AFTER an absence of two years, due to the pandemic, the Divali Nagar returned at the nagar ground in Chaguanas, with a gala opening on Saturday evening.
Although opening night saw significantly less crowds than in years gone by, those who did show up, were treated to traditional East Indian music, songs, dance and food.
East Indian clothing, shoes and jewellery were also on offer for sale at the many booths.
Local VIPs including former prime minister Basdeo Panday, Tourism Minister Randall Mitchell, Agriculture Minister Kazim Hosein, and Chaguanas mayor Faaiq Mohammed were present.
President of the National Council of Indian Culture (NCIC) Dr Deokinanan Sharma greeted the small crowd at the main stage and in revelling in the return of the celebrations, said that management of the organisation will see changes in the near future. The NCIC manages the nagar annually.
Mitchell also spoke at the opening and thanked Sharma and his team for the work they have done over the years to ensure the continued survival of the nagar.
"Their work has undoubtedly made citizens more aware of traditions associated with Hinduism and East Indian culture; a culture which has significantly influenced our life here in TT," Mitchell said.
He also reminded of the important message behind the celebration of Divali, for both Hindu and non-Hindus, which is the triumph of good over evil. He urged everyone to enjoy the nine nights of celebration at the nagar leading up to the observance of Divali on October 24.
“More importantly, let us challenge ourselves to be more peaceful, polite and gracious to one another. Let us continue to walk along the path of positivity, hope and light.”
In between these speeches, there were performances from various cultural groups including the ZeeTV Shiv Shakti dance group led by Michael Salickram; the Dragon Boys' tassa group and even a steelpan rendition of a bhajan (Hindu religious song). (source: Newsday, Oct 16, 2022)

HENRY Pereira will for­ever be lauded for bringing a local identity to parang music.
So exclaimed National Parang Association of Trinidad and Tobago (NPATT) public relations officer Joanne Briggs following the recent passing of the parang stalwart.
“What Henry did is bring a sense of ‘Trinidadianess’ to the music. Even though he kept the tradition of the parang music structure, he incorporated some of what we are in the music,” said Briggs, during a WhatsApp exchange with the Express yesterday.
That vision changed the course of the genre and gave parang the unique sound that is loved throughout the islands today, Briggs said. Pereira’s iconic parang hits “Parranda Fina”, “En El Corazon del Hombre”, “Andamos Buscando”, “Soca Sereno” and “Canta Noel” are all standards of the genre.
“For example, with ‘Parranda Fina’—which is a favourite of a lot of parangderos, and they perform it as part of their repertoire—that song has a calypso rhythm to it. And it also describes where we go to sing parang and what we do for parang. It’s basically a tribute or love song for what parang is for us as parangderos,” Brings added.
Pereira, 76, passed away on September 25. The Los Reyes parang band lead singer had suffered “a long illness” and was buried on September 29, following a service at St Anthony’s RC Church, Tabaquite.
NPATT president Alicia Jaggasar expressed condolences to both the Pereira family and Los Reyes yesterday. Jaggasar, lead singer of Los Alumnos de San Juan, said Pereira’s contribution will live on for decades to come.
“Mr Pereira will be missed. Many parang bands play his music, and his contribution to the artform would live in the hearts of all parranderos and parang lovers forever,” Jaggasar said.
Briggs, meanwhile, said while parang music has lost another formidable act, they are still privileged to call on the experience and wisdom of veterans like Clarita Rivas, Michael Lezama and the surviving members of the famous Santa Cruz-based Lara Brothers band.
“We still have people like Clarita Rivas around. We still have some members of the Lara Brothers still there—for example, Pink Eye. Even though he hasn’t been in the frontline as the Lara Brothers were, he is still part of the foundation of parang here. Yuh have people around. Our foundation members like Michael Lezama from San Jose are still here to learn from,” Briggs said.
The Spanish teacher from Tabaquite
In life, sharing knowledge is what Pereira did best. He was fondly known as the Spanish teacher from Tabaquite, having taught at the only secondary school in the area, Taba­quite Composite, after starting his teaching career at Rio Claro Government Secondary School.
Pereira’s big break in music came unexpectedly after joining his first band, Los Muchachos del Agua, in 1973.
The guitarist for the band, a young Pereira, found himself thrust into the spotlight and asked to do a solo one night when the original lead singer failed to show.
