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I Food culture and healthy eating - Editorial

Roasted tomato choka ... can lower the risk of heart disease, according to a Harvard Univer

study on health. A vegetarian diet can lower the risk of cancers because of salicylic acid fo

in fruits and.vegetables.

Divali is the second largest national festival after

Carnival in Trinidad and Tobago. Eid and Christmas

follow soon after Divali as final calendar festivals, with

many grand feasts with family and friends. It is an

appropriate time to create greater awareness about the

importance of a healthy diet to prevent illnesses and

diseases. Ministry of Health statistics show that one of the

main causes of death in Trinidad and Tobago is

cardiovascular disease. Moreover, statistics from Pan ,,_

American Health Organisation (PAHO) reveal that this

country ranks fifth in the world per capita in the case of

diabetes.

The theme of this year's edition of our magazine is

Food culture and (un)healthy eating. The objective of

producing this publication is to effect a change towards a

healthy diet which will save citizens and the economy,

from unnecessary problems and complications. Diabetes

and heart diseases can' be prevented, reduced and

controlled by more than 60 percent if, people eat healthy

food and exercise regularly. It is recommended that every

person should have servings of vegetables and fruits with

every meal. Roasted tomato

choka,

for example, can lower

the risk of heart disease according to a Harvard University

study on health. A vegetarian diet can lower the risk of

cancers because of salicylic acid found in ifruits and

vegetables. It is expected' that about 50% to 60% of the

day's total calories should come from food sources of

complex carbohydrates and fibers. These foods include

fruits and vegetables, whole-grain bread and cereals, dried

beans and peas, and lentils and legumes.

Hindus and Indians are at a greater risk of contracting

heart disease than others with high cholesterol levels.

Research from the University of California-Berkeley

Center for Family and Community Health has shown that

Indians around the world have the highest rate of heart

disease. There is the suggestion that there may be a genetic

link to this disease. Indo-Trinidadians, therefore, are

technically, a disadvantaged and at-risk group in this

multi-ethnic society. Most Indians are not aware that they

are at risk of contracting heart disease compared to others

with high cholesterol levels. Indians also form the majority

of patients suffering with, diabetes. The figures for these

lifestyle diseases are becoming astronomical and

alarming, particularly when a large percentage of people

can prevent their onset.

In addition to being a religious event, Divali is fast -

becoming the country's foremost food festival. Dishes like

roti, channa [chick pea] and aloo [potato], curried mango

and pumpkin are shared on the national table

with all groups that comprise the multi-ethnic society.

preparation techniques that are used to make various t

of choka [roasted or boiled vegetables] and talkari [cu

vegetables] have proven to make the food tasty

healthy.

In the past, there was more self-sufficiency in f

During Indentureship (1845-1917), the backyard ga

was main the source of food and medicine. The diet o

fore-parents was critical to their health and longe

Today, it is proven scientifically that consumption

tomato choka can reduce the incidence of prostate can

The traditional

daal

gravy, a legume rich in protein, is

served to the convalescent in the country's h

institutions. It is unfortunate that a deep-rooted agricul

tradition which has sustained a healthy community

destined to be destroyed. The closure of sugar-grow

Caroni (1975) Limited is the final nail in the coffin i

neglect of agriculture by the state. Thousands of acre

arable land that were used for food production are t

turned over for construction of houses, malls, facto

parks and playgrounds. It is uncertain whether those

traditionally were agricultural workers would now get

to produce food for themselves and consumers in

market. The severance of that cultural root to the land

only deepen the depression that has overtaken

retrenched Caroni (1975) Ltd workers. Divali has alw

been a time of the year when farmers were assure

steady prices for their vegetables. Landless and jobles

Caroni, they may now be without their daily mea

locally-grown fresh fruits and vegetables.

The authors are responsible for the content of their articles

The opinions expressed therein are not necessarily those o

the publisher.

ICC is an independent non-profit educational organ

recognised by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago

dedicated to publishing two magazines a year - a Divali so

magazine, and an Indian Arrival Day commemorative mag

Dr Kumar Mahabir, Editor and Chairman

Indo-Caribbean Cultural Council (ICC)

E-mail: mahab@tstt.neut

Tel: (868) 674-6008. Tel/fax: (868) 675-7707

Cover depicts traditional Indian vegetarian snacks,

They are (top clockwise) aloo [potato] pie, kachowrie,

saheena, mango chutney, baiganee, and phulowrie (centre)

Cover design by Preddie Partap.

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Prime Minister

Republic of Trinidad and Tobago

Indian Arrival Day Greetings

As Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, I feel privileged to join with our Hindu Brothers and Sisters

in the celebration of Divali.

At all times, but especially at this time, our Nation needs to embrace the many facets of the Festival of

Light - the triumph of good over evil, caring, sharing and, above all, the power of light over darkness. As

fellow citizens, we must join hands in our focus on light and utilize this powerful and positive force to

elevate our people.

There is no place for useless upheaval, division, and other dark forces in our vision for Developed Nation

Status. Indeed, some of the central philosophical underpinnings of Vision 2020 are unity, peace and

prosperity.

May I express my appreciation to the Hindu Community for making Divali a celebration in which all

citizens of every creed and race can participate. This is a true representation of the spirit of Trinidad and

Tobago - an all-embracing spirit of unity in diversity that makes this twin-island Republic one of the

most wonderful places in the world.

Let us make Trinidad and Tobago's Divali 2003 a festival that the entire world will admire, as it

illuminates not only our homes, 'schools, temples and other public places, but also our individual minds

and hearts.

Light up every corner of Trinidad and Tobago on October 24th as a symbol of our commitment to light

and love.

On behalf of the Government and People of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, I wish the Hindu

Community and all our citizens.

Shubh Divali

The Honourable Patrick Manning

Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago

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MINISTRY OF CULTURE

TOURISM

51-55 Frederick Street

Port of Spain

Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies

Namaskar,

It is with great pleasure that I take this opportunity to convey my profound feelings and best wishes to the

members of the Indo-Caribbean Cultural Council, the Hindu Community and to the wider community, on

the festive occasion of Divali 2003.

Divali or Deepavali, as it is also known, means 'a row of lights.' Light or knowledge dispels darkness or

ignorance. Divali, therefore, serves as a reminder that we should all strive for excellence in all our

undertakings, because it is only through knowledge that we can rid ourselves of negativity and the

darkness that resides within.

Festivals such as Divali also provide us an opportunity to reflect on our ancient traditions, and on the

possible solutions to some of our.modern day problems including unhealthy lifestyles. In the words of the

Late Swami Sachidananda of the Divine Life Society of Trinidad and Tobago Inc,: Hindu Festivals are

interspersed by periods of intense fasting. As such, if we were to follow the traditions very closely,

excess bodyweight, a contributing factor to the killer diabetes and heart diseases, would automatically be

controlled. Ancient traditions such as Divali, therefore, need to be given greater emphasis in our lives;

otherwise inferior imports may dilute the richness that currently exists in our culture.

The importance of Divali, therefore, cannot be overstated. It encompasses a broad spectrum of activities,

including fasting and other life-giving practices, which in essence, are Ayurvedic practices; the culinary

arts for health and tantalizing the taste buds; crafts and handicrafts, the performing arts, rites and rituals

for personal, social and spiritual development.

The Ministry of Culture & Tourism has recognized the importance of Divali to the development of

Trinidad and Tobago, and as such, is giving support to its preservation and promotion. For indeed, Divali,

because of its immense popularity, has grown from a Hindu Festival to a National one.

Shubh Divali

The Honourable Pennel ope Beckles

Minister of Culture and Tourism

Trinidad and Tobago

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Winning the battle against sedentary lifestyle diseases

By Stephen Kangal

It would appear that Indians suffer from heart diseases not only because of poor dietary hab

(too much fats in food), but as research has shown, we have relatively small arteries.

