mutual aid”.

Berman uses the label ‘radical’ to mean adherence to a more literalist or extreme branch of a religion, not necessarily violent. He cites data showing that such groups tend to be more cohesive than other kinds of organisations, largely because the stringent requirements to join—ie, giving up all property—weed out people who might be disloyal or not fully committed. The Jamaat al Muslimeen became known for its work among deprived black youths long before the coup attempt. “Social services are not only a source of recruits,” Berman writes, “they also provide leverage over veteran members”.

But this also means that the stereotype of the terrorist is wrong-headed. Economist Alan B Krueger in his book What Makes a Terrorist writes: “Most terrorists are not so desperately poor that they have nothing to live for. Instead, they are people who care so deeply and fervently about a cause that they are willing to die for it”, noting that they tend to be drawn from well-educated, middle-class or high-income families.”

Even suicide bombers, Berman records, “were typically not ignorant or economically deprived (relative to their neighbours) and had generally not suffered the loss of a close friend or family member.” He concludes, “I think it must be that these individuals are altruists—at least in respect to their own communities...the attackers truly believe that their courageous act will bring great benefit to some cause, and that their neighbours, community or country will benefit.”

Seeds for radicalisation

planted in the 1970s

The seeds for radicalisation were also planted in the 1970s after the heyday of the Black Power movement. Military historian and syndicated columnist Gwynne Dyer in Don’t Panic: Isis, Terror and Today’s Middle East writes:

“The first generation of Islamist revolutionaries in the Arab world emerged in the late 1970s in response to the abject failure of the military regimes to keep their promises about delivering economic growth, military might, rising living standards and the defeat of Israel...Islamist ideology argued that the patterns of development that had worked for the infidel West were completely inappropriate for Muslim societies...once everybody had stopped smoking, stopped drinking alcohol, stopped listening to music, stopped the disgusting mixing of the sexes in social and work situations, once the men had stopped trimming their beards, and once everybody was living as true Muslims had done in the time of the Prophet 1,300 years ago—then God would ensure that people in the Muslim countries had the power, prosperity and respect that they longed for.”

This new Islamic ideology in relation to Trinidad’s hedonistic ethos may have also helped solidify radicalised peoples’ desire to leave and join Isis. In a paper titled What Explains the Flow of Foreign Fighters to ISIS?, economists Efraim Benmelech and Esteban F Klor found that the more homogeneous the host country is, the more difficulties Muslim immigrants experience in their process of assimilation. “This social isolation seems to induce radicalisation, increasing the supply of potential recruits,” they write.

Carnival culture in direct

contrast to values of Islamists

Thus, Trinidad’s ‘Carnival culture’ stands in direct contrast to the values of the Islamists and may have made them feel more alienated and hence more open to extremist ideas.

To this mix must be added Trinidad’s position off the coast of South America since, as journalist Stephen Platt points out in his 2014 book Criminal Capital, “Over the past couple decades it has become increasingly obvious that there is a link between Islamic terror networks and the South American cocaine trade...Recent research and intelligence has pointed to growing evidence that terrorists are funded not only from donations and State sponsors, but that they are increasingly turning to drug trafficking, arms trading, currency smuggling, and various types of fraud to generate capital.”

Berman lists six main methods by which terrorist groups get recruits:

• Remove outside options of members by making them unemployable in mainstream society
• Recruit from non-violent base, such as charities
• Provide social services to members
• Fund these services through illegal activities, such as drug trafficking
• Get leverage with politicians
• Create distance between members and the wider culture that they might defect to
Box One summarises the factors which facilitate radicalisation and whether they apply to T&T or not.
Krueger concludes: “What makes a terrorist, then, is the availability of a person with a fanatical commitment to pursuing a grievance combined with the perception that there are few alternatives available other than terrorism for pursuing that grievance, and the availability of a terrorist organisation or cell willing to equip and deploy the would-be terrorist.”

TABLE 1—ISIS FOREIGN RECRUITS FROM 15 SELECTED COUNTRIES

Country Per capita rank Total Fighters Muslim population Recruits ratio

Saudi Arabia 6th 2,500 27 million 2.7 per 1,000
Jordan 14th 2,000 8 million 0.7 per 1,000
France 15th 1,700 5 million 0.5 per 1,000
Tunisia 2nd 6,000 11 million 6 per 1,000
Britain 10th 760 3 million 1.6 per 1,000
Belgium 1st 470 628,000 7 per 1,000
Sweden 5th 300 500,00 3 per 1,000
Austria 8th 300 339,000 2.4 per 1,000
Netherlands 12th 220 1 million 1.4 per 1,000
Maldives 4th 200 393,000 4 per 1,000
T&T 9th 130 65,00 2 per 1,000
Australia 7th 120 476,000 2.4 per 1,000
Norway 13th 81 212,000 1.4 per 1,000
Finland 11th 70 60,000 1.6 per 1,000
Ireland 3rd 30 49,000 6 per 1,000

FACTORS FACILITATING RADICALS
Indicators T&T
Inefficient provision of social services—YES
Restrictions on civil rights—PARTIAL
State subsidies of grievance groups—YES
State subsidies of religion—YES
High fertility within target group—YES
Recruits have higher level education—NO
Recruits have higher incomes—NO
High-income individuals support ideological goals—YES
High-educated individuals support ideological goals—YES
National GDP mid- to high—YES
Homogenous population— NO
Religious schools—YES

​
These are the elements which the Government must counteract in order to reduce the pool of potential terrorists in T&T.

KEVIN BALDEOSINGH

There has never been any benchmarks, standards or consistent monitoring systems in place to screen for heavy metals in T&T in order to assess the impact on the environment or human life.

In an interview on Friday, Planning Minister Camille Robinson-Regis acknowledged that there were no regulations in place for the monitoring of organic pollutants in agriculture, water courses, dumps and other sources in T&T.

This issue is now being worked on, however, by the Ministry of Planning and the Environment, which recently partnered with the United Nations to establish a consistent organic pollutant monitoring system.

Robinson-Regis said the overall budget available to T&T to participate in the regional Persistent Organic Pollutants Project was U$1,260,000. Earlier this month, the country was thrown into a panic after the Solid Waste Management Company Limited, in a Joint Select Committee meeting at Parliament, said heavy lead from the Guanapo dump was a danger to human life.