“That performance won him the prize for best lead singer. He went on to win this title numerous times,” Briggs recalled.
Jaggasar, meanwhile, says the passing of legends like Pereira leaves immense spaces in parang that must be filled by those next in line. It’s up to the more experienced parranderos on the island to set the pace anew for the next generation, she said.
“Henry Pereira has influenced the lives of all parranderos in Trinidad and Tobago. During his earthly presence [he] ensured that his legacy would live on through the knowledge and skills imparted to us parranderos. On a personal note, Mr Pereira has been instrumental in me being the writer and parrandera I am today. I am writing and my eyes and heart are filled,” Jaggasar concluded. {source:  The Daily Express, Oct 5, 2022}

Winston David “Dave” Elcock, one of the most beloved radio personalities that Trinidad and Tobago ever produced, died on Aug. 25, of natural causes in Brooklyn, his son Marc David Elcock confirmed.
Funeral Service was held on Sept. 3 at R. Steven Legall Funeral Home on Avenue N in Brooklyn.
Elcock’s body was cremated 10 days later at Greenwood Cemetery in Newark, NJ.
Marc told Caribbean Life on Thursday that his dad’s ashes are currently in the family’s possession and that the family is yet to determine a final resting place.
Marc said his father became known throughout Trinidad and Tobago as “Big Brother Dave”.
“He was dubbed the Dean of Broadcasters for his versatility and dominance of the early morning airwaves,” the obituary says.
Elcock was born on Sept. 20, 1943 on Duncan Street in Port-of-Spain, the Trinidad capital.
He was one of four children born to Jonathan and Sybil Elcock. His siblings were Lloyd Elcock, Victoria Vidale (deceased) and Gloria Rodriguez (deceased).
Elcock received his primary education at two schools, first St. Agnes E.C., and then St. Crispin’s E.C.
He then attended Queen’s Royal College (Q.R.C.) for his secondary education.
In 1962, he joined the staff of 610 Radio, which, at the time, was called Radio Guardian, as a trainee announcer.
“Over the next 10 years, [he] began to establish his name in the field of broadcasting,” the obituary says, stating that Elcock first launched “The David Elcock Show”, which ran for 10 years until 1972, when Elcock made a slight career change by joining the advertising firm of Christiansen and Belgrave, working there for three years.
During that time, however, Elcock continued doing the Sunday Hit Parade, “which had become very popular under his watch,” the obituary says.
In 1976, Elcock returned to 610 Radio, “and Elcock in the Morning was born, a show which would top all the annual radio surveys for almost 15 years,” according to the obituary.
“He created a number of characters, which became household names in Trinidad and Tobago, and the population looked forward on a daily basis to hearing from ‘Leggo Beas’, ‘Granny’, ‘Mr. Bitter’ and ‘Jose Joropo’, among others,” it says.
In addition to being recognized as one of the twin-island republic’s leading broadcasters, Elcock emerged as one of the “most in-demand Masters of Ceremonies of his era,” the obituary says.
“This afforded him the opportunity to welcome onstage international entertainers like Stevie Wonder, Dionne Warwick, Barry White, King Curtis, Ray Charles and Redd Foxx,” it says.
During his time at 610 Radio, the obituary says Elcock pursued a course in Television Performance at New York University.
“This prompted him to try his hand as a television host,” the obituary says, adding that, in the 1970s, Elcock’s night-time music and talk TV show, “T&T Tonight”, aired for two seasons on Trinidad and Tobago Television (TTT).
On it, the obituary says Dave featured entertainment by and chats with leading local artistes, as well as with visiting entertainers, sports personalities and even government officials.
In 1988, Elcock married Juliet Mangal, with the union producing two children, Marc and Amanda.
Sadly, Juliet passed away in December 2019.
Elcock also had a son, Jason, from a previous marriage to singer Mavis John.
In November 1990, when Neil Giuseppi was appointed managing director of the Trinidad Broadcasting Company, one of his first acts was to launch Radio Tempo (105.1 FM), the first all-local music station in Trinidad and Tobago.
The obituary says Giuseppi was able to persuade Elcock to leave 610 Radio, where he was “an institution for so many years,” to join the Tempo team.
“On Jan. 1, 1991, Radio Tempo hit the airwaves and Dave Elcock’s voice was the first ever heard on the station,” the obituary says.
“For the next few years, he became the voice of Radio Tempo, as he had been for so many years at 610 Radio,” it adds.
