Pepperpot 02 14 2016

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Chronicle Pepperpot February 14, 2016

CAMEL TROPHY 1992

T

he Camel Trophy was a vehicle-oriented competition held

annually between 1980 and 2000, and best known for its use of Land Rover vehicles over challenging

terrain.

These gruelling tests of human endurance brought together teams from around the

world in the hope of triumphing in some of the most treacherous off-road conditions imaginable. Teamwork and camaraderie were crucial. The competitive element came in

a series of "Special Tasks," such as winching and timed driving routes, in which the national teams competed against each other.

In the 1990’s, The Camel Trophy visited Guyana among other countries including Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, Belize Honduras and Mexico. In Guyana, the perilous condition of what is now the developing Road to Brazil was one of their proving grounds, and for a leg of that expedition, the Trophy’s helicopter, vehicles and tents were safely accommodat-

ed at Yukuriba Falls, while the team roved between Yukuriba and Kurupukari and farther afield.

However, incredibly when we looked at a film documentation of the expedition, we were disappointed to see no visual images of Yukuriba Falls; nor was there any mention of the location that had hosted the expedition for a period of about six weeks. These pictures depict members of the Camel Trophy team dealing with the state of The Road To Brazil circa 1992.

Chronicle Pepperpot February 14, 2016

III

Woman power

I

stopped at the corner that accommodates the Sophia-Stabroek bus park, which as usual, was shadowed in semi-darkness. Motor traffic was stalled because a maniac mini-bus tout was demanding “his space.”

With an object in his hand, no one was disputing his claim. But he had the stage and the obviously alcohol-induced imbecile was not ready to take the bow.

Just outside my vehicle’s window a tall, thin man and his female companion whispered conspiratorially pointing at a capacious handbag on a woman’s shoulder. They walked in unison and right away something about the way in which they moved to the crowd and flanked her signaled that treachery was afoot.

The man was watching the intended victim sideways and the accomplice was swearing and fidgeting unnaturally.

A sliver of some kind of food particle was stuck between two of his teeth and the tip of his tongue was working assiduously to dislodge it. However he had to resort to an obviously well-used toothpick to complete the job.

Nicotine-stained fingers played with a stringy beard while troubled eyes protruded menacingly. Flared nostrils and a cleft chin completed the foreboding look.

His partner had a perpetually sour expression, and although she appeared too young, the pained look depicted a woman in the throes of some kind of trauma. Unruly hair was held in place by a grimy bandanna; big, protruding ears like sentinels at attention.

She was thin and haggard. Cheek bones that bore evidence of some kind of eczematous scabs, took every opportunity to express their prominence as she fussed and “carried on.”

The charade was about to begin. The woman would engineer an argument claiming that the woman with the bag had deliberately

Godfrey Wray “mashed” her foot and damaged her new pair of shoes. In the ensuing ruckus, the slimy companion would intervene in a faked attempt to forestall an altercation. The victim’s bag and/ or gold jewelry would then disappear along with the two con artists.

An alarm in the woman’s head seem to sound, and before the last ring had faded away, she had connected a right fist to the man’s Adam’s apple and registered her right knee onto his private parts.

He grunted in pain, unable to decide which bruised area to clutch in delayed protection. All he could do was fall on his knees then squat gratefully on the wet pavement, his flowered shirt

billowing in the sharp night breeze.

The bony vixen in the meantime had rushed forward spitting curses and gobs of saliva which however fell way short of their mark. Kicking and screaming, she attempted to rake the victim’s face with pointed fingernails that had heavy grime around the cuticles.

The victim sidestepped and slapped her hard across the right cheek, before grabbing her behind the neck and effortlessly heaving her into a hillock of industrial garbage that lay scattered and unattended in a gutter.

She heard a noise behind her and spun around to face the new threat, immediately lowering her center of gravity and bouncing lightly on the balls of her feet, just in case she had to dodge or move in a hurry.

But she didn’t have to worry. It was Mr. Con scrambling to his feet, beating a hasty retreat unconcerned about his accomplice’s fate.

Capless now, he scratched his bald head, looking like a bemused punter who had just seen a sure winner turn into a certain loser.

The sound of cheers from a small crowd nearby rent the air as the victor used her fingers to brush back into place the few strands of curly brown hair that had strayed from her scalp.

Some of the onlookers were expressing their relief at being rid of the dangerous duo, while others were applauding the ease with which the unflustered young woman had removed an irritant.

“Good riddance to bad rubbish,” someone intoned.

“You know how many people they set up and rob?” another indignant voice enquired.

“Thank you, Soldier Girl.