Robinson-Regis said the issue was currently engaging the Government’s attention. “What we have done in lieu of legislation is we are working with the UN on establishing a persistent organic pollutant monitoring system. It is something we have already started and we have a project in place.” She said there was still a need to get a project manager and a team to conduct monitoring on a regular basis.

The project is being partially funded by the UN’s general environment fund, with funding coming from other UN groups and the T&T Government providing manpower.

The project is being supervised by an inter-ministerial team with consultation from the Environmental Management Authority (EMA) and Cariri. The Institute of Marine Affairs (IMA) will also be a part of the project.

“It is a priority, mainly because of the improper disposal of organic pollutants. Sometimes we have issues with disposal of medical waste. We have not found major problems. But we do not want to get to a situation where a problem occurs and we are coming from behind.”

Everything is not okay—Aboud

Environmental activist Gary Aboud, head of the Fishermen and Friends of the Sea organisation feels T&T is already coming from behind.

According to Aboud, the number of animals washing ashore in south Trinidad was proof that pollutants are contaminating the waters and could have possible adverse effects on humans.

“It is the Government that have not responded to this danger. Pelicans and flipper dolphins are washing ashore dead.

What are they eating?” Aboud said the Government had an obligation to protect its people and the regional market who import from T&T. He said the problem of dead fishes and other animals washing ashore had become much worse.

“We believe that all the beaches in the South where the oil washed ashore and corexit was used are all affected.” He said the bottom feeding fish in Carenage and Cocorite had ten times less contaminants than fish in the lagoon in La Brea.

“We have asked the Government to close this area. Instead, the Government has done studies to show everything is okay but everything is not okay.”

‘It can have adverse effects on health’

Dr Azad Mohammed, a toxicologist and lecturer at the University of the West Indies, St Augustine, said heavy metals were always present in the environment, but added that there was a definite need for more research and monitoring.

He said heavy metals got in the environment from a number of sources. In Trinidad, the petrochemical industry is a major source: then you have simple things like atmospheric deposition; then manufacturing industries; dump sites; agriculture; transportation sector, all of which contribute heavy metals to the environment.

Dr Mohammed said it was an area of concern because of the potential impacts to people when metal levels get too high or accumulate in organisms.

“They can have toxic effects. Lead for example is a potent neurotoxin, meaning it can affect your neurosystem, your ability to function. People exposed to these metals have physiological conditions and don’t know.”

He said when these metals start getting into water courses from various sources, they accumulate in organisms and you see behavioural changes—in the ability to reproduce, nervous responses if the levels are high.

Some symptoms can be unnoticeable in a health context like the aggression associated with high levels of lead.

Some effects can lead to death.

“...We don’t do routine testing or screening of the public for heavy metals or anything else.

We don’t screen fish, vegetables, the food that we eat, nothing. There are no standards in T&T.”

He said this made it more difficult for researchers as no benchmarks meant one could measure and not know what one was measuring against. “People have adopted standards from international agencies but there are no national standards.” T&T citizens have not been immune from the effects of exposure to heavy metals.

Dr Mohammed said in 2011, there were two clinical cases of people in Mt Hope who exhibited strange behaviours and were subsequently found to have had elevated levels of mercury and were showing neurological disorders.

“It can affect production of essential proteins, damage organs, damage tissue, so there is a hierarchy of responses.”

If the levels are low human bodies have a built-in defense, but if accumulated levels are too high problems begin to occur.

TOXIC HEAVY METALS AND THEIR EFFECTS

Examples of toxic heavy metals include lead, mercury, arsenic, chromium and copper, all found in the environment in T&T.

These particles are generated by burning materials for example; during smelting; recycling; stripping leaded paint; and using leaded gasoline or leaded aviation fuel; and ingestion of lead-contaminated dust, water (from leaded pipes); and food (from lead-glazed or lead-soldered containers).

Symptoms of toxic heavy metal contamination can include behaviour problems, growth delays, and death.

Relatives of Dorothy “Molly” Hosein, who was found murdered in a Rio Claro pond on Saturday, believes she knew her killer.

While still trying to wrap their heads around the brutal killing, her 23-year-old granddaughter Marie Hosein and son-in-law Ansil Henry said it was unlike Hosein to stay away from home or go anywhere with a stranger.

“This was not a random person, it was somebody she knew,” Marie told reporters outside her grandmother’s Piparo home yesterday. Hosein, 65, a CEPEP worker, was found floating face-down in a pond at St John’s Road by a farmer around 8 am Saturday.

Police said she was hogtied and they believe she was sexually abused, beaten and then strangled. Henry confirmed that Hosein left home for work in the area.

He said when her son reached home around 7.30 pm and realised she was not there, he went looking for her.

“Time was going and he decided to go out the road to look for her, thinking she was stranded for transport. He returned home at 3 am after looking for her in the night. He went to the Princes Town Police Station and made a report around 9 am. While he was coming back home, he got a call from police,” Henry said.

He said Hosein was popular in the community as she would assist any resident who was in need of help.

While acknowledging the seriousness of crime, he said he would not blame the Government, as it was people’s responsibility to live an honest life.

Marie said she was at work in Port-of-Spain when she got calls from people, who were asking for her grandmother’s name.

Unaware of Hosein’s death, she said she was thrown into shock when she saw photos of her dead grandmother on Facebook.

An investigation has been launched into the death of a 65-year-old retiree whose burnt body was found after his house was destroyed by fire yesterday.

A report stated that residents living along Papourie Road, Barrackpore noticed the fire at Satram Baboolal’s house around 3 am and contacted the fire services. Officers from the Southern Division Headquarters, Mon Repos responded and extinguished the fire.

When firefighters entered the house, they found Baboolal’s body in the front bedroom.

Cpl Narine and officers from the Barrackpore Police Station went to the scene and interviewed residents.

The cause of the fire is yet to be determined as the Fire Prevention Unit is still investigating.

Baboolal’s body is expected to be taken to the Forensic Science Centre for an autopsy.

Neighbours told the T&T Guardian yesterday that Baboolal, who retired from Petrotrin a few years ago was born and raised in that house.

They said he lived alone and slept in the room where he was found. They said a loud explosion woke them and by the time they looked out, the fire had already consumed the concrete and wooden house.

Massy Trinidad All Stars went onstage at 2.30 yesterday morning before a sizeable Queen’s Park Savannah audience, seven hours into the programme. By the time the band exited the stage and the cheers and standing ovation were over, it was clear to many that its rendition of MX Prime’s Full Extreme had been bound for glory.

