Dear Editor,
There is a promise from one of the designers in your ‘What the people say column’ of Monday 20th, to have a “hot band” which features “Goddesses” from around the world.
The band is supposed to come from Trinity Palm Court and has African and Indian influences. One assumes then that the band would be appropriating the sacred traditions of the Hindu and other religions from India and the African sub-continent.
There is no mention of why Gods or Sons of Gods are not being included in the “hot band”. Does Palm Court have more fear of the male deity than the female? So while representations of Lakshmi and Durga and Kali from India could be win’in down with fun on Mash Day, representations of Jesus cannot be doing the same?
There is no mention of whether the designer and his sponsors have consulted with the worshipers of the Goddesses from around the world to see if what they consider sacred should be reduced to a “hot band” with top soca artistes who are not likely to be leading in worship. And while worship in many cultures and religions is characterised by dancing and singing, there are contexts for that worship which is not Brickdam on 23 February.
While artists are free to mock as they please, there is something about a society in which artists and the private sector remain disengaged from the different sections of the population and where national events are not really national and the Republic remains fractured.
Yours faithfully,
Vidyaratha Kissoon