You’ve done this area a favor.” This from a wizened old woman with a massive reddish-brown wig, balanced precariously on her head.

The mini-bus tout was back to his tugging and pulling.

The female soldier sighed, seeming to accept that some things were unavoidable, even if they demanded a divergence from normative behavior and practice.

She picked up her big bag and a pocket Bible that had fallen out of it.

I was embarrassed. I had done nothing to help the young woman who no doubt would have had sleepless nights while prepared to defend the country and people like the con duo…and me.

I stammered: “Can I offer you a lift?”

A quick once-over and she replied: “No thank you, I’m going to walk.”

She was imbued with confidence. The Bible had lain open at a marked page which began with the words: “Because they trust in Him, He helps them and delivers them from the plots of evil men.”- Psalm 37:40.

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Chronicle Pepperpot February 14, 2016

The Light Between Oceans

by M. L. Stedman

T

he Light Between Oceans is the debut novel, published in 2012, by Australian author M. L. Stedman. It focuses on Tom Sherbourne, returning from the war to work as a lighthouse keeper on a tiny island where he is the sole inhabitant. On a visit to the mainland, he soon falls in love with the beautiful and vivacious Isabel. She moves to the island with him and everything goes quite well until Isabel begins to sink

into depression after realizing she is unable to conceive. One day, however, a boat with a baby washes on to the shore and Isabel convinces Tom to not report the incident and to pass the child off as their own.

Tom and Isabel are not bad people; they are simply desperate people.

The plot is not a complex one. The characters, on the other hand, are very complex. I find it startling that a debut writer is able to create characters with personalities that are so well-formed and so well-defined. The novel is an intense character study of the people that populate the story, offering real reasons for their motivations, their desires and actions. Perhaps, it is because of the author’s people-centric approach to the work that there does exist moments when the story does not move as fast as one wants it to – but then

one realizes that this is not a novel that focuses on thrills and action but, rather, people and emotions.

I find it to be a difficult book to categorize. Is it historical fiction, family drama, war fiction? Stedman manages to straddle together so many different elements to make the work what it is that one of the most remarkable things about the novel is that it does not overwhelm the reader with its myriad of themes: everything from loneliness, prejudice, motherhood, war, etc. Although I have admitted that there are many themes in the novel and categorizing the book is difficult, I do think that the way in which the author manages to weave everything so well together is by infusing a common thread throughout every major incident in the novel so that we end up with a situation where one theme snakes through all the other themes in the book, binding them to each other and giving us the cohesive whole that is The Light Between Oceans. This connecting strand that flows through the entire novel is love.

Tom and Isabel fall for each other so hard that their actions, including their bad moral decisions, for the rest of the story, are justified solely on the depth of their love for each other. Tom agrees to keep the child and goes along with Isabel’s doomed plan because he loves his wife and desires to see her happy. The child’s biological mother never stops looking for her daughter, entering and complicating the story, because she loves her child. On and on it goes, with love as the main factor propelling much of the characters’ decisions in the novel. In the end, if one had to absolutely decide on a genre for this novel, perhaps the best choice would be to simply refer to it as a love story: of love between men and women, and of love between parents and children.

Chronicle Pepperpot February 14, 2016

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Making a case for art therapy

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By Dominique Hunter verything I’m about to write has been simmering in the back of my mind for quite some time. How do you begin to articulate your thoughts on a subject as sensitive as suicide?

The beginning of this year brought with it a sharp increase in the number of reported cases countrywide. We’re barely into the second month and our nation is gripped by a sense of hopelessness as we struggle to find practical ways of dealing with this situation.

Immediately after those stories were published and shared across social media platforms, the public responded with calls for more counseling services. Most persons would have shared contact numbers for the suicide prevention hotlines in an attempt to let everyone know that there are resources available to them should they need help. But let’s be honest with ourselves. Those hotlines have been around for ages and for whatever reason, they are under-utilized. If this were not the case then we wouldn’t be having conversations about suicide prevention right now. This is not to say that the hotlines are inefficient by any means.

In my opinion, it points to something entirely different.

It’s easy for persons who aren’t struggling with that type of depression to say, “Call me if you need to talk about it.” But the truth is most persons don’t want to talk about it, for a number of reasons. For everyone who has experienced some level of darkness in his or her life, there is often a feeling of shame that we all struggle to overcome. We feel ashamed of ourselves for entertaining certain thoughts and weak because we just can’t seem to shake them. The truth is most persons are reluctant to share that darkness with anyone because they are afraid. It is the fear of judgment, and worse, “carrying back” information that force persons to turn even further to themselves rather than talk to someone about it.