After Giuseppi left the Trinidad Broadcasting Company in 1994 and established his own company, Communications Specialists Limited, Louis Lee Sing, chief executive of the International Communications Network, (610 Radio and TTT), approached Giuseppi a year later.
According to the obituary, Lee Sing “wanted to bring back ‘Scouting for Talent’, which had been off the air for several years.
“He asked Neil (Giuseppi) if he would be prepared to produce it,” the obituary says. “He agreed and, a few months later, the new ‘Scouting for Talent’ hit the airwaves.
“In putting the show together, David Elcock was approached to serve as presenter, and he readily accepted,” it adds. “He hosted the show in his very professional style for the first three years that it ran until he migrated to the United States.”
Though semi-retired, the obituary says Elcock, a Born-Again Christian, took his talent to Internet medium, on Radio KYSO in the United States.
“That station seeks to attract music lovers worldwide with Trinidad and Tobago’s unique gifts to the world, calypso and steel band,” it says.
In 1990, during the National Awards, Elcock received the Humming Bird Medal (Silver) for Public Service.
In 2019, he was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Trinidad and Tobago United Community Association in New York for his “valuable and outstanding service to country and community.”
“David Elcock has always owed his success in radio to some of his predecessors who, in an interview with the Trinidad Guardian in 2009, he called the ‘deities’ of Trinidad and Tobago broadcasters, legends like Ed Fung, Frank Hughes, Leo de Leon, Bobby Thomas, Sir Trevor McDonald, Sam Ghany, Bob Gittens, Errol Chevalier, Clyde Alleyne, Desmond Bourne and Carl Redhead,” the obituary says.
Marc told Caribbean Life that his father’s radio programs were “an integral part of the morning routine in many a household of Trinidad & Tobago.
“He was a pioneer, a trailblazer, a passionate man of the media industry, with a healthy dose of humility and gratitude for all of his life’s blessings,” said Marc, who works as an administrator for lawyers at an unidentified music company in Manhattan. “He was my biggest inspiration when I decided to pursue my own career in media here in New York, and I would ask for his insight countless times.
“As a father, he was caring, loving and supported me in all aspects of my life, even when I didn’t believe in myself,” Marc added. “And it is his unshakable positive outlook and faith that I will use as a template for my life going forward. I will miss him dearly.”
Elcock is survived by his children – Jason, Marc and Amanda; grandchildren – Rachel, Jonathan, Joshua and Avirae; and his brother, Lloyd Elcock, Esq. (Source: Caribbean Life, Sept 16, 2022)

NEAR the village of Brickfield, in Trinidad’s interior, there is a woman who walks the main road most days, talking to herself, and to anyone who has time to spare.
One morning in July 2019, she stopped at a roadside carat shed outside the Agriculture Ministry’s Forestry Division office and told an incredulous story to the workers.
It was about what she had heard coming from deep in the bush while walking along a lonely stretch of the Tabaquite Main Road the week ­before.
There was an explosion in the forest, she told them, and a sound like thunder, and then the crackling of falling trees.
Birds flew from the direction of the sound, she said. Then there was silence.
The forest workers suspected they knew what was the source of the disturbance.
So the gang of seven, whose job it is maintain vast acreages of teak in a part of Trinidad desperate for development, went in search.

With chainsaws and cutlasses, they cut a path into the woods off Colonzo Trace, and walked more than a kilo­metre before abandon­ing the effort.
All they found was deepening bush, and too many snakes, according to Forestry worker Suresh Roopnarine.
But there was still some daylight left, and curiosity got the better of them.
So they decided to clear an old timber access road, and chopped a path for about two kilometres before coming upon what the wo­man had heard.
A mud volcano had erupted to life, tearing down the forest trees, and clearing an area of at least two acres.
In the midst of greenery, they found a roiling lake of mud and severed trees.
And it continues to throw up new deposits, slowly expanding outward, the Express noted during a visit days later.
Surreal sight 
There were no hou­ses nearby.
The nearest resident, living about three kilometres from the site, said he had no idea it had happened, and had no plan to visit “a big hole in the ground”.
The damage done was to the forest trees, many pushed over by the mud flow, others snapped like twigs.
It is a surreal sight. A lake of mud surrounded by a wall of trees, in the shape of a footprint.