Awarded 286 points, the 82-year-old Port-of-Spain band copped its 10th Panorama title with the Leon “Smooth” Edwards arrangement.

In second place on 283 points were 2016 winners Desperadoes.

Now exiled to Frederick Street in Port-of-Spain, the Laventille-born 11-time Panorama champs had opened the Big Band proceedings at 10.45 pm with the programme’s most played tune Good Morning.

In third place, also playing the Jovan James/Peter Ram collaboration on Good Morning was BpTT Renegades which earned 280 points.

They were followed in the standings—by a margin of three points—by Republic Bank Exodus.

Exodus appeared last on the programme with Good Morning and, in the process, tied with CAL Invaders which went for a spirited rendition of Full Extreme.

PCS Silver Stars, a band that had also brought the crowd to its feet, came in sixth with 276 points after playing We Are Conquerors.

Two points behind was Skiffle on 274 followed by Phase 11 Pan Groove with Red, White and Black in a tie on 272 points with MTHL Starlift that chose Good Morning.

Last year’s surprise runners-up, FCB Supernovas failed to similarly impress the judges with arranger Amrit Samaroo’s Rumble in the Jungle on 271 points while T&TEC Tropical Angel Harps were close behind in 11th place on 270.5 points, having played “Single.”

Much earlier, former perennial Large Band competitor, Pan-demonium had opened the Medium Band proceedings with an Akua Leith arrangement of Cheers to Life.

The spirited arrangement announced the start of one of the most keenly-competed Panorama encounters in recent history but only managed to provide the Belmont band with a shared ninth place standing together with Sound Specialists of Laventille on 264 points.

Emerging victorious, now with a record four consecutive wins, was Pan Elders, playing a Duvonne Stewart arrangement of Roti and Talkarie.

The performance earned the band 282 points, leaving in its wake by a margin of seven points, Curepe Scherzando that had chosen the Mighty Shadow’s 2001 Road March winning tune Stranger.

Tobago’s NLCB Buccooneers, with Rhythm Run Things earned 272 points for third place.

A three-way tie for fourth place on 270 bunched HCL Valley Harps, Petrotrin Katzenjammers and Melodians.

The programme got off to a marginally late start at 7.10 pm with an opening statement by embattled Pan Trinbago President, Keith Diaz, but the medium bands kept up an efficient flow between performances.

Valley Harps startled the crowd with a pyrotechnics display during its performance an hour later.

This led to a subsequent announcement that several bands to follow would have later employed the same stunt.

Only two bands in the medium category chose current 2017 selections—Katzenjammers with Good Morning while Buccooneers played Kernal Roberts’ Rhythm Run Tings.

Good Morning was played six times on the evening and Full Extreme twice. Several bands also decided to colour their performances with dancers and dramatic skits.

Renegades brought along a full cast of ole-time mas’ characters while Silver Stars’ players portrayed medieval knights, complete with shields and choreographed dance moves.

Big band winners, All Stars, went the route of fireworks and strobe lights.

Many were also noting the staying power of the Panorama audience at the end of the usual Panorama marathon.

The North Stand never quite reached full capacity, while the Grand Stand was packed tight. Close to eighth hours after the start, it was all over.

All Stars and Pan Elders will hold the winners’ titles until the best steelbands in the world compete for top honours again next year.

• Large Bands

1. Massy Trinidad All Stars “Full Extreme” 286

2. Desperadoes “Good Morning” 283

3. BpTT Renegades “Good Morning” 280

4. Republic Bank Exodus “Good Morning” 277

4. CAL Invaders “Full Extreme” 277

6. PCS Silver Stars “We Are Conquerors” 276

7. Skiffle “Good Morning” 274

8. HADCO Phase 11 Pan Groove “Red, White and Black” 272

8. MTHL Starlift “Good Morning” 272

10. FCB Supernovas “Rumble in the Jungle” 271

11. T&TEC Tropical Angel Harps “Single” 270.5

• Medium Bands

1. Pan Elders “Roti and Talkarie” 282

2. Curepe Scherzando “Stranger” 275

3. NLCB Buccooneers “Rhythm Run Things” 272

4. HCL Valley Harps “Total Disorder” 270

4. Petrotrin Katzenjammers “Good Morning” 270

4. Melodians “Um-Ba Yao 270

7. NGC Couva Joylanders “Band of the Year” 268

8. NGC Steel Xplosion “Wet Meh Down” 267

9. Pan-demonium “Cheers To Life” 264

9. Sound Specialists of Laventille “Dangerous” 264

Police officers and soldiers will be out in full force on Carnival Monday and Tuesday to ensure the safety of all during the two-day reign of the Merry Monarch.

Members of the protective services will be out in full force today from 2 am, well before J’Ouvert starts at 4 am, until the Ash Wednesday cool down parties.

And head of the Port-of-Spain Division, Floris Hodge-Griffith, is warning people top desist from flying drones as the items will be immediately removed by the police.

Hodge-Griffith, who was part of a team of officers on foot patrol at the drag during Panorama finals on Saturday night, said there were no reported robberies or pick-pocketing during the event.

“Port-of-Spain is a no fly zone. Any drone spotted would be taken down. I did take down one last night (Sunday night). When Phase Two was coming on a foreign press did put up a drone but it was taken down.

“These zones are a danger because it is a big open space and a drone can injure people. Anybody who wants to use a drone has to get permission from the Civil Aviation Authority,” Hodge-Griffith said.

She said all systems have been put in place adding that police who would be complimented by soldiers would be on the roads until stand down, which is on Tuesday midnight.

“Carnival should be one of our safest. We are ready for Carnival 2017. People should take note of where the taxi stands are, the routes and the roads that are closed,” Hodge-Griffith said.

It was particularly important, she added, that people pay proper attention to the relocation of taxi stands so as to ensure they returned home safely.

While there may a greater concentration in Port-of-Spain lawmen Hodge-Griffith said the police would be patrolling the entire country including to ensure homes and businesses were not broken into.

“We have staff for Carnival and we have staff for regular duty so that people should have no fear because people would be looking at people’s homes. We have police patrolling camp sites also,” Hodge-Griffith said.

Police would also have booths for lost children at strategic locations including Ariapita Avenue, downtown Port-of-Spain and at City Gate.

