Dear Editor,
Now that Mashramani 2018 has finished, the media reports will more or less be the record of the event. Is there a reason that the Chutney Monarch Competition was not reported in the media? Even the Department of Public Information, whose director recently was concerned about the undermining of national unity seemed not to have any information about the event. The Chutney Monarch seems to have been paid for with public funds ‒ did something go wrong? Did the singers use their songs about broken hearts and dulaha/dulahin problems as metaphors for disappointment in the coalition government? Did the chutney singers invoke the history of ‘oh maninga oh maninga, price nah pay at all’ and get political and mourn the loss of employment in the sugar industry?
Or was the 2018 Chutney competition not really significant or as important as the much reported Calypso and Soca competitions, and hence not worthy of any mention in the glowing accounts and record of the “Best Mash ever”?
Yours faithfully,
Vidyaratha Kissoon