The new mud volcano is located about eight kilometres east of the Pi­paro mud volcano, whic­h erupted in February 1997, burying the roadway, homes and vehicles.
And the last time there was an eruption of this magnitude was February 2018 when the dormant Devil’s Wood­yard mud volcano belched to life and disgorged mud 100 metres wide and 1.8 metres deep.
Senior geoscientist at Touchstone Exploration Xavier Moonan and members of the Geolo­gi­cal Society of Trinidad and Tobago Keston Brown and Stefon Harry­persad trekked into the forest and conducted an initial study.
Said Moonan then: “The flow is fairly recent... we can’t estimate exactly when. The leaves of the trees that fell due to the mud flow are still green, but we were advised by experienced for­esters that these particular trees can remain with green leaves even after they have been felled for months. The mud itself hasn’t been weathered much, and the flow structures are still very distinct, so I would estimate it happened in the last couple weeks at maximum.”
He said from the historical data and satellite imagery, it appears that the July eruption was the first large-scale one since at least 1940.

Moonan’s information was corroborated by village elders who recall visiting the site decades ago and seeing multiple conical vents in the forest before the woods became impenetrable and the site passed into memory. Call it Polly Maharaj
So, what caused the eruption?
Faults are breaks in the rocks and can extend to significant depths in the earth.
The Brickfield mud volcano is located on what geologists know as the Tabaquite fault. At depths below the Taba­quite area, there are sands with oil, gas and salt water trapped by clays.
The movement on the fault allows the trap to break for an instant, allowing the water, oil and gas to escape, said Moonan, who is also vice-president of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists Latin America and Carib­bean region.
The fluids travel upwards to the surface where they pick up bits of rock—clay, sandstone and limestone along the way, and this is the mud flow that we see when it explodes at the surface.
And although the Piparo mud volcano is nearby, it is not related to the Brickfield mud volcano since they occur on separate faults, said Moonan.
Regarding the size of the eruption, Moonan said the mud flow covers an area similar to the size at Devil’s Woodyard.
The team measured the maximum length of mud flow at 165 metres (a football field is 110 metres in length) and the maximum width at 76 metres.
The geologists said the mud flow was expelled in a north-westerly direction along a three-degree gradient slope, with the flow turning to the north at approximately 33 metres downslope.
And the estimated volume of mud expelled?
It’s 1,740 cubic metres or approximately 11,000 barrels. The mud flow is much less thick than that which was observed at the Devil’s Woodyard eruption, hence the volume is significantly less.
Despite this, the force of the eruption was just as damaging, felling lots of trees in its path.
And for adventurers interested in seeing this natural phenomenon, there is a warning,
It’s not near a road, so be prepared to hike along a forest trail, on State lands. And there will be snakes.
Do not go alone. Do not go at night. Walk with water. Wear the right footwear. It’s going to be muddy.
And you can call it Polly Maharaj. That’s the name of the woman who discovered it. (Source: Daily Express, July 13, 2022)

The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) International has announced that the student chapter of The University of the West Indies, St Augustine Campus, has won the 2022 presidential award for outstanding student chapter.
Student chapter awards recognise those who succeed in fulfilling SPE’s mission by serving local members, The UWI said in a release.
The awards honour exemplary efforts in industry engagement, operations and planning, community and social outreach, and more.
The presidential award for outstanding student chapter is the highest honour a student chapter can receive, the university said.
It recognises the top five percent of student chapters around the world that are exemplary in the scoring categories and are presented at the SPE annual technical conference and exhibition which will be held this October in Houston, Texas
"A congratulatory letter from SPE President Kamel Ben Naceur notes that the student chapter should be very proud of its many exceptional accomplishments over the past year—especially during this unique time," the release said.
It also quoted Naceur as saying, "This achievement would not be possible without the dedication of the officers. Thank you for volunteering your time to fulfil SPE’s mission by serving local members and furthering the advancement of the society.”
Professor Raffie Hosein, head of UWI's Department of Chemical Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering, was extremely proud of the student chapter achievements.
“The UWI SPE Student Chapter has won this award three consecutive times, in 2020, 2021 and again in 2022," he said. (Source: Newday, May 29, 2022)

THE Government has put the struggling four-star Tobago hotel, the Magdalena Grand Beach and Golf Resort, up for sale.
This was confirmed in an expression of interest on the Evolving Technologies (eTecK) website on Friday.