Deputy Police Commissioner Deodath Dulalchan who is Gold Commander in charge of Operations for Carnival, also ensured that there would be a high visibility of uniformed police officers around Carnival and non-Carnival events, as well as plain-clothed policemen and women.

Dulalchan said discussions had already taken place between the Police Service, National Carnival Commission (NCC) and band owners to treat with violence by private security firms who sometimes physically abuse patrons who attempt to enter bands.

But he warned that bandleaders to stick to the specifications obtained for the vehicles while using on the roads, noting that he was aware that, in some cases, vehicles were altered after clearance was received.

This, he said, would not be tolerated and if vehicles are found altered, they taken off the Carnival route.

“We would have already engaged the band leaders and we will be engaging the persons who will be requesting those licences and so on, that they need to ensure they conform to the guidelines, failure of which, those trucks will be pulled out of the route.

“So we are asking, we are here ready to facilitate Carnival but what we don’t want to do, we don’t want people to operate those vehicles contrary to the restrictions given which can pose a health hazard and a safety hazard to themselves as well as masqueraders,” Dulalchan said.

Over the last few years, there were reported brawls inside bands on the road, one of which even involved a People’s National Movement (PNM) councillor being assaulted during last year’s Carnival.

But Dulalchan, said discussions were held regarding this.

“The bandleaders gave an undertaking that there will be some training with the officers who will in fact be providing that level of security.

“Once a report is made in relation to any interaction with those people who provide that level of security, and once an offence is detected, we will investigate that offence as any other offence that we usually investigate,” he added.

Police officers who were on vacation or other extended leave were recalled to ensure manpower was increased.

•The Long Circular/Wrightson Road taxi stands will be relocated to the northern side of Dock Road between Wrightson Road and the Port Authority entrance.

• The Diego Martin/Petit Valley taxi stands will be relocated to the southern side of Dock Road between Wrightson Road and the Port Authority entrance.

• The “On Call”/Ice House taxi stands will be relocated to Charles Street, from Scott Bushe Street facing west.

• Route 1 (yellow band) maxi taxis shall enter the maxi taxi stand on South Quay by way of the Beetham Highway and exit by way of the Beetham Highway on the Southern side, forty metres east of the Beetham Highway.

• Carenage taxis will operate from the corner of Duke and Stone Streets.

• The Belmont taxi stand shall be moved to the corner of Observatory and Charlotte Streets.

• The Maraval taxi stand will operate from Belmont Circular Road and Belle Eau Road.

• The Laventille Road taxi stand will operate on the northern side of Laventille Road, behind the barrier.

•The San Fernando/Chaguanas taxi stands will both be relocated from Broadway to the northern side of South Quay between Nelson and Viera Streets facing east.

•The Morvant/Trou Macaque taxi stands shall operate on the Southern Side of Old St. Joseph Road, east of Piccadilly Street.

• The Tunapuna/Arima/Sangre Grande taxi stands shall operate from the southern side of South Quay between Nelson and Viera Street facing east.

•San Juan/Round-the-Road taxi stands will relocate to the southern side of South Quay between Nelson and Viera Street facing east.

Alex Gift, better known as Tobago Chalkie, is the new Tobago Calypso Monarch. He was named winner on Thursday night after beating nine other contenders including last year’s winner Nicole Thomas. Gift, with his rendition, Deh not well, took home the prize of $100,000 at the show which was held at the Shaw Park Complex.

The night before, Candice Chang-Sandy, with her portrayal Queen of Diamonds, copped the first prize in the Tobago Queens of Carnival competition while Winston Chadband, with his costume King of Spades, was crowned King of Tobago Carnival.

Culture Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly says the 2017 Carnival- dubbed the Greatest Show on Earth— is expected to be a safe and enjoyable.

The annual street parade of costume and non-costume mass began with the annual J’Ouvert at 4 am.

Contacted for comment yesterday, Gadsby-Dolly said the National Carnival Commission (NCC), which manages the events with the Police Service, the Defence Force, the Fire Service and the Tourism Development Company (TDC) “have all publicly pledged their readiness to ensure the safety, security and above all enjoyment of the festivities.”

Following this morning J’Ouvert celebrations there will be the Parade of the Bands at various venues across the country, including South Quay and the Queen’s Park Savannah , Port-of-Spain.

Gadsby-Dolly said: “We are as prepared as we have ever been as a country for Carnival 2017.”

Gadsby-Dolly, who also holds the Community Development and the Arts portfolios, told the T&T Guardian yesterday: “As Trinbagonians it is for us to believe in our product as the greatest, from this flows the efforts to make it so—according to our unique and complex definition of the term ‘great’.”

She said, while nothing was perfect, “the fact that visitors keep coming to our shores to enjoy and participate in what we offer signals that we have something worthy on offer.”

Gadsby-Dolly said: “We see tourists playing the pan, tourists playing blue devils during Canboulay, tourists deejaying in fetes, tourists participating in our premier competitions, and we’ll see thousands on the streets playing mas.”

The minister added: “T&T Carnival is about participation and our model welcomes people in and allows them to immerse themselves in the total experience not as spectators but as full-fledged participants—Trinbagonians for a season.”

She said the multifaceted nature of our celebrations, the ease of participation, the sheer volume of events, the energy that is impossible to miss, the quality of the musical offerings, the annual historical pilgrimage to Piccadilly Street to focus on the historical underpinnings, the explosion of creativity and colour in the mas, the convenience of choice regarding the type of costuming one prefers for the masquerade, the ability to join unique celebrations all over this island, in every region—not just Port-of-Spain, the emphasis on the traditional, authentic mas of the islands.

According to Gadsby-Dolly, “all of these are characteristics which we as citizens of this nation should consider as we decide whether this is the greatest show on Earth,” adding that

“No one else has this total experience on offer. It is unique, authentic and it is ours.”

Gadsby-Dolly said if citizens “decide that this is the greatest show on earth, then no one can take that away from us. That is what we’ll exude, with an energy that is infectious.”

She said another heartening fact about the festival was that “the youths are out in force in every aspect of the Carnival arts—even in pan making—evidence that this Carnival product, though undoubtedly requiring some refinement and definition, has retained its cultural relevance.”

Gadsby-Dolly also advised citizens “to enjoy this Carnival to the fullest, in whatever way you choose to.”