The time is ripe for the Hindu/ Indian community to

mount a sustained and informed battle on winning the war

against those sedentary lifestyle diseases that are ravaging

our health, increasing the cost of health and depleating our

family units. There is need for a fundamental reform of our

dietary habits, our lack of interest in healthy regular

exercises, and our aversion to preventative medication.

Once these reforms are made, we can stem the widespread

and devastating incidence of cardiovascular disease

(CYD), diabetes (75,000), high blood pressure (HBP),

obesity and arthritis. CYD kills more than cancer, diabetes

and HIY-Aids combined (2562 annually-7 per diem).

Unfortunately, we may have to prosecute this assault

on our own as the State's health/sport/fitness services have

cast a blind eye on the matter even though CVD is the

number one killer in Trinidad and Tobago. A massive

$500m is allocated to the Anti-HlV Aids education

programme to say nothing of the work of the NGOs and

the UN. Precious little or nothing is devoted to

conceptualising an urgent and necessary public education

programme for the benefit of everyone against sedentary

lifestyle diseases. Perhaps electoral considerations are

involved elsewhere or simply there is a don't care a

damn attitude.

As one who has had to endure the adverse debilitating

consequences of double coronary by-pass surgery

undertaken in 2000 in Canada, I want to share my

experiences with readers. I always pursued an almost

addictive, active life-style, but more so during the last 30

years. I stayed away from coconut oil, dairy products, and

red meat since the late 60s when the health guru, Lelord

Cordel visited this country to conduct dietary lectures.

Until 1996 my BP was 120/80-perfect and I weighed in

accordance with my skeletal frame.

Having adhered rigidly to the requisite exercise and

dietary imperatives, however, I neglected the option of

medication in view of the past history of CYD in my

family. We cannot rely exclusively on our medical

personnel to take complete control of our health. Diet and

exercise did not quite absolve me from CVD especially as

one whose mother and siblings suffered from CVD.

Accordingly for those of us born into a family with a

history of CYD and therefore genetically and ethnically

(Asian) prone to CVD the strategy to win the war must be

exercise, a low-fat diet, medication (statins), stress

reduction (yoga and deep' breathing) and moderate - not

excessive- amounts of alcohol. The latter is associated

with the improvement in the HDL - the good cholesterol

that transports

the LDL (the bad cholesterol) to the liver for expulsion

It would appear that Indians suffer from CYD not

because of poor dietary habits (too much fat in food) b

research has shown, we have relatively small arteries

fact although I was scheduled for a quadruple by-p

only two arteries were grafted because the other two

too small. It is to be noted that although I was diagn

with four major blockages in December 1999 I did

experience any of the symptoms of CYD in the for

chest pains (angina), shortness of breath etc. My ECG

normal the day I was about to enter the operating th

for quadruple coronary artery bypass grafting sur

(CABGS).

May I recommend that Indian males (post-50) w

history of heart disease in their family should undertak

angiogram because, in my case, ECG's, Nuclear S

Tests (injection of radioactive thallium), sophistic

Persantine Tests and Imaging (PET Scans) ca

accurately determine the extent of the coronary blocka

It is possible that that my punishing and highly regime

exercise schedules may have stimulated the growt

collaterals. These are naturally generated by-passes

the heart develops on its own to circumvent blockages

to keep the heart muscles well supplied with a b

supply. Even though I could run up steep hills daily,

two 90% blockages without a single sign of these defe

In Trinidad, we are killing our children and ourse

by feasting on fast foods and high fatty foods. In f

recent study on young accident victims showed plaque

stenosis had already started to accumulate in the arteri

Indians under 30 years old without any detectable evid

of it. Angioplasty is done on 30- year olds in Trinidad

Tobago. It is safer to patronise the charcoal barbecues

the Kentucky and Royal Castle outlets. The traditi

Curried Duck and Buss-Up-Shut (Paratha

competition popularized by Indian radio stations mu

reviewed as these foods are replete with triglicerides/L

We have to reduce the ghee, oil, white flour and

used in prasadum, methai, roti.

While the frequent consumption of tomatoes

Indians is associated with the reduced incidence

prostrate problems and an increase in arthritis, the h

intake of salt together with the lack of exercise

aggravate the menace of High Blood Pressure (HBP).

Stephen Kangal is a former teacher

and a retired Trinidad and Tobago Senior Diplomat

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of household germs ....DEAD

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What V.S. Naipaul said about his childhood

Extract of Nobel Lecture, 2001

... the pledge .of land or repatriation [for ex-indentured immigrants] was dishonored for many

the later arnvals. These people were absolutely destitute. They slept in the streets of Port o

Spain, the capital. When I was a child I saw them.

My background is at once exceedingly simple and

exceedingly confused. I was born in Trinidad. It is a small

island in the mouth of the great Orinoco river of

Venezuela. So Trinidad is not strictly of South America,

and not strictly of the Caribbean. It was developed as a

New World plantation colony, and when I was born in

1932 it had a population of about 400,000. Of this, about

150,000 were Indians, Hindus and Muslims, nearly all of

peasant origin, and nearly all from the Gangetic plain.

This was my very small community.

The bulk of this migration from India occurred after

1880. The deal was like this. People indentured themselves

for five years to serve on the estates. At the end of this

time they were given a small piece of land, perhaps five

acres, or a passage back to India. In 1917, because of

agitation by Gandhi and others, the indenture system was

abolished. And perhaps because of this, or for some other

reason, the pledge of land or repatriation was dishonored

for many of the later arrivals. These people were

absolutely destitute. They slept in the streets of Port of

Spain, the capital. When I was a child I saw them. I

suppose I didn't know they were destitute - I suppose that

idea came much later - and they made no impression on

me. This was part of the cruelty of the plantation colony.

I was born in a small country town called Chaguanas,

two or three miles inland from the Gulf of Paria.

Chaguanas was a strange name, in spelling and

pronunciation, and many of the Indian people - they were

in the majority in the area - preferred to call it by the

Indian caste name of Chauhan. I was thirty-four when I

found out about the name of my birthplace. I was living in

London, had been living in England for sixteen years. I

was writing my ninth book. This was a history of Trinidad,

a human history, trying to re-create people and their

stories. I used to go to the British Museum to read the

Spanish documents about the region .

. .. What was past was past. I suppose that was the

general attitude. And we Indians, immigrants from India,

had that attitude to the island. We lived for the most part

ritualized lives, and were not yet capable of self-

assessment, which is where learning begins. Half of us on

this land of the Chaguanas were pretending - perhaps not

pretending, perhaps only feeling, never formulating it as an

idea - that we had brought a kind of India with us, which

we could, as it were, unroll like a carpeton the flat land.

My grandmother's house in Chaguanas was in two parts.

The front part, of bricks and plaster, was painted white. It

was like a kind of Indian house, with a grand balustraded

terrace on the upper floor, and a prayer-room on the f

above that. It was ambitious in its decorative detail

lotus capitals on pillars, and sculptures of Hindu deities

done by people working only from a memory of thing

India. In Trinidad it was an architectural oddity. At

back of this house, and joined to it by an upper br

room, was a timber building in the French Caribbean s

The entrance gate was at the side, between the two hou

It was a tall gate of corrugated iron on a wooden fram

made for a fierce kind of privacy.

So as a child I had this sense of two worlds, the w

outside that tall corrugated iron gate, and the worl

home - or, at any rate, the world of my grandmoth

house. It was a remnant of our caste sense, the thing

excluded and shut out. In Trinidad, where as new arri

we were a disadvantaged community, that excluding

was a kind of protection; it enabled us - for the time be

and only for the time being - to live in our own way

according to our own rules, to live in our own fading I

It made for an extraordinary self-centredness. We lo

inwards; we lived out our days; the world outside ex

in a kind of darkness; we inquired about nothing.