The request for expressions of interest is for any qualified international operator, investor and/or purchaser for the resort. The entity/entities must have a proven track record to provide a structure to allow for the renovation, repositioning, branding and an overall plan to improve the performance of the resort.
The expressions of interest gives prospective parties three options:
1) An internationally branded operator to manage the resort ,or a third-party hotel management operator, with the brand being franchised;
2) Investor for the property – a strategic partner who will provide capital investment and bring the necessary management and branding expertise.
3) Outright purchase of the entire resort.
ETecK, which is responsible for the lease operatorship of the resort, had entered into an agreement with an international operator in 2012 to manage the operations and drive revenues and occupancy levels of the hotel since its rebranding and reopening.
ETecK oversees capital works on the resort, which comprises 178 rooms and 22 suites.
The resort was opened initially as the Tobago Hilton in 2000 and closed in 2008. It was rebranded as the Magdalena Grand Beach and Golf Resort in 2011. (Source; Newsday, April 29, 2022)

The University of the West Indies (UWI) announced on Saturday Prof Rose-Marie Belle Antoine as the new principal of the university’s St Augustine campus. The decision was made during the UWI’s University Council meeting on April 29.
The appointment takes effect on August 1, and Antoine will replace outgoing principal Prof Brian Copeland and become the first woman to hold the post.
The UWI’s website states Antoine is a Cambridge and Oxford scholar who holds a doctorate from Oxford University in offshore financial law.
Antoine started her journey with the UWI as a temporary law lecturer at the Cave Hill campus in 1989 and then became a lecturer in 1991.
Since then, she has served in several high-ranking positions at  UWI including law faculty dean and pro vice-chancellor of the Board for Graduate Studies and Research.
During her time as law faculty dean, Antoine was instrumental in creating the Makandal Daaga Scholarship, which is an equal-opportunity scholarship aiming to support law students who are outstanding in and out of the classroom.
Contacted for comment, Antoine noted Copeland was still principal until her appointment takes effect.
Until then, Antoine said, “I would like to give the incumbent some courtesy, so I prefer to comment later. Thanks for reaching out.”
But senior lecturer at the UWI’s Institute for Gender and Development Studies (IGDS) Dr Gabrielle Hosein told Sunday Newsday Antoine’s appointment was a step in the right direction.
“Over the last decades, there has been a slow erosion of male dominance in UWI’s administrative hierarchy, and Prof Belle Antoine’s appointment as principal is another, significant crack in that old glass ceiling following a number of women, such as Prof Rhoda Reddock, holding the post of deputy principal.”
Pointing out Antoine has been an ally of the IGDS, Hosein said she has an excellent track record of inclusive leadership with the unwavering support of human rights and social justice efforts relating to LGBTI non-discrimination, administrative and carceral injustice, marijuana decriminalisation and rights for people with disabilities.
“We welcome a UWI principal with such an outstanding record of challenging inequity and exclusion and their intersections with patriarchal and other inequities.
“We are confident about her capacity to inspire and to draw the resources of the region toward strengthening the UWI and its capacity to transform the region.”
Outside of her work with the UWI, Antoine has served as president of the Organization of American States Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, where she has also been the rapporteur for Persons of African Descent and rapporteur for Indigenous Peoples.
As chairman of Caricom's marijuana commission, Antoine has been an advocate for the decriminalisation of marijuana and the creation of a sustainable cannabis industry.
She also currently serves as president of the Family Planning Association. The association’s executive director Ava Rampersad described Antoine as a down-to-earth, committed leader who is particularly passionate about the development of young people.
Rampersad said, “She is firm when she needs to be firm, she is very innovative and open to ideas.
“Once you are able to approach her from a perspective of coming with your evidence to say something, she would definitely support you.”
She said Antoine is someone who operates from a place of integrity.
“It is no surprise someone with that calibre would be appointed as the principal of the UWI.
“We at the association are very proud of her. We are honoured by her accolades, and we continue to support her in her endeavours.”
Former principals of UWI St Augustine campus include Prof Clement Sankat (2008-2016), former MP Dr Bhoendradatt Tewarie (2001-2007), Prof Compton Bourne (1996-2001), former president George Maxwell Richards (1985-1996), Prof Lloyd Braithwaite (1969-1984), Sir Dudley Huggins (1963-1969) and Sir Philip Sherlock (1960-1963). (Source: Newsday, May 1, 2022)