She said not everyone “has to join the mas, not everyone has to play pan or sing calypso to enjoy the Carnival as there is some aspect of the culture for everyone to enjoy at this time. “

Gadsby Dolly said: “For many, the Carnival season is an annual purging of mental stress; an escape valve.

“To others, it represents opportunities for significant revenue generation; but for all of us, our indigenous Carnival is a reflection of who we were, who we are, and who we will be.”

• Avoid wearing heavy jewelry during this period

If you have to access an ATM machine do so during the daytime and avoid withdrawing large amounts of cash at any one time. Also avoid carrying around or displaying large amounts of cash

• When leaving a Carnival event ensure that your group walks you to your vehicle especially if the vehicle is parked in an unlit area. Have your keys in your hand since these can be used as a weapon if you find yourself in a situation

• If commuting please do so in groups and avoid getting into a taxi alone. If you must, you can text the number to a friend or relative and if possible a description of the driver. During this period there will be reliable public transport and this may be a better option

• If you find yourself in a dangerous situation your first choice should be to escape if possible as this is your best option.

You need to trust your instinct and listen to what your intuition tells you

• Parents and guardians and all persons who have the custody and care of children during this period. The safety of your children is your sole responsibility

• Do not leave children unless supervised by a responsible adult

• Do not leave children unattended in vehicles, at home or in any public space

• Even if a child is in your company please attach proper identification in the event that they become separated from you

• Exercise good journey management. Leave on time to join your band so you do not have to speed. Buckle up.

• Do not leave in a parked vehicle or exposed in a crowd

• Lodge for safe keeping at the station in your district, especially if you are leaving the country during the Carnival period. Do not wait until you have reached the airport to realise you have a firearm in your possession

• Ensure that you collect your camper’s registration forms from the police station in the district where your camp site will be so the police will be aware of where you are and pay occasional visits to ensure your safety during the period.

The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM) has issued a safety advisory for parents during Carnival Monday and Tuesday.

•Utilise carpooling and park-and-ride services. This eases traffic congestion on the roadways and minimises the risk of accidents.

•Create identification bands or labels for your child. In crowds it is possible for children to become lost and to forget important contact numbers, addresses or their parents’ names.

• Reinforce who are the best people to ask for help. Make it clear to your child that he/she is not to approach persons who look suspicious within their environment. Ensure they are able to recognise uniforms and name badges, eg security guards and police officers.

• Play the “What Am I Wearing?” game. Tell your child to take a good look at you, then close his/her eyes and tell you what you are wearing. If you get separated, it can help them locate you in a crowd or describe you to a helpful adult.

• Take a digital picture of each child. If one of them gets lost, you can show the authorities a current picture of your child wearing that day’s clothes.

• Tell children younger than 10 to stay put if you are separated. Young children should never exit the venue but should remain where they are so you can find them.

• Agree on a designated meeting place in case you get separated. Never choose the entrance to a venue or the parking lot. The ideal meeting place is an information centre, ticket booth or a clearly noticeable landmark.

•Have your children carry identification. This should be hidden in a pocket or affixed to the inside of a garment.

• Report your child missing as soon as you realise it.

• Carry some form of identification on their person when attending activities.

• Take public transportation with “H” being the first letter on the number plate.

• Verify the cost of transportation before boarding hired vehicles.

• Avoid dark and lonely areas, ie, walking through the Queen’s Park Savannah at night.

• Not accept lifts from strangers.

• Not carry around or display large amounts of cash.

• Secure wallets and purses especially in crowded areas.

• Find a police officer if they need assistance.

ODPM Carnival safety tips

The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM) has issued a safety advisory for parents during Carnival Monday and Tuesday.

•Utilise carpooling and park-and-ride services. This eases traffic congestion on the roadways and minimises the risk of accidents.

•Create identification bands or labels for your child. In crowds it is possible for children to become lost and to forget important contact numbers, addresses or their parents’ names.

• Reinforce who are the best people to ask for help. Make it clear to your child that he/she is not to approach persons who look suspicious within their environment. Ensure they are able to recognise uniforms and name badges, e.g. security guards and police officers.

• Play the “What Am I Wearing?” game. Tell your child to take a good look at you, then close his/her eyes and tell you what you are wearing. If you get separated, it can help them locate you in a crowd or describe you to a helpful adult.

• Take a digital picture of each child. If one of them gets lost, you can show the authorities a current picture of your child wearing that day’s clothes.

• Tell children younger than 10 to stay put if you are separated. Young children should never exit the venue but should remain where they are so you can find them.

• Agree on a designated meeting place in case you get separated. Never choose the entrance to a venue or the parking lot. The ideal meeting place is an information centre, ticket booth or a clearly noticeable landmark.

•Have your children carry identification. This should be hidden in a pocket or affixed to the inside of a garment.

• Report your child missing as soon as you realise it.

more tips

• Ensure that your vehicle is properly secured.

• Use paid car parks whenever possible.

• Not overcrowd vehicles.

• Not drink and drive.

• Lock doors when vehicle is in motion.

• Notify the police whenever you observe any strange activities around vehicles.

• Obey traffic signs

• Not leave your vehicle unattended with engine running.

• Not leave valuable items exposed in your vehicle.

• Be cautious of persons loitering near traffic lights.

• Have your keys in hand when you approach your vehicle.

• Be vigilant at all times when returning home especially at night and if you are travelling alone.

Some tiny tots had their costumes blown over by the wind, but despite the wardrobe malfunctions, they were jamming still.

There was nothing stopping children at the San Fernando Carnival Committee’s Junior Parade of the Bands competition yesterday which started close to midday. Despite the bands having less masqueraders this year, 21 schools and clubs crossed to stage before a handful of people at Skinner Park. As the popular Ultimate Reject’s Soca, Full Extreme played on repeat, the children pranced around the stage gleefully in an experience so thrilling that some of them did not want to leave. The stage itself was surrounded by grinning parents, equipped with their cell phones and cameras.

Although the competition was scheduled to begin at 10 am, it was not until 12 noon that the first band, House of Jacqui got the show started with their feathery presentation of I dreamt I had Wings Like a Bird. The junior masqueraders of Lionel Jagessar and Associates’ Heart Beat followed soon after, turning the streets into an enchanted river of colour, life and excitement.