No two persons cope with depression the same way.

There are those who will call that hotline for help and there are others who would prefer to find their own way of dealing with it (drugs, alcohol, food, or even not dealing with it at all). We need to do more for the persons less willing to talk

through their problems since it’s clear that they are most at risk. This is where I think a case can be made for introducing art therapy as a legitimate tool for coping with depression, stress and trauma. There is a transformative power in practicing any form of art repeatedly. Most creative practitioners would confess that at some point in the production of their own work there is certain calming and meditative quality that quickly replaces any anxiety they would’ve had prior to that working session. A shift occurs when their thoughts and energies are redirected away from “self” and more towards the act of “making.”

The American Art Therapy Association describes art therapy as "a mental health profession in which clients, facilitated by the art therapist, use art media, the creative process, and the resulting artwork to explore their

feelings, reconcile emotional conflicts, foster self-awareness, manage behavior and addictions, develop social skills, improve reality orientation, reduce anxiety, and increase self-esteem. A goal in art therapy is to improve or restore a client’s functioning and his or her sense of personal wellbeing. Art therapy practice requires knowledge of visual art (drawing, painting, sculpture, and other art forms) and the creative process, as well as of human development, psychological, and counseling theories and techniques."

In fact, the earliest recognized art therapy pioneer in the United States is a New York City native Margaret Naumburg (1890-1983). She is credited as being the first psychotherapist to use art therapy to diagnose and treat mental health conditions by incorporating Freudian psychoanalytics, art, and music into her teaching modules. In 1915 she founded the Walden School, a creative space where her teaching methods could be explored and developed over time. Her contribution to the field of psychotherapy has been profound and is evident in the flourishing practices spread across the United States today.

There is real power in the practice of making art and, in my opinion, there’s a lot to be gained by introducing art therapy in schools across Guyana. Now some might argue that most schools already have art on their timetables so including art therapy would be redundant. However, the difference between art and art therapy is glaring. Art therapy is grounded in theories of psychology, human development, family structures and art education, and is practiced by professional therapists who are equipped with the relevant knowledge and clinical practice. Art and art therapy both have transformative qualities, therefore a combination of the two would further enhance each other’s effectiveness.

However, I believe that both art and art therapy should be included in the timetable as separate subjects as opposed to a consolidated subject since they are both working toward two very different outcomes.

Personally I have not heard of art therapists practicing here in Guyana.

Maybe we have therapists who occasionally borrow art techniques to help their patients but I doubt that their practice is grounded mainly in art. Regardless, I think the entire country could benefit from having professional art therapists and even a few courses offered at the University of Guyana and/or our other tertiary institutions. Although art therapy services are typically privatized, I think Guyana would be a step closer to changing the statistics by having art therapists attached to our educational institutions since our youths seem to be struggling the most with feelings of depression.

Just my two cents.

Dominique Hunter is an independent visual artist who recently graduated from the Barbados Community College with a Bachelor of Fine Art (First Class Honours).

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Sunday

Chronicle Pepperpot February 14, 2016

Nostalgia Arrival of the Duke of Kent at Atkinson Field (now Cheddi Jagan International Airport) in May, 1966. This was the Guard of Honour by the Guyana Defence Force. Among those in photo are Commander Captain V St Williams, Subaltern Second Lieutenant Carl Morgan, Lieutenant Colonel RJ Pope and Guyanese ADC to the Duke Second Lieutenant VI Boodhoo. The GDF ceremonial uniform on display for the first time). The Duke was welcomed by Premier Burnham and the Governor Sir Richard Luyt.

The farewell parade of the British Guiana Volunteer Force in May, 1966.

Chronicle Pepperpot February 14, 2016

VII

1984 Appeal case…

Corentyne siblings squabble over land

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N 1984, Harrinauth Ramdass purchased land from his sister for $30, 000, but because he withdrew allegations of fraud in later submissions his appeal was dismissed.

The facts disclosed that in 1984, Ramdass purchased land from his sister, the first respondent for $30, 000, and he worked the land for the next three years.

In April 1987, Ali Mohamed, showed up with a policeman and claimed that he had bought the land from Ramdass’ sister and so Ramdass could not continue his cultivation.

Mohamed then ploughed the land, which already had a growing crop. Ramdass sought an order of specific performance of his 1984 purchase agreement; his sister claimed that the agreement was fraudulent and/or was obtained by undue influence, and/or misrepresentation on the part of the Ramdass.

The trial judge agreed that Ramdass’ sister, the first named responded, entered into an agreement of sale and purchase with Ramdass but he refused to make the orders in favour of Ramdass.