There was a Muslim shop next door. The little lo

of my grandmother's shop ended against his blank

The man's name was Mian. That was all that we kne

him and his family. I suppose we must have seen him

I have no mental picture of him now. We knew nothin

Muslims. This idea of strangeness, of the thing to be

outside, extended even to other Hindus. For example,

ate rice in the middle of the day, and wheat in

evenings. There were some extraordinary people

reversed this natural order and ate rice in the evenin

thought of these people as strangers - you must ima

me at this time as under seven, because when I was s

all this life of my grandmother's house in Chaguanas c

to an end for me. We moved to the capital, and then t

hills to the northwest. But the habits of mind engend

by this shut-in and shutting-out life lingered for qu

while. If it were not for the short stories my father wr

would have known almost nothing about the general li

our Indian community. Those stories gave me more

knowledge. They gave me a kind of solidity. They

me something to stand on in the world. I cannot ima

what my mental picture would have been without t

stories.

Copyright

@

The Nobel Foundation 1992

Courtesy: The Nobel Foundation, Stockholm, Sweden

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Trusted by generat ions

Cow B rand Ghee - pure natu ra l

goodness for that ext ra r ichness

and fla vour in a ll y ou r

tradit ional Indian delicacies.

COW BRAND PURE CREE

A tradition you can count on

Distributed by

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racial feeling and discrimination, in order to destroy

they were nearly always coloured or black (Brere

1979: 199).

The Indo-Trinidadians were muted then; they may

longer be politically silent, but unlike in Mauritius,

may never be in a position, sufficiently strong for them

vie for cultural hegemony. The situation in the N

World, where Indian-ness is frowned upon in

national context, encourages Trinidadians of Indian or

to relinquish their cultural heritage and become thoroug

creolised. Indo-Trinidadians featured on TV, radio, in

press and other cultural contexts of national society ra

display any of their Indian heritage. In other wo

Indians are accepted as long as they overtly iden

themselves with the majority; they are accepted

Trinidadians but not as Indians. This form of cult

hegemony presents many Indo-Trinidadians with a

real predicament: If they strive to preserve their traditio

some avenues of careering will be closed to them; an

they wish to be successful say, in the media, then

must relinquish their cultural identity and may be regar

as traitors by the more militant members of t

community. Discontents following these lines have b

widespread in Trinidad since Independence. This has

to a certain exodus of Indians - some even tried to ach

political refugee status in Canada in 1988 - but by

large, the outcome will probably be an ever increas

cultural creolisation of the dominated Indian populat

which mayor may not influence the social importance

ethnicity.

From a slightly different perspective, we may arrive

theoretically more interesting conclusion in

comparative exercise. Although I have stressed

differences, there are fundamental similarities, cultur

and socially, between the blacks of Trinidad and Mauri

as well as between the Indians of Trinidad and Maurit

In many respects, the similarities are more striking than

differences, and they include important aspects of so

organisation and cultural values. In Mauritius, blacks

rarely accused of being communalists (ethnicist);

could be interpreted as an indication of their lack

leadership, or their lack of political power, or both

Trinidad, blacks are often accused of racism ;

frequently alleged, by non-blacks, that the PNM took

an important principle of recruitment to high bureaucr

positions from the British, namely that of providing

for the boys .

Indians in New Worlds: Mauritius and Trinidad

By Professor Thomas Hylland Eriksen

Indians are accepted as long as they overtly identify themselves with the majority; they are

accepted as Trinidadians but not as Indians.

Trinidad Tobago and Mauritius are poly-ethnic island-

states with large population segments oflndian origin. The

other major ethnic categories in both societies are of

African descent. Brought to the islands during the British

colonial indentureship scheme from ca. 1840 to ca. 1910,

the Indians were, in both societies politically marginal

until the electoral reforms of the post-war years. There are

both similarities and differences in the collective situation

of Indians in Trinidad and Mauritius. Both of the societies

are, nevertheless, remarkably peaceful at the inter-ethnic

level. In this article, I shall compare the respective

positions of Indians in the two nation-states, paying special

attention to the relationship between the wider socio-

cultural contexts of daily life and national politics.

The similarities between the two societies should not

be exaggerated. Trinidad is locally perceived as a largely

black society (for better or for worse, as the case may be),

unlike in Mauritius, several self-proclaimed spokesmen for

the Indians argue that they suffer cultural domination.

Policies acknowledging that Trinidad is truly a poly-

cultural society, and thus something different from a

modern cultural melting-pot, are conspicuously absent.

National cultural symbols include the calypso, the carnival

and the steel band, all of which are. associated with the

blacks. The Indian presence is all but ignored in national

cultural. life and in tourism propaganda materials. The

aforementioned beer commercial, featuring an Indian

classical singer, is so exceptional that it may serve as a

reminder of the paucity of Indian cultural messages in the

shared Trinidadian public space.

Most of the creolisation of Trinidadians of Indian

origin occurs without they being discursively aware of it

happening; in aesthetic taste, dress, body language and the

perceptions of relevant paths for professional or

matrimonial careers. This kind of process has also been

evident in Mauritius; for instance, the common form of

greeting is universally the handshake between Mauritian

men - this is not so in India. Nevertheless, the Indo-

Mauritians still seem to stand a better chance of retaining

important aspects of their cultural distinctiveness, than do

the Indo-Trinidadians. This is due partly to their force in

numbers, partly to their firm position in the state agencies,

partly to the consciously poly-cultural policies of the

nation-state, and partly to their geographic proximity to

India. All this does not, however, necessarily matter as

regards the political importance of ethnicity. Writing about

Trinidad at the turn of the century, Bridget Brereton notes

that there were those press correspondents who argued that

it was important to bring into the open the existence of Thomas Eriksen is a University lecturer in Norway.

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I book review (extract)

Between Father and Son: Family Letters by V. S.

Naipaut

.. .I shall go away never to come back, as I trust. I think I am going to be either a big success

an unheard of failure.

Edited by Gillon Aitken

New York: Knopf, 2000

298 pages, $26

Reviewed

by

C. J. S. Wallia

V. S. Naipaul is the author of more than a score of

fiction and non fiction books, including the highly

acclaimed A House for Mr. Biswas, India: A Million

Mutinies Now, and the latest, Beyond Belief Islamic

Excursions Among the Converted Peoples. His writing has

been praised by Elizabeth Hardwick in the

New York

Times Book Review:

The sweep of Naipaul's imagination,

the brilliant fictional frame that expresses it, are in my

view without equal today; and by John Updike in The

New Yorker:

A Tolstoyan.spirit the so-called Third World

has produced no more brilliant literary artist.

Born and raised in Trinidad among the large

community of people of Indian origin, Vidiadhar

Surajprasad Naipaul ( Vido ), at age 17, won a

government scholarship to attend Oxford University.

Between Father and Son: Family Letters illuminates the

author's years of launching his writing career. Most of the

letters are addressed from Oxford to his father, Seepersad

Naipaul ( Pa ), an impecunious journalist and a self-

publish.ed short-story writer, and to his older sister, Kamla,

who also won a scholarship and was attending Benares

Hindu University in India.

The book reads like an engrossing novel. It also shows

us much of the raw experience Naipaul transformed into A

House for Mr. Biswas. In a recent National Public Radio

interview, Naipaul said that although he gave permission

to publish the letters, he did not participate in making

selections, nor does he intend on reading the book as there

are too-many painful memories.