Like the celebrated designers, Peter Minshall and Brian Mac Farlane showed that mas reflects life, so did many of the bands. Fyzabad band, Irma & Friends took spectators on a trip with their presentation of A Journey to Africa. The youngsters depicted the natural beauty of Africa with portrayals of the Queen Killer Bee, King Lion, African Honey Bees and Zebras.

Fyzabad Apex Stars showed off their gifts, while presenting, In My Toybox. Filled with fluorescent green and pink Genies and cowboys armed with their lassos, the children put on a colourful exhibition before the judges.

La Divina Pastora Siparia Boys’ RC honoured past and living legends with their presentation of Icons of Carnival. Calypsonian Aldwyn (Lord Kitchener Roberts, Soca veteran Austin (Superblue) Lyon, steel pan arranger Len “Boogsie” Sharpe, masmen Peter Minshall and Lionel Jagessar were honoured in their presentations.

More people are taking part in Carnival celebrations in Chaguanas this year, says Mayor Gopaul Boodan.

Twelve bands were registered to participate in yesterday’s children’s Carnival, 23 in this morning’s J’Ouvert competition and seven in the large band category tomorrow afternoon.

“People participation has increased this year. In the large band category, for instance, we had four last year and seven this year.”

Boodan believes it has something to do with the Borough’s promotion of the Chaguanas community as a large family.

Councillors got people in the different villages to organise low cost J’Ouvert bands and get involved in the competition to feel they are a part of the larger community, he said.

He said he and his councillors even came with their own J’Ouvert band, No Nonsense, this morning, passing on the stage but not competing for any prizes.

The Mayor said they are using J’Ouvert to send a strong message that after Carnival celebrations are over the Borough will have a no nonsense policy on crime and indiscipline, street vending and traffic congestion in Chaguanas.

The Borough’s determination to make Chaguanas a safer place may have something to do with it, as well.

“We have a lot of support from the Chaguanas police and army personnel.

“In our own initiative, private security agencies will be lending their vehicles to the police in addition to providing ancillary support,” Boodan said.

Boodan said Carnival celebrations have been planned to cause minimal disruption to the normal flow of traffic in Chaguanas.

Main Street remains open to traffic and all celebrations are being held on Ramsaran Street.

“Even Ramsaran Street will be re-opened at 10 am after J’Ouvert celebrations Monday morning.

“It will only be closed again for the parade of the large bands on Tuesday from 1 pm to 7pm.”

Boodan said perhaps the star attraction in the Borough will be its Monday night traditional mas.

“This will be the best traditional mas in the country,” he promised.

Boodan said traditional mas bands portraying Jab Molassie, Moko Jumbies, Dame Lorraine and other Carnival characters will be coming to Chaguanas from Moruga, Tobago and even Grenada.

For the first time in the history of T&T Carnival, small traditional mas bands from villages all over Trinidad, some from as far as Grande Riviere and Penal, were given an opportunity to parade on the Big Stage at the Queen’s Park Savannah yesterday morning from 9 am to 1 pm.

However, despite the opening of the North Stand to the public and invitations to hotels to send guests to the event, spectators were few with most of the seats empty.

Kenny de Silva, chairman of the National Carnival Commission (NCC), responsible for putting on the event, said the board made the decision to ask large conventional mas bands to allow traditional bands some time to have a window on the Big Stage.

Normally, big mas bands under the National Carnival Bandleaders Association (NCBA) will take control of the Big Stage at the Savannah on Monday.

He said big bands would have had sufficient time to parade on the stage because they do not normally come out in their full numbers on Carnival Monday.

“Many of their members play J’Ouvert. The big parade for them in the Savannah is Tuesday.” De Silva said traditional mas usually happens outside of the city of Port-of-Spain and a lot of visitors to the Queen’s Park Savannah will not be exposed to all the different Carnival characters to see how mas evolved.

“So we decided to have this window on Monday morning, which is a quiet period, do a parade of traditional characters. “We invited traditional bands from regions all over Trinidad.”

De Silva said the event was “at no cost” to spectators and the NCC sent invitations to all the hotels in Port of Spain and elsewhere to send their guests to see traditional mas.

He said the hope it would boost tourism since T&T Carnival has spawned Carnivals all over the world.

De Silva said T&T’s Carnival is the only place where traditional characters can be seen.

He said it may have been off to a slow start this year but it is hoped traditional mas will become a feature on the Big Stage at the Savannah for Carnival.

The Mighty Chalkdust’s (Dr Hollis Liverpool) victory at this year’s Dimanche Gras on Sunday night pushed him ahead of the “Calypso King of the World’s” (Slinger Francisco) record with nine titles as Calypso Monarch.

The two bards were previously tied with eight victories each and Chalkdust had tried unsuccessfully at eclipsing Sparrow since he copped his last monarch title in 2009.

But on Sunday night Chalkdust connected with people on the serious issue of potential child abuse as a result of child marriage, provoking thought while at the same time having folks chuckle and laugh.

He beat out Karene Asche and Heather Mac Intosh into second and third respectively, while defending monarch Devon Seale could only manage sixth spot. (See page A21)

Surrounded by friends, family and jubilant supporters after the victory, Liverpool told the T&T Guardian: “That is the essence of the calypso—people must understand it, and they must laugh, they must be entertained. You taking serious issues, but not in a way to make people drowsy or make the song boring... You have to make the topic beautiful, so they can enjoy themselves and laugh at themselves, you know? People must learn to laugh.”

Liverpool said he was not afraid he might offend some Hindu people as a result of the topic of his calypso Learn From Arithmetic.

“No. Because I did everything clean, nothing dirty, nothing nasty—just talking maths. I couldn’t offend Hindu people because I just simply said what is happening. I played double entendre, yes.”

His calypso falls squarely in social commentary while also flirting with the idea of smut calypso—the tag line “75 can’t go into 14” is both a lesson in maths and a possible metaphor for old men having sexual relations with young girls—yet the way he expressed it mocked the absurdity and immorality of such unequal relationships with a barbed humour.

“It was a lesson in both literacy and numeracy,” quipped one of his supporters.

Asked what he intended to do with his $700,000 winnings and what he will try next year for a tenth win, Liverpool said: “Both those things depend on my wife, ...because my wife usually tells me if my calypsoes are good, bad or indifferent.”

During his performance, Chalkdust, who celebrated his 50th year as a calypsonian this year, connected with the audience with an engaging delivery. The calypso taught a gentle lesson in the art of entertaining an audience whilst using language to craft a skilful T&T folk song about a controversial topical issue.

