Hush! Don't Cry

Ariti Jankie of the Express South Bureau just collected the first copies of her new novel HUSH! Don't Cry. For Ariti, it has been along hard road to publication, but perseverance and a fighting spirit won out in the end.

Here Ariti gives us a glimpse of how she felt having the book in her hand. And lower down we reproduce a short review by Dr. Priti Singh of Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi

Dear Zorina,
The novel, HUSH! Don’t Cry has brought me unexpected blessings.
Wednesday, I took the first 10 copies to the Express, South Bureau and sold all among my friends within an hour. They were so generous with warm embraces and hearty congratulations, I felt humbled.
Also, I called Deosaran Jagroo, the CEO of Caroni (1975) Limited to give him the good news of the release. He ordered five copies. Similarly, I have been receiving great vibes from this novel and have yet to notify my other big brothers and friends.
It is not often that good luck strikes and when it does, it banishes a lifetime of suffering and pain. I wanted to share this with you. And to include your generosity in reading, editing and getting the manuscript ready for publication.
HUSH! Don’t Cry has been a great experience so far and I wanted to share this with your blog readers.
Ariti

Book Review

HUSH! Don’t Cry is a compelling story of strength and power. The author, Ariti is incredibly at her best in this intricate but revealing novel deftly woven around themes of diaspora and gender.
The nostalgia and desire of the Indians in Trinidad for their original ‘homeland’ and the sense of double displacement that this nostalgia evokes within those who try and trace their ‘real’ roots is skillfully portrayed by Ariti.
The story revolves around Meera, who like the saint who endured all hardships, became an epitome of sacrifice and suffering before she let her inner strength and determination empower herself. Marrying her daughter to a “suitable boy” from “the golden land of India” (p.15) was a dream that Meera’s mother Sumintra, had sought to fulfill for her daughter. Meera lived her mother’s dream getting married to a boy (Kapil) from the land of her ancestors—a country which she knew “held secrets for her own discovery” (p.82). The groom and bride when married looked like ‘Ram and Sita’. Meerawanted to transmit her “pride of ancestry” of India to her daughter, but the trial and tribulations that Meera goes through eventually makes her realize the worth of her ‘own’ culture and sense of self which is a powerful mix of the East and West.
“Getting away from her loved ones” and moving to India liberated Meera and reduced the “pains and humiliations she faced” (p.81). However, she soon realized that Western women were considered by Indian men to have “no culture” and were referred to as jutha bartan (soiled dishes). This view was reinforced by Indian women who perpetrated atrocities against their own gender. And yet, there are anomalies even within them as they themselves rebelled against society and at the same time discriminated between themselves and ‘Western’ women.
Meera’s husband Kapil’s moral frailties eventually killed the love Meera felt for him. After a long struggle with herself and coming to terms with her unfulfilled thirst for her husband’s love, she realizes that she had been trying to live up to her mother’s false dream. She loses her innocence in that struggle to survive and emerges “a pioneer like her ancestors rooted in slavery and indentureship” (p.167). ‘Home’ for her was Trinidad—a space which drew life and solace from ancient Indian scriptures and traditions and yet gave her the power to take control of her own destiny.
HUSH! Don’t Cry thus completes a full circle with the protagonist pledging to work towards making her daughter Kavita’s dreams come true rather than living the dream of her mother, Sumintra. In that, Meera would find the strength to live her own dream.
Dr. Priti Singh
Jawaharlal Nehru University
September 12, 2010

Laptops, ahoy!

So Madam Prime Minister you are back from New York (again) and the 17000 plus HP laptops are also here.... at the whopping cost of $83 million TT almost $5,000 per unit or say around US$900,
I don't know if the cost of all these contracted companies is included in the $83 mil. I understand that the IT companies will be visiting schools to take the computers and do several other things with them. My concern, however, Prime Minister is what will become of these laptops. How many older students will tap up the little ones to get the use of the unit. How many older brothers will sell the laptop? How many will borrow it to go watch a movie with his girl friend?
I can imagine them cheering for you "Kamla, Kamla" while Vin Diesel is being "Fast and Furious" and I am being conservative, Madam Prime Minister.The maxi taxi driver might need a laptop too.
I can go on and on Prime Minister but I know I run the risk of being told that children in middle income families have their personal laptops and there is no reason why children from lower income families should also be able to use one.
The truth Madam Prime Minister is that those people buy their own laptops and upgrade them or replace them frequently, because they can do whatever they want with their money.
Madam Prime Minister, if that is how you are going to measure your successes, then something is wrong.
Your first step should have been to make sure every school has a proper computer lab with full time staff and let ALL students have access to computers. But the money is there so let us spend it and next year we will spend another $100,000,000 or so. And you are delivering on promises to the electorate. Right?

So many Prime Ministers

Prime Minister, since you have been in office we have had four prime ministers. When you went to the Caricom Summit in Jamaica, Austin Jack Warner, acted for you. When you went to New York for 10 days Winston Dookeran took charge. Now you have gone to the UN General Assembly, Errol McLeod is driving around in PM1.
Patrick Manning must be so hurt at the passengers his pride and joy is shuttling around. I don't know where else you will be going this year, but a Caricom powwow before Edwin Carrington leaves office and the Cancun Climate Change Conference might be on the travel calendar.
If that is so Madam Prime Minister I urge you not to confuse thousands of school children who are guessing about who is holding fort for you. In fact I asked seven teachers over the weekend and four of them said Jack Warner is in charge.
Then Prime Minister in January you will be going to India as special guest for that country's Republic Day celebrations and most likely to also receive the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman award. I know that Roodal Moonilal will not miss that trip so he is out. You know something Prime Minister? Maybe you should leave him home and let him drive around in PM1.

When you are travelling...

Dear Prime Minister whenever you are presenting the face of Trinidad and Tobago at international events, make sure we look like a Trinidad and Tobago government.
Why did you have to take along the Minister of Housing (second from l) on this UN trip? He had already gone to the Indian Independence Day parade in New York.
It is bad enough that we have a man short on tact as our Foreign Affairs Minister and that he has to accompany you.
I hope this is not a case of "Have plane, will fly". And now that we have two airlines, (Air Jamaica) we can fly more. Have a safe trip anyway.

Send your PR man to school, Prime Minister

If Garvin Nicholas is going to remain your press officer you should let one of your Government Information Officers prepare him for the job.
Newspaper reports say that Nicholas turned down the offer of being the Chairman of the Diego Martin Regional Corporation in favour of being seen alongside you on television. Someone should tell Nicholas now that there is a huge difference between practising law and being a communication specialist. The first and foremost is the choice of words. On your ten-day trip to New York we were told that you did not attend the main event you had gone there for.. the Indian Independence Day parade. Your PR man was saying on the radio that you were "under the weather"
"Under the weather" is no excuse for not attending an important function. Nicholas left a lot of people wondering what he meant by "under the weather".

Go easy on the POLKA...dots...

On the trip to the UN go easy on the POLKA dots. These were from the trip to the Caricom heads of government Conference in Jamaica.

Now I run the risk of being put in my place by minister of Works Austin Jack Warner, but say wha...

If it looks like Hillary...

It certainly won't be Hillary Clinton taking the oath on the Holy Gita. I always had problems with the make over Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj and other members of the previous UNC administration got. You never got a chance to focus on what they were saying. Maybe the style and fashion advisors are the same.

Pictures courtesy Trinidad Guardian