Gillon Aitken has restrained his editing, wisely letting

the letters speak. The first chapter is Vi do's letters to

KamJa as he gets ready to leave Trinidad, 1949/1950: My

stay in Trinidad is drawing to a close - I only have nine

months left. Then I shall go away never to come back, as I

trust. I think I am going to be either a big success or an

unheard of failure. The next eight chapters are divided

according to Oxford terms, from 1950 to 1953. The 10-

page final chapter is Vido's letters after leaving Oxford,

1954/1957, addressed to his widowed mother and to

KamJa. Vido, the second eldest of Seeprasad's seven

children, had a warm synergetic relationship with

his father. Dear Everybody: What a delight to receive

letter from home. He really writes extremely good lett

And from Seeprasad: Your letters are charming in

spontaneity. If you could write me letters about things

people-especially people-vat Oxford, I could com

them in a book: Letters Between A Father and Son, or

Oxford Letters. Vido to his father: You know I

write well. Not half as well as you. You manage a typ

humour I cannot manage. Your view of life is surprisin

good-humored.

Pa praises Vido's writing published in Isis,

Oxford literary magazine. Vido: When Palme Dutt,

half-Indian boss of the British Communist Party, cam

Oxford, I gave him so much hell that the Communists

up the editor and cursed him. I think a man is doing

reporting well only when people start to hate him.

last sentence, underlined in the original, pre-sages

reception of his first two repertorial books on I

However, in

India: A Million Mutinies Now, (19

Naipaul distances himself from these two early books.

May 2000 interview published in Outlook magazine

said, I was not equipped to deal with India when I

came here.

Throughout their correspondence, the father and

encourage each other in their writing endeavours.

revises and retypes some of his old stories and asks

help in getting them published in London: Vido, pl

try to place those stories. I know parts would sound r

immature and crude, but it seems that is the sort of

publishers want these days. Just read the thing thro

type what needs typing and send it to a publisher. I

you know what a godsend it would mean to me, if it

accepted - not for the name, but for the money it m

bring me. Vido: If I try to hawk your book aroun

wouldn't be doing you a favour. I would be trying to

stuff that deserves to be published. Unfortunately,

fails to place his father's stories. (Many years

Seepersad's stories were published in London in 1977

reissued in 1995:

The Adventures of Guru deva.).

At Oxford, Vido finds his stipend barely covers r

and board. Perpetually short of funds, he never asks

father. To Kamla: This is a desperate plea for help.

broke, broke, and broke. Can you send me 5-1O?

takes a summer job and offers to send money home.

Courtesy: IndiaStar Review of Books.

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magic mist

. ~RA~G

.~2~

YEARS

8/10/2019 Divali 2003

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The Persecution of a Minority: The Gypsies of Europe

By D.H.Singh

The Roma, Sinti or Gypsy, as they are known, originated in India ...

They moved through the Hindu Kush and then through Persia, Armenia and the Byzantine

Empire towards the West

Sara Ivey, an independent television producer of

Texas USA was in Romania to produce a film on the

health' system of that country following the collapse of

Communism. A member of the United Methodist Church

of the Disciple of De Soto, Texas, Sara Ivey was horrified

by the manner in which the Gypsies were ill-treated. Ivey

observed that Gypsies are the undesirables of society

and called for compassion and understanding. The

laywoman of the Church lamented the hypocrisy of

Europeans and pointed out that Christ would be

administering to these people. They are more hated

historically than the Jews or any other minority who have

been persecuted in Europe.

The Roma, Sinti or Gypsy as they are known,

originated in India. They fled India in the 13

th

Century as

their resistance to the Ottoman (Islamic) expansion

westward collapsed. They moved through the Hindu Kush

and then through Persia, Armenia and the Byzantine

Empire towards the West.

In the early years of settlement in Romania their skills

in metalwork, carpentry, and entertainment were in

demand as the Crusades had depleted the population. The

Romanian Society was mainly agricultural and the skills of

the Gypsies were able to bring increased wealth and

prosperity to the country. The Roma was being seen as an

integral part of the economic structure. The landlords and

the monasteries did not allow them to migrate. The

demand on their labor increased. To secure a guaranteed

labor force and to prevent them from migrating, the society

passed laws reducing them to chattels. When properties

were sold, the Gypsies were also sold as part of that

property.

Laws were later passed to regulate their lives. The

Code of Basil, the Wolf of Moldavia, dated 1654,

contained references to the treatment of slaves,

including the death penalty in the case of a white

woman being raped by a Roma. The Europeans

including the treatment of non-Muslims as 'fit for

slaves' adopted many of the Ottoman's concepts and

influences. The Gypsies were not allowed to have

musical instruments and they were confined to the

outskirts of the estates. The treatment of the slaves

was very cruel and it was common to have slaves

tortured to death for minor misdeeds. The

enslavement and harsh treatment of the Gypsies were

not confined to the landlords but were practiced by

all. Even the Christian Monasteries were engage

the auctioning of slaves. Among the upper class,

house slaves were forbidden to speak Romany,

language of the Gypsies. Female house slaves

also provided to visitors for sexual entertainment.

The enslavement of the Gypsies were not confin

Romania, Hungary and Eastern Europe but were prac

wherever the Gypsies went. In Renaissance England,

Edward VI passed a law stating that Gypsies be bra

with a V on their breast, and then enslaved for

years, and if they escaped and were recaptured, they

then branded with an S and made slaves for life.

In Spain, Gypsies were treated no differe

Columbus on his third voyage to the Americas transp

Gypsies. Instead, they were persecuted and

advantage of in their hour of need. Is the Gypsies' que

relevant to Indians in the Caribbean? The condition o

Gypsies have not improved in Romania where the

more than 10% of the population and have settle

almost seven hundred years. The Gypsies continu

suffer persecution and all forms of disabil

Nonetheless, they have not surrendered their will, co

and determination to survive.

History warns us that we must be eternally vigilan

Indo-Caribbean people we must learn from our

unique experiences. The Gypsies, amidst the racism

bigotry of European society, have survived and so hav

of the Caribbean. Eternal vigil and organization shou

our watchwords. Failing to do this would reduce us

status of the Caribs and Arawaks whose presence

confined to historical documents in the archives and

books and the museum where artifacts are displayed.

. Gypsieshave.their own websites. They are researching

documenting their history.

While they continue to struggle against victimiza

discrimination and persecution as a minority, they ar

prepared to roll over and die. They have been true to

tradition by enduring and surviving with the convi

that destiny would always be with them. Never fo

moment have they flinched from their customs

traditions, the major pillars of their strengths.

D.H.Singh is a member ofthe

SHUDDI (Home Coming) Society in Trinidad

8/10/2019 Divali 2003

19/48

H NN

PEAS & CARROTS

PARBOILED RICE

w~~P~~tfromRBAIAPPlP~I:~====~

8/10/2019 Divali 2003

20/48

poem

A Divali Thought

By Maltie Maharaj

Her hair caresses the face of the moon.

On the evening air we feel the coolness of her breath,

Gently, on our face,

as the streetlight is turned on.

We scent her perfume in the flower

by the street side gutter.

You see, she does not look

upon the foul or fair with difference,

But blesses all with her abundance.

And feel her touch in the grace of a friend

in a wheel chair, stricken with AIDS or the infirmity of

age.

We sense her love in the beauty of a smile,

upon the sick and suffering,

and her wisdom in the words of a child.

She speaks through the heart.

Her strength in our faith is unflinching.

Her belief in the goodness of humanity everlasting.

Forgiving and eternal Goddess

Who can be compared to the glory of you?

Doting mother, you, who tolerate or tantrums with a smile

our neglect with patience,

Taking tomfoolery with love and generosity

and accepting a quick puja pat on the cheek with

thankfulness.

You have made our Trinidad

Storm fee

War free

Drought free

Providing stability; giving wealth generously; sending

your servants of love

among us all

To fill us with

Tolerance

Knowledge

spirituality

Modern technology

Justice ...

