Mashing as one
Mashramani has achieved the status of a national festival. Some 37 bands participated this year, a time of some economic stress, crowd turnout was good and it was a good opportunity for everyone to relax and blow off some steam. Above all, it is becoming more and more an integrated event, from the children's competitions and their road march to the participation on the big day. Anything with the potential to bring the nation together should be encouraged. In the children's dance competitions, for example, one could see the young ballerinas indulging in every kind of gyration, with some obvious cultural crossovers. There is certainly scope for developing the children's aspect of Mash in many ways, providing as it does some opportunity for the emergence of talent that may otherwise lie dormant. Hopefully, Fernleaf will renew and even expand their sponsorship and others may pitch in as there is scope for promoting these competitions more effectively and showcasing some young stars. The event should be generously supported financially by the government of the day as a recognised festival but the organisation should as far as possible be increasingly put in the hands of private citizens. Minister of Culture Gail Teixeira has clearly indicated that government is thinking along these lines. The less politicians of any party have to do with the event in their capacity as politicians the better. It was good to have a Trinidadian posse here which mingled in the various bands. They are the recognised party generals of the Caribbean and their annual carnival is attended by visitors from many parts of the world, including Guyana. Indeed Guyanese have been going over there for decades, drinking up a storm and having a ball. In Trinidad the whole thing is more elaborate, the feting starts weeks before the famous two day road march, the costumes can be fabulous (and expensive), the calypso tents and pan yards are features in themselves and a whole culture of partying and carnival has been developed over the years. They are also a lot wealthier than we are and invest a lot of time, money and energy in the thing. But carnival was not built in a day. We have made a start and it is now very widely accepted. We can go on to greater things and there are still obvious areas in which the organisation needs to be approved.
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