In typical Chalkie fashion, the music was not really something you could dance to. But he still achieved a natural connection with the Grand Stand audience with his easy conversational style, his varied use of arithmetic as a satirical metaphor, his humorous storytelling skills and his skilful harnessing of the hallowed T&T tradition of smut calypso without ever once using overtly smutty, crass or offensive language.

He also negotiated the tricky area of the barbarous side of some minority ethnic cultural practices without ever sounding prejudiced or insulting to Indo-Trini or other ethnicities as a whole, managing to raise the issue to a national, human level: that of the rights of any girl child to a childhood, free from the sexual predations of older men. And it didn’t hurt his popularity that he set up Sat Maharaj as a bogeyman of sorts, injecting conflict into the mix.

HOW THEY PLACED

1. The Mighty Chalkdust (Dr Hollis Liverpool): Learn From Arithmetic

2. Karene Asche: Caught in the Whirlwind

3. Heather Mac Intosh: Games

4. Terri Lyons: The Phrase

5. Rondell Donawa: Lip Service

6. Devon Seale: I Carmona

7. Chuck Gordon (Roderick Gordon): Wah Yuh Doin

8. Queen Victoria: Call to Prayer

9. Lady Gypsy (Lynette Steele): Plight of My People

10. All Rounder (Anthony Hendrickson): To Be An Icon

11. Cro Cro (Weston Rawlins): Final Send-Off

12. Gypsy (Winston Peters): Angry Land

13. Kurt Allen: My Corn Tree

14. Sasha-Ann Moses: Main Witness

15. Fya Empress (Lornette Nedd-Reid): Guilty

16. Meguella Simon: Still Colonial

17. Lady Adanna (Marsha Clifton): Social Media

Secretary General of the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha Satnarayn Maharaj says the Mighty Chalkdust (Dr Hollis Liverpool) got it wrong with his rendition Learn from Arithmetic, in which he focused on the issue of child marriage with the refrain “75 can’t go into 14.”

According to Maharaj, Hindu children who get married under the age of 18 must do so with the consent of their parents and it is never to a 75-year-old man.

But Chalkdust says Maharaj is missing the message in the song which is a warning to young women to be wary of older men who only want to prey on their innocence.

The calypso which won Chalkdust the first place prize in the Calypso Monarch Competition with a prize of $700,000, focused on Maharaj whom the calypsonian accused of conducting child marriages at his home.

Speaking to the T&T Guardian yesterday, Maharaj said he was “flattered” to have featured in the calypso, but he said Chalkdust was using poetic licence because “that is part of the calypso culture, in calypso it is 75/14, that is certainly not part of the Hindu culture.”

Maharaj said the whole issue of marriage is written in the Hindu books and is one of the “sixteen religious rights in the Vivah Samskara, so when he sings about 75-14 that might be in their cultural strain but in Hinduism we are talking about parental consent.”

He said calypsonians had for years been attacking him in song “long ago it used to be six of them now is just one, but I am flattered that they could focus their calypso on me.”

Maharaj believes Chalkdust was “misguided, because he sang on the basis of what Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi has been saying, but this is about religious freedom which Hindus enjoy under the Constitution.”

Although the amendment to the Child Marriage Act was passed by a simple majority in the Upper House, Maharaj said “the battle is far from over.”

He said the change made by AG which meant that the changed legislation did not require a three-fifths majority “will be challenged in the courts, our attorneys are looking at it and they will advise us. There is always recourse in the courts, the first challenge will be whether they are right in saying there is no need for a three fifths majority.”

The legislation still has to return to the Lower House, and Maharaj said “we will see how that goes. We are of the view that the change requires a three-fifths majority because it affects our religious rights which are enshrined in the Constitution.”

The SDMS Secretary General said “we will not be guided by the calypsonians who are anti-Hindu, anti-Indian, anti-anything that they believe is not their brand of culture, but they have to remember that Trinidad is a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, multi-religious society. It does not belong to any one ethnic group.”

But Chalkdust said Maharaj had missed the whole point of the calypso. He told the T&T Guardian “it was never meant to be an attack on any one person or anyone’s religion. I was simply singing about an issue, I will never attack anybody’s religion.”

Liverpool said he referred to “Sat in the calypso because when Al-Rawi spoke in Parliament he (Sat) is the one who attacked him.”

He said Maharaj and others who feel that he was out of line are “missing the message of the calypso, it was meant as a warning to young girls to be wary of older men who like to fool them. The calypso is more than Sat Maharaj, it is a warning to young people not to be fooled, people feel teenage pregnancies involve two teenagers, but in most instances young teenaged girls getting pregnant because they are fooled by older men who prey on them.”

Liverpool said he spoke to two “13-year-old girls and I asked them about the issue and they agreed that I was right to sing about it. It is an issue. The calypso is really in defence of young women, so that school children will understand they have to be wary of older men who only want to fool them,” he said.

A policeman was killed and three other people seriously injured after the van they were in crashed into a concrete railing and then toppled off the Macaulay overpass in Claxton Bay yesterday.

Several people ran to their assistance around midday yesterday, but Police Constable Sherwin Cedeno attached to the Canine Unit died on impact. Three other occupants who live abroad are warded in a serious condition at San Fernando General Hospital.

Up to late yesterday police were trying to ascertain how the crash occurred and who was driving the van. Initial reports stated that the Kia Sportage was proceeding along the southbound lane of the Solomon Hochoy Highway when it crashed into the concrete barrier and fell off the highway. The van landed on an embankment along the Macaulay Road.

Investigations are continuing.

Several shootings and stabbings marred J’Ouvert celebrations in Port-of-Spain, Newtown, Tunapuna and St. Joseph - leaving one man dead and sending several others to hospital.

The lone fatality occurred just before 7 am yesterday at the corner of Prince and George Streets, Port-of-Spain. A statement from the Police Service said yesterday 80 people were arrested during J’Ouvert celebrations across the country. Several knives and cutlasses were seized.

In the murder case, according to police, ex-soldier Calvert James was stabbed as he intervened in an argument between two men.

James, 56, was said be to be employed with the Strategic Services Agency (SSA).

Senior officers said James was standing on the roadway when he observed the men quarrelling.