OUR RESPONSE??

Neglect

Pollution of Ri ers

Kidnappings \

Continual party-ing

Domestic violence

Childish chat in the highest offices in the land ...

And worst yet, inhumanity to ouselves.

Oh Beautiful lady

You who all the

Vedas, Shastras and Puranas

worship.

The sight of whom causes the sun and moon

to bow in adoration.

Oh lovely and majestic giver of knowledge

Wealth

Strength

You who have rescued the Gods from Demons and

Disasters

Have mercy on your children,

Us Trinis

We youthful and sometimes misguided delinquents.

Show us by your wisdom that,

Peace

Love

Prosperity

Tolerance

Is still relevant in this world.

Om Shanti, Divine Lady.

Forget us not in our adversity.

Maltie Maharaj is a teacher at Siparia Senior

Comprehensive School, and has a B.A. degree

in English and an M.A. in Literatures in English.

8/10/2019 Divali 2003

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Why Hindus do not eat beef

By Dr Kumar Mahabir

Those who eat beef are at risk of contracting an undetectable disease that could slowly eat ho

in their brains before killing them. This pathological condition, named Creutzfeldt-Jakob

Disease (CJD), has already killed thousands of people around the world. It is the human

equivalent of BSE or mad cow disease ...

Hindus regard the cow as a sacred animal, and there

are strong feelings against the eating of beef. Some Hindus

give their cows pet names, feed them special foods, adorn

them for ceremonies, and revere them during rituals.

Though domesticated cows were first brought from India

to the Americas by Columbus on his second voyage, Zebu

cattle

(Bos indicus)

were brought to the West Indies by the

British in the ]860s. Zebus are extremely disease-resistant

and hardy, and can survive on garbage and scrub

vegetation. They do not eat when water is unavailable and

live off the fat in their hump.

The cut on beef and goat in Trinidad's School Feeding

Programme by the previous Government was replaced

with lamb as part of a pilot project. Chicken has always

been on the menu, and it has been halaled [consecrated] to

satisfy the spiritual taste of Muslims. Chicken, lamb and

fish are served because these meats are acceptable to all

religious groups, except for those who observe a strict

vegetarian diet. The local ban on beef would have surely

been greeted with joy by U.S. vegetarian activist groups

like People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PET A)

who argue that there is a link between meat consumption

and cancer.

The Hindu scriptures unambiguously support a

meatless way of life. In the Mahabharath, for instance, the

great warrior Bhishma explains to the eldest of the

Pancava princes that the meat of animals is like the flesh

of one's own child. Similarly, the Manusmriti declares that

one should refrain from eating all kinds of meat, for such

eating involves killing, and this rebounds on the karmic

cycle of inflicting injury and death. Under the influence of

the invading Muslims and later the British, some Hindus in

India tried to appear civilized by eating the food of the

saheeb

[rulers]. Those Hindus who never adopted a meat-

oriented diet were following the

ahimsa

principle of non-

violence as a religious obligation to God and God's

creation.

Hindus have an ecological reason for abstaining from

beef. They say that rearing animals for slaughter destroys

the rainforests and topsoil which increases water pollution

and floods. Most economists agree that an acre of land is

much more cost-effectively used growing food than raising

cattle. Hindus revere the cow, not as a representative of

any deity, but in her own right. In his popular essay

entitled Mother Cow (1974) anthropologist Marvin

Harris of the University of Florida explains the practical

reason why the cow is revered in India. He argues that

cow contributes more to the economy of India alive tha

it were slaughtered. A mature cow produces calves,

the males among them can be used as draft animals

traction in an agrarian society. Cows also produce

which can be made into dahee [yogurt] and butter

domestic use and sale. The

gobar

[dung] can be wat

down and used as building material. Cow-dung i

efficacious disinfectant and is often used as fuel instea

firewood. When the cow dies, low caste Hindu member

India work the leather as a source of income. They also

the meat which is a much-needed source of food.

Writing in the magazine

Natural History (19

Doranne Jacobean states: Today, as in past millen

Indian cattle continue to provide milk, as well as cow d

for fertilizer and cooking fuel (in the form of

traditional dried cakes or, increasingly, as bio

generated from composted dung). Even in a nation th

building nuclear capability, cattle remain a crucial so

of power for drawing plows and carts. In her ar

entitled A Reverence for cows, Jacobean adds that a

animals browse on crowded city streets, their abilit

recycle garbage is phenomena .

Vegetarians claim that they fewer physical compla

because there are less impurities in their body. They

maintain that their skin is more beautiful. L

homeopathic practitioner, Dr Carol Bhagan-Khan, ar

that if all children abstain from eating beef (and all t

of meat), they are more likely to perform better in sch

Beef, she contends, takes a long time to digest.

digestive process uses considerable energy from the b

and affects the child's concentration span and me

ability. Those who eat beef are at risk of contracting

undetectable disease that could slowly eat holes in

brains before killing them. This pathological condit

named Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD), has already k

thousands of people around the world. It is the hu

equivalent of BSE or mad cow disease and, like its bo

equivalent, it kills relentlessly and is largely undetect

until after death. In her book

Cannibals, Cows and

CJD, Jennifer Cooke speculates that the disease migh

spread far wider than ever imagined. Cooke writes: It

be a long waiting game because CJD can incubate wit

displaying symptoms for more than four decades.

Dr Kumar Mahabir an anthropologist in Trinidad.

8/10/2019 Divali 2003

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potential

8/10/2019 Divali 2003

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NEWS ON HINDUS

Britney goes bhangra for come back

Britney Spears has turned to Indian bhangra rhythms

for her comeback song out later this year. The song

features Spears singing and rapping over music and

rhythms from rural India and has been remixed by

British Asian producer Rishie Rich-himself celebrating a

top 20 hit in the UK this month with Dance With You

(Nachna Tere Naal). Rich has previously remixed songs

for West Iife, Ricky Martin and Craig David. The

Britney song came to me as a really commercial pop

song, Rich told BBC World Service's The Music Biz

programme. The song was great, but what I sent back to

them is a real street edge with a bit of Asian influence.

The Indian influence is the latest change for Spears.

Spears - who has had a year off to reinvent herself is

described as being over the moon with the record. I

actually didn't want to put too much Asian in it, because

I wasn't sure what they wanted, Rich said. Steve Lunt,

who was the A&R for the records in New York, just said

'we want more, just put all in - we would rather you put

it all in, then we can take little bits out'. That's what he

wanted - he wanted the full Asian thing.

Rich said that while bhangra had been established in

the UK for a while, it has only just begun influencing

music in the US and therefore Spears would be seen as

at the cutting edge of musical change there.

Bhangra in America has just kicked off, and it's not

as big as it is here, Rich said. People are loving the

sounds and they want that sound. Passing phase? Rich

added that he felt the demand from music bosses

for bhangra-f1avoured hits was a response to the huge

amount of manufactured music dominating the

mainstream. If I step back from the industry, I'm sick of

all this Pop Idol Fame Academy stuff because it's all

just bland music, he said. I think that you need

something that is going to be more innovative. I think

just generally if you mix Asian music - with Egyptian

music or Spanish music or pop music you get a different

sound. I think that's what people are looking for now.

Gareth Gates' new single is like a Spanish song - it's

an R&B kind of thing because people are looking for

something different now. While bhangra's recent

explosion into the UK mainstream may not last, Rich is

simply happy it is now getting the exposure and airplay

it deserves. A year ago I did a bhangra track for Mis-

teeq but it didn't go on the album, he said.

I bet the record company is regretting that now. But

at the time it wasn't happening.

Source: BBC NEWS.