Ramdass argued that Mohamed, the second respondent, was a purchaser with notice of his possession and occupation of the land and that the burden lay on him to prove the contrary.

But the Court of Appeal constituted by Justices of Appeal Claudette Singh, Nandram Kissoon and Ian Chang held that the English Law of a purchaser’s equitable interests in land does not apply in Guyana.

The agreement of sale between Ramdass and his sister could have been enforced by a claim for specific performance had the transport not been passed to the second respondent, as transport conveys full and absolute title to land and can only be set aside on an allegation of fraud pleaded and proven.

J. Anamayah appealed for the Appellant and M. Bacchus for the respondent.

Delivering the judgment of the Court Justice of Appeal Mr. Nandram Kissoon said that on 18th April, 1984 the Appellant purchased from his sister, the 1st named Respondent, 36 acres of land situated at Plantation Kendalls, Corentyne , Berbice for the sum of $30, 000, which sum was fully paid.

The Appellant was placed in possession of the said land and cultivated paddy during the years 1984, 1985 and 1986. On the 9th of April, 1986 as he was ploughing the other portion of the land, the second named respondent in company with a policeman, informed him that he had bought the land, and he, Ramdass, was prevented from continuing cultivation.

The second named respondent then not only ploughed the land which was not yet prepared for cultivation, but also ploughed that portion of land which had a growing crop.

The second named respondent, by agreement of sale and purchase between himself Ramdass’ sister, bought 73 acres of land which included the 36 acres purchased by the Appellant and obtained Transport No. 378/87 dated May 5, 1987.

Ramdass, being aggrieved, filed a claim for (i) Specific performance of his agreement of sale and purchase dated 18th April, 1984; (ii) An order compelling the 1st named Respondent to pass transport to him; (iii) A declaration that transport No.378 of 1987 was wrongfully passed; (iv) An order of the court for the revocation of Transport No. 378 of 1987.

Ramdass’ sister denied that she had any agreement of sale with him and that the purported agreement of sale dated 18th of April, 1984, as alleged by the plaintiff , is a fraudulent transaction and or was obtained by undue influence, and or misrepresentation on the part of the plaintiff.

The 2nd named respondent in his defence stated that he bought the land for $125, 000 after negotiating Ramdass’ sister.

The learned trial judge believed and accepted that the Ramdass entered into an agreement of sale and purchase with the Appellant.

The judge stated in his decision, “I am satisfied that the transaction was genuinely entered into.” However, he refused to make the orders in favour of the Appellant.”

Counsel for the Appellant, Mr. Anamayah’s main argument in this case was that the second named Respondent was a purchaser with notice of the Appellant’s occupation and possession of the land .

George Barclay

He submitted that the plea of a purchase of a legal estate for value without notice is an absolute , unqualified unanswerable defence against the claims of any prior equitable owner. “It is a single plea and it is not sufficiently made out by proving purchase for value and leaving it to the Plaintiff to prove notice if he can.”

Mr. Anamyah further submitted that the second named Respondent must prove he had no notice of Appellant’s purchase and occupation. He complained that the learned trial judge made no finding whether Ali Mohamed ,the 2nd named Respondent , was a bona fide purchaser for value of the legal estate without notice..

Justice Kissoon, concluding remarks in the judgment of the Court were: “ The agreement of sale between the Appellant and first named Respondent could have been enforced by a claim for specific performance had transport not been passed to the second respondent as transport conveys full and absolute title to land and can only be set aside on an allegation of fraud pleaded and proven.

“The Appellant made certain allegations of fraud in his statement of claim, but they were withdrawn at the trial.

“I find no reason to set aside the Judge’s order.

“Appeal is dismissed. Costs to each Respondent $30, 000.”

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Chronicle Pepperpot February 14, 2016

Chronicle Pepperpot February 14, 2016

Brazil agricultural waterway reopens after 20-month drought: paper (Reuters) Brazil's Tiete-Parana waterway, a key transport corridor for soybeans, corn, cellulose, fertilizer and other agricultural products, has reopened after a 20-month closure due to drought and the use of water for electricity, the Estado de S. Paulo newspaper reported late Tuesday.

On Monday a barge train passed downstream on the Tiete River through the locks at the Nova Avanhandava hydrodam for the first time since 2014, the paper said.

The barges will later head to Sao Simao in Brazil's central western state of Goias where they are expected to load soybeans, which will taken for export from the Port of Santos on the Atlantic coast near Sao Paulo.

Brazil's agricultural output is only rivaled by the United States, but its underdeveloped and expensive transport infrastructure is the country's main barrier to raising its share of world exports.

Brazil is the