Attempting to “bring peace,” witnesses told police a third man walked up and stabbed James once in the chest.

As James fell to the ground, the killer ran towards a nearby apartment building.

James was taken to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital by officers of the Inter-Agency Task Force, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

In the second incident, around 9 am, at George Street, Port-of-Spain, Hal Kern, 28, of East Dry River, was shot in the right knee by an unknown gunman. Kern was reportedly liming on the roadway with several other people, when loud explosions were heard. No one else was injured in that incident.

However, both incidents led to the area being “locked down” by police and soldiers as several searches carried out.

Police were also able to confirm that a Special Reserve Police officer was stabbed at Marli Street, Newtown.

Information revealed that PC Scipio of the Malabar Police Station was standing at the corner of Marli Street and the Queen’s Park Savannah around 9 am, when he was approached by a group of men who began threatening him.

It is alleged that a fight broke out and Scipio was stabbed twice, following which the group ran off.

Scipio was taken to hospital where he was treated and warded in a stable condition.

Meanwhile, senior officials in the Northern Division confirmed a shooting and stabbing during the revelry in Tunapuna, while another shooting was said to have occurred near the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA), St Joseph.

A woman was allegedly stabbed during the J’Ouvert celebrations in Tunapuna as a fight broke out and several people began to pelt bottles.

This incident is said to have occurred around 8 am, while the shooting took place at the corner of Green Street and Tunapuna Road a short while later.

Police said a group of men were liming at a nearby bar, when a car drove past and gunmen opened fire. During the incident, two people were shot. They were taken to the EWMSC where they remain warded in a stable condition. Three men were later held in connection with that incident.

Even as officers in Tunapuna responded to these two incidents, officers from the St Joseph Police Station were alerted about a shooting near WASA. Officers were unable to identify the man or the circumstances that led to him being shot.

Although the crowd for J’Ouvert seems to be smaller than previous years, Port-of-Spain’s Mayor Joel Martinez said he expected the crowd to get bigger over the two days of Carnival.

“The turn out is a little bit slower. It is 4 am J’Ouvert morning and people do not often like to wake up and come out this early unless they are playing carnival. The people who are in bands would have been partying from earlier in the afternoon and would have been ready and waiting for 4 am for the start of J’Ouvert,” he said.

Martinez spoke to the media after 5 am yesterday at the downtown judging point South Quay, Port-of-Spain.

As is the custom, the mayor of Port-of-Spain kicked off J’Ouvert around 4 am.

The Pierre family dominated J’Ouvert for another year as Rondell Pierre, who was dressed in a three piece suit, was crowned the King of J’Ouvert with his portrayal of Ian Aleyne Happy that Insp Alexander charged with Assault and Battery, while Lillian Pierre was crowned the Queen of J’Ouvert with her portrayal of Dr Deyalsing Removing Some of Kamla Faults.

On the topic of the $1,500 prize money for the J’Ouvert King and Queen, Martinez said it is something they will address after Carnival.

“We have a management team in place and a chairman of Downtown Carnival and he would give me feedback. We would do a post mortem and we would know if we are on the right track or not. People do this because they love it, not for prize.”

Martinez also addressed the issue of the country’s economic recession and a smaller budget for Carnival celebrations in 2017.

“Our budget was given to us by the National Carnival Commission (NCC). What we asked for we would have gotten. Obviously there are cuts in everything. The economy is at a stage where we have to take cognisance of the fact we have less money. Less money does not mean less creativity. The people of T&T are very creative.”

Given the high crime rate which exists in the country now, Martinez said there was a heavy police presence not only in the city of Port-of-Spain but in areas along the Bus Route early J’Ouvert morning.

“The police presence is not only in the city but also on the arteries leading into the city. If you can deter something a little further out, you would have brought a lot more safety to the inner city. The objective of the police was to stop things from coming in. That means if one crime is deterred, it is one more than enough,” he said.

He said he would be monitoring how well organised carnival is over the two days before the authorities speak about improvements.

“I want to see what Mondays and Tuesdays bring and see what the route is like, see how the participants feel, and talk to some of the band leaders along the way and hear from them. The thing about Carnival is you do not want to be autocratic and make changes just like that. We want to find out from the people who participate, the stakeholders.”

The J’Ouvert bands that passed in front the judging point yesterday in South Quay covered traditional ground from retro Carnival, mud mas to environmental themes to social themes.

After 6 am, Oh Mudder Earth with band members in bathed in mud moved through the judging point at South Quay.

Desperadoes Steel Orchestra then crossed after. The Hawaiian themed, Aloha Hawaii Parties with band members dresses in traditional Hawaiian costumes then followed.

There was a slight drizzle after 7 am which did not stop spectators nor other bands from crossing including Hi Larks Steel Orchestra, Mudders Playing All Fours and the UWI-based arts group Jouvay Ayiti which had all passed the judging point in South Quay by 8 am.

Unlike previous years when spectators waited for hours to see a small band pass through the streets of San Fernando, this year’s J’Ouvert celebration turned out to be a massive showing of masqueraders who took the city by storm.

Most of the 32 bands crossed the judging point at the Southern Academy for the Performing Arts (SAPA) with masqueraders outnumbering spectators.

There were all the ingredients that made J’Ouvert celebration one of the most enjoyed events for Trinidadians: Drunken revelry, costumes, paint, water and soca music that was dominated by the Ultimate Rejects’ Road March contending song, Full Extreme.

Machel Montano’s Beat it and Iwer George’s Take ah Bathe also got a chance on the DJ’s rotation. Although each band had a theme, masqueraders had their own style ranging from colourful hair and wigs, to large spectacles, fishnet stockings and their own personal designs on their costumes.

For spectators at SAPA, it was a one-stop shop for entertainment as the traditional and conventional mas, and steel pan now had the same judging point as opposed to two.

An excited San Fernando mayor Junia Regrello said yesterday’s celebration was testimony that J’Ouvert was flourishing in San Fernando.

While admitting that the traditional mas was dying, he said there is a need to accept that time can change tradition.

“We started off with a bang and I am really excited with what I see here this morning. San Fernando is alive, J’Ouvert is alive.

“There are very interesting portrayals in the folk category. I see large bands and there is greater participation,” Regrello said.

He said the San Fernando Carnival Committee will consider assembling bleachers on the roadside for patrons come next year.

He said the committee had a shortfall of funds this year, but found some ways to address it.