I

NEWS ON HINDUS

Elephant conference turns to religion and

culture for conservation

Elephant experts here have turned to Asia's reveren

of the beasts to push conservation amid calls for a cull

tackle growing wild jumbo populations in Africa.

Douglas-Hamilton, an authority on African elephants s

religious and cultural practices in Asia shows the peace

coexistence between people and elephants amid increasi

pressure on habitats.

He is fascinated by the place elephants have in religi

in some Asian countries and in the Hindu and Buddh

cultures. He said that the battle for space should not res

in the elephants losing out as their survival was linked

human existence. If we don't leave enough space

elephants, we will eventually not leave enough space

ourselves, he said after opening a symposium

Human-Elephant Relationships and Conflicts. Pap

presented at the meeting suggested allowing tourists

hunt wild elephants in Africa to maintain its woo

vegetation and use the proceeds to conserve elepha

elsewhere.

Most experts here opposed the idea. African elepha

are found in 34 countries while in Asia only] 3 countr

have wild herds. Douglas-Hamilton argued t

conservationists should ensure there is no conflict like

rapid invasion of elephant habitats by man in the decade

the 90s and even up until today. In Sri Lanka, the ba

between government forces and Tamil Tiger rebels

taken its toll on wild elephants. The Biodiversity a

Elephant Conservation Trust based here, a co-organizer

the symposium, said an estimated 200 to 3

wild elephants had been displaced by the war.

The Tamil Tiger rebels had in the early stages of

war spared wild elephants, but when the animals storm

jungle bases in search of food and water, and drank

the entire supply of water the rebels had for a week, th

started shooting the elephants when firing in the air fail

Land mines were also the cause of agonizing deaths a

having their trunks and legs blown off by anti-personn

mines. Elephants are considered a sacred animal in

Lanka and elsewhere in the Buddhist world. Elephants

also revered by Hindus who use caparisoned pachyder

at temple pageants.

8/10/2019 Divali 2003

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-'--.

Hindu influence on Western Literature

By Rajiv Malhotra

T. S. Eliot turned to Indian sources, particularly the Upanishads, Bhuddist sutras and

Patafija

Yogasutras, the influence of which is most pronounced in his seminal poem, The Waste Lan

India has long occupied an important place in the

global imagination, as befits its status as one of the most

ancient civilizations. In this article, I will illustrate just a

few of the many ways Indian thought has deepened and

enriched Western thought to a far greater degree than is

commonly known. The influence of India on her

neighbors, specifically those in Central, East, and

Southeast Asia, has long been recognized, largely because

peoples of these other nations went to great lengths to

accurately translate and disseminate Indic knowledge into

their own languages and cultural idioms.

Globalization in the colonial context

was understood to mean Western domination of the globe

and the subversion of non-Western cultures. This

understanding remains prevalent, if not explicit, in the

post-colonial world. It is based on the misconception of

Western superiority. Without a doubt, the West has

contributed much to civilization, but no single human

group has a monopoly on that virtue. No society represents

the apex of human evolution, thus leaving other societies

further down the evolutionary ladder, somehow bereft of

or deficient in the virtues claimed by the alleged front

runner.

We need not resort to the distant past to find such

examples, for it was only during the past two hundred

years that Indian classics have been translated into

European languages. Once the masterpieces of Indian

literature and philosophy were translated, however, they

rapidly received significant attention.

The great German poet Goethe, for example, was

deeply affected by reading Georg Foster's 1791 translation

of the Sankrit play

Shakuntala,

written by the great fourth

century poet Kalidasa. Goethe wrote Here the poet

appears in his highest function . As a representative of the

most natural condition, the finest _way of life, the purest

moral endeavor, the most dignified majesty, and the most

solemn reverence of God, he ventures into base and

ridiculous contradictions.

A comparison of the first few pages of Shakuntala

with Goethe's Faust reveals that Kalidasa was the source

of Goethe's idea to begin Faust with the Prelude in the

Theatre representing a conversation between the play's

director and author. Clearly, there was a pronounced

Indian influence on one of the greatest works of modern

Western literature.

India's influence on Western literature became more

pronounced during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries

as Europeans and Americans became increasingly aware

of Indian thought and literature. Emerson and Thoreau, for

example, were explicit in their admiration for the H

classics, namely the Upanishads and the Bhagavad

The oversoul of the Transcendentalists is a rephrasin

the Upanishadic doctrine of the impersonal abso

Brahman. These ideas also provided an intellec

foundation for the poets Walt Whitman and W. B. Y

Yeats was as familiar with Indianthought as he was

neo-Platonic ideas, although his philosophy is us

identified with the latter.

The Indian influence became even stronger during

early twentieth century, as modernist authors looke

non-Western cultures for inspiration in the developmen

new literary models in an effort to free themselves

the constraints of tired Western genres, While authors

as Ezra Pound turned to Chinese and Japanese poetr

S, Eliot turned to Indian sources, particularly

Upanishads, Buddhist sutras, and Patafijali's Yogasu

the influence of which is most pronounced in his sem

poem, The Waste Land.

And, of course, the influence of Buddhism on

writing of Beat authors-such as Jack Kerouac, A

Ginsberg, and Gary Snyder-is both obvious

profound. This was the product of the transmission of

and Tibetan schools of Buddhism to the United S

which achieved a cultural critical mass during the

when interest in these traditions broke out of the cou

culture and into the mainstream.

Translations of the Indian classics drew the atte

of scholars in the early nineteenth century, and h

significant influence on Continental philosophy

particular. One of the most striking examples is th

Arthur Schopenhauer, whose subtle, psychologic

oriented philosophy played a significant role in

development of psychoanalysis and existentialism i

early twentieth century, and of postmodern thought a

end of that century.

Schopenhauer unabashedly admired the wisdom

Hindu and Buddhist scriptures, and adopted ideas

these sources into his own thought. Most notably

disagreed with the dominant colonial attitude, w

incorporated the belief that European ideas

technologies and Christianity were inevitably destine

supplant Asian cultural traditions. Schopenhauer pred

that the reverse would be true.

Rajiv Malhotra is affiliated to the

Infinity Foundation in New Jersey, USA.

8/10/2019 Divali 2003

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several castes. This was also true of religious festiv

where even Harijans had important duties to perfor

Srinivas has recorded that Bhaksorin (Harijan) wom

helped Thakur families at the time of delivery, bhang

(sweepers) beat drums in front of Thakur homes. Brahmi

cast the horoscope of new born Thakur children and

village barber spread the news and served food during

celebrations that followed. He further record a ru

Mysore saying that 18 castes come together during

wedding. Non-Brahmins and occasionally Harijans serv

as priests of temples devoted to certain goddesses l

Sitala, Mari and Kali associated with smallpox, plague a

cholera. All castes including Brahmins sent offerings

these temples. Thus non-Brahmins too fulfilled some

the religious needs of other castes.

Alongside close interaction and co-operation at

village level, castes also enjoyed a large measure

freedom in respect of their internal customs, rituals a

life-styles. There was usually no outside interference in

internal affairs of a caste, all caste matters being under

jurisdiction of the caste council. The village panchay

deliberated on questions concerning the larger villa

society. A striking feature of the caste system in the p

British period then, was its local character. There was

all-India horizontal organisation of castes. This being

there was hardly any question of all-India tyranny of a

caste group, especially so of the Brahmins who usua

also lacked the political and armed strength to enfor

their will. British rule destroyed the local character of

caste system. It broke up the homogeneity of small grou

over small areas and encouraged organisation of cas

over vast stretches of land. This became a major cause

the caste tensions and rivalries India has witnessed

recent years.

Caste has become synonymous with the theory

pollution. The issue is complex enough to merit separ

treatment. Here it is possible only to say that like in mu

else of the caste system, in this regard too we have be

victims of the British propaganda machine. Some idea

the issue involved can be had from Mary Douglas,

distinguished anthropologist. She has written, I belie

that ideas about separating, purifying, demarcating a

punishing transgressions have as their main function

impose system on an inherently untidy experience.

[Extract of article]

The truth about the caste system

By Dr Meenakshi Jain

Caste has become synonymous with the theory of pollution .... Here it is possible only to say

in this regard too, we have been victims of the British propaganda machine.

Certain other features of caste system, as it operated in

the pre-British period, deserve to be commented upon.

Despite the commonly-held belief that hierarchy in Hindu

society was clearly defined and operational, in actual

practice only the position of the Brahmins at the top of the

ritual scale and the Harijans at the bottom was relatively

stable. In between there was ambiguity about the status of

several castes, an ambiguity that was acceptable to all

concerned. This itself produced a large element of fluidity

in the system.

The close association of caste with occupation

notwithstanding, members of a caste group ever exercised

exclusive monopoly over a profession. As leading

sociologists have pointed out, in addition to their

hereditary occupation, all castes traditionally also engaged

in cultivation. There were certain other professions such as

warfare which regularly drew adherents from different

castes. In fact, the leadership of most armed bands was

provided by non-Kshatriya peasant castes. Powerful castes

with almost a monopoly over violence were as much part

of the Indian scene as the ritual dominance of Brahmins in

the settled areas of the country. Many villages, in addition,

did not have a hierarchy corresponding to the all-India

system. There were, for instance, often only one or two

families of certain artisan and service castes such as nais

(barbers), telis (oil pressers), sonars (goldsmiths) and even

banias (money lenders) residing within the village

precincts. So there was little question of actually ranking

these one-or-two families in the village hierarchy and then

discriminating against them.

The usurious interest rates that the village baniyas are

supposed to have charged also became possible only under

British rule when for the first time land became a

marketable commodity. Generally it was the peasant castes

that were numerically preponderant and economically and

politically powerful at the village level. All castes living in

a village or a cluster of neighbouring villages were bound

together by economic and social ties. The Jajmani system

tied the highest and lowest castes in a strong bond of

mutual dependence. M. N. Srinivas has pointed out that in

the pre-British period, land being more abundant than

people, the paramount consideration of most Jajmans was

to acquire and retain their local followers . This obliged

them to be generous in matters of food, drinks and even

loans when required. He adds that the tropical climate

made it difficult to store foodstuffs for long and this

combined with ideas from the great tradition further

encouraged distribution of surplus.

Moreover, all rituals required the participation of

Dr Jain a historian and professor at Delhi University.

International Forum for India's Heritage (IFIH)

http://www.geocities.comlifihhome/articles/cpOOl.html

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Indian Diet, Diabetes and Heart Disease

By Debra Ramdath

Typical Indian foods such as paratha, daalpouri, phulowrie, sweets, prasad (mohanbogh),

doubles, fried chicken, curry duck and goat are all very high in fat.

People of the Indian diaspora have experienced a

higher incidence of heart disease and diabetes relative to

their counterparts in rural India and other migrant

populations in the western world. It has also become

frightfully apparent that Indians are developing these

diseases at a young age; as early as 25 years in men

Although not fully understood, it is clear, that poor eating

habits, an inactive lifestyle and a family history all

contribute to the development of heart diseases, strokes,

different types of cancer and diabetes. There is an urgent

need to alleviate the human suffering and deaths caused by

these diseases, by changing our diet and lifestyles.

Modern living demands that the only important

requisite in our lives is financial success and the ability to

provide for our family. However, many of us work hard to

acquire wealth throughout our life, only to spend much of

this wealth trying to regain health later on. It is also

believed that only the very wealthy can afford to eat

healthy. This is certainly not true, as most healthy foods

such as fruits and vegetables are affordable. Good health

and healthy ageing are not chance occurrences but rather

the result of great care and attention given to healthy

eating, regular physical activity and avoidance of high fat

foods such as fried and oily foods.

To many people the word diet means suffering

through meals that restrict the intake of one or more

nutrients. Actually, the word diet comes from the Greek

word diaita which means a way of living. This is how

the diet should be regarded ... a way of living through

healthy eating and active lifestyle. Healthy eating is eating

a variety of foods from all the food groups on a daily basis.

Eating a variety reduces the consumption of large amounts

of anyone food and prevents overeating, which can lead to

overweight and other health problems.

Eating a variety of foods from varied sources ensures

the body of all the necessary nutrients. The human body

needs proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals and

water in varying amounts on a daily basis to function.

Protein is found in all meats, dairy products, beans and

meat-alternatives such as soya and tofu; it is the building

blocks of all cells in the body and is essential for growth

and repair. Protein is also a critical brain food so that it is

important to include it in every meal. Unfortunately, many

foods containing good quality protein come from animal

products and contain fat. Alternatively, a mixture of

various plant foods in a meal has the effect of providing a

low fat, complete protein with added roughage or fibre.

For example, a meal of rice, daal with bodi or channa and

a portion of green salad can provide a balanced m

intake of most nutrients.

Carbohydrates which consists of sugars and starc

are the main source of energy needed on a daily basis

all bodily activities and processes. They are divided in

groups: simple and complex. Simple starches are foun

refined sugar (table sugar), honey, syrup, molasses, fr

and vegetables. Complex starches are found in cere

grains, ground provisions, rice and pasta. Simple

complex starches, when eaten, are broken down du

digestion into glucose (sugar), which is absorbed into

blood stream for energy.

All sugars are not created equally; some are better

the body than others because some are absorbed slo

into the blood stream, which prolongs the feeling

hunger. For example, sadha roti is slightly better for

body than white bread as sadha roti is absorbed into

blood stream at a slower rate than the white br

Scientific studies have shown that long term use of a

rich in refined carbohydrates are directly associated

an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, h

disease and certain cancers.

Typical Indian foods such as paratha, dhalpo

phulowrie, sweets, prasad (mohanbogh), doubles, f

chicken, curry duck and goat are all very high in fat.

much fat in the diet increases the chance of heart dise

diabetes and certain types of cancers. Instead, eat roti

pumpkin and bhagi consider healthy options such as f

fruits in our prayer offerings.

Here are some simple steps to achieve a healthy body:

1. Use little oil and fats in cooking

2. Remove skin and fat from meats

3. Choose low fat dairy products

4. Avoid frying, instead bake, BBQ, roast or steam

5. Create fat-free desserts

6. Mix colored vegetables

7. Eat smaller portions

8. Eat a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables

9. Be active - walk, jog or swim

10. Consult a nutritionist or die titian for more advise

healthy eating.

Eat Right, Keep Active, and Enjoy long and healthy

as our forefathers.

Debra Ramdath is a Trinidadian who studied

Nutrition at Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada.

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Divali, Hindus and Hinduism in multi-ethnic Mauritius

By Mona Sookmanee-Meighoo

People tend to marry within their own ethnic/religious group .... A Mauritian would argue th

the main reason for this is to keep their culture alive through the generations.

Divali is perhaps the most well-known of the Indian

festivals in India, as well as in Indian communities

throughout the Diaspora. In Mauritius, the most celebrated

Hindu festivals are Maha Shivaratree, Cavadee, Holi and

Divali. The Indian population is the largest ethnic group

in Mauritius, Hinduism is the most widely-practised

religion, and there are more than 150 Hindu temples on the

island. Like Trinidad, Mauritius is a multi-cultural country,

and the ethnic distribution consists of Indo-Mauritians

(68%), Creoles (27%), Sino-Mauritians (3%), Franco-

Mauritians (2%).

The history of Mauritius has contributed in creation of

a very diverse society. Mauritius, situated in the Indian

Ocean, was first discovered by Arab and Malay sailors as

early as the 10th century AD, and Portuguese sailors first

visited it in the 16th century the island was not colonized

until 1638 by the Dutch. Mauritius was populated over the

next few centuries by waves of traders, planters and their

slaves, indentured laborers, merchants, and artisans. The

island was named in honor of Prince Maurice of Nassau by

the Dutch, who abandoned the colony in 1710.

Mauritian Creoles trace their origins to the plantation

owners and slaves who were brought to work the sugar

fields. Indo-Mauritians are descended from Indian

immigrants who arrived in the 19th century to work as

indentured laborers after slavery was abolished in 1835.

Included in the Indo-Mauritian community are Muslims

(about 12% of the population) from the Indian

subcontinent. The remaining 52 per cent are Hindus.

Among the Hindus, those of North and South Indian

descent are seen as being different types of Hindus since

the Tamil Hindus practise a special form of Hinduism,

characterized by dramatic forms of worship.

Indians in Mauritius came as labourers. Later, the

owners of sugar plantations thought it would be more

profitable to sell their lands to the planters and privatise

the sugar industry, so Indians became small planters. As

the Indian population became numerically dominant and

the voting franchise was extended, political power shifted

to the Hindus. Since 1968 (independence) Mauritius had a

Indian/Hindu Prime Minister until 30 of September 2003,

when the Prime Minister passed over the leadership of the

country to the Deputy Prime Minister, a Franco-Mauritian.

Hindus have played a key role in making Mauritius a

prosperous nation, and that was with the help and support

of all the other ethnic groups. Hindu leadership has set the

path towards success and everybody else believes in that

route to success.

Mauritians speak a variety of languages. Although

French and English are the official languages, m

Mauritians speak Kreol as well as the ancestral langu

(Hindi, Bhojpouri, Tamil, Telegu, Marathi, U

Mandarin, Hakka, Cantonese), the government has alw

promoted the preservation of ancestral languages

ancestral cultures. There is a living tradition of writing

standard Hindi in Mauritius, and both Hindi and Urdu (

sometimes Tamil, Marathi and Telegu) are used on ra

and television and are widely taught in schools.

From a very young age, children in Mauritius l

that the beauty of their country lies in the differences

one another, may it be race, colour, language. Child

therefore learn to respect their own traditions and cultu

as well as those of the other ethnic groups. Hence, peo

do not simply live in a society where one tolerates oth

customs, but where one learns about other custo

appreciates. Nowadays there is more emphasis on

sharing of cultures and standing together as one nat

Slogans such as tou sel ou pas tousse lesiel'' (alone

will not reach the sky) have started emerging. The for

US Ambassador, Mark Erwin, said in his last address

greatness of Mauritius is its people, whose potentia

unlimited.

The Creoles, the Chinese and the Franco Mauriti

are more open to mixed marriages, while Hindus

Muslims are the strongest endogamous ethnic groups

the island. A Mauritian would argue that the main rea

for this is to keep their culture alive through

generations. However, the remnants of the caste system

India can still be felt, especially among the higher-ca

among Hindus. In Mauritius, a marriage between a N

Indian Hindu and a Tamil is seen as a mixed marria

With more and more Western influence, love marriag

have started taking over arranged marriages among

Indian community, and as a result of this mixed marria

(often performed without the parents' and relativ

approval) have become increasingly common.

Like everywhere else, the older generation blames

youth for what appears to be a decline in Hindui

However, every Hindu boy and girl would fast for all

religious festivals, take part in the pujas, learn the ances

language, rituals and customs and wear the traditio

garments regularly. The Hindu youth have moved a

from the practice of orthodox Hinduism that has los

place in a developing nation. The fundamental base u

which Hinduism stands is still strong.

Sookmanee-Meighoo works as a research officer

at COSTAATT (Community College) in Trinidad.

8/10/2019 Divali 2003

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What Derek Walcott said about Ramleela

Extract of Nobel Lecture, December 7, 1992

They [the actors] were not amateurs but believers. There was no theatrical term to define the

They did not have to psych themselves up to play their roles .... They believed in what they w

playing, in the sacredness of the text, the validity of India ...

Felicity is a village in Trinidad on the edge of the

Caroni plain, the wide central plain that still grows sugar

and to which indentured cane cutters were brought after

emancipation. The small population of Felicity is East

Indian, and on the afternoon that I visited it with friends

from America, all the faces along its road were Indian,

which, as I hope to show, was a moving, beautiful thing,

because this Saturday afternoon Ramleela, the epic

dramatization of the Hindu epic the Ramayana, was going

to be performed, and the costumed actors from the village

were assembling on a field strung with different-coloured

flags, like a new gas station, and beautiful Indian boys in

red and black were aiming arrows haphazardly into the

afternoon light. Low blue mountains on the horizon, bright

grass, clouds that would gather colour before the light

went Felicity What a gentle Anglo-Saxon name for an

epical memory.

Under an open shed on the edge of the field, there

were two huge armatures of bamboo that looked like

immense cages. They were parts of the body of a god, his

calves or thighs, which, fitted and reared, would make a

gigantic effigy. This effigy would be burnt as a

conclusion to the epic. The cane structures flashed a

predictable parallel: Shelley's sonnet on the fallen statue of

Ozymandias and his empire, that colossal wreck in its

empty desert.

Drummers had lit a fire in the shed and they eased the

skins of their tables nearer the flames to tighten them. The

saffron flames, the bright grass, and the hand woven

armatures of the fragmented god who would be burnt were

not in any desert where imperial power had finally toppled

but were part of a ritual, evergreen season that, like the

cane-burning harvest, is annually repeated, the point of

such sacrifice being its repetition, the point of the

destruction being renewal through fire. Deities were

entering the field. What we generally call Indian music

was blaring from the open platformed shed from which the

epic would be narrated. Costumed actors were arriving.

Princes and gods, I supposed. What an unfortunate

confession Gods, I suppose is the shrug that embodies

our African and Asian diasporas. I had often thought of but

never seen Ramleela, and had never seen this theatre, an

open field, with village children as warriors, princes, and

gods. I had no idea what the epic story was, who its hero

was, what enemies he fought, yet I had recently adapted

the Odyssey for a theatre in England, presuming that the

audience knew the trials of Odysseus, hero of another A

Minor epic, while nobody in Trinidad knew any more t

I did about Rama, Kali, Shiva, Vishnu, apart from

Indians, a phrase I use perversely because that is the k

of remark you can still hear in Trinidad: apart from

Indians. It was as if, on the edge of the Central Pl

there was another plateau, a raft on which the Ramaya

would be poorly performed in this ocean of cane, but

was my writer's view of things, and it is wrong. I w

seeing the Ramleela at Felicity as theatre when it

faith. Multiply that moment of self-conviction when

actor, made-up and costumed, nods to his mirror bef

stopping on stage in the belief that he is a reality enter

an illusion and you would have what I presumed

happening to the actors of this epic. But they were

actors. They had been chosen; or they themselves

chosen their roles in this sacred story that would go on

nine afternoons over a two-hour period till the sun set.

They were not amateurs but believers. There was

theatrical term to define them. They did not have to ps

themselves up to play their roles. Their acting wo

probably be as buoyant and as natural as those bamb

arrows crisscrossing the afternoon pasture. They believ

in what they were playing, in the sacredness of the text,

validity ofIndia, while I, out of the writer's habit search

for some sense of elegy, of loss, even of degenerat

mimicry in the happy faces of the boy-warriors or

heraldic profiles of the village princes. I was polluting

afternoon with doubt and with the patronage of admirati

I misread the event through a visual echo of History -

cane fields, indenture, the evocation of vanished arm

temples, and trumpeting elephants - when all around

there was quite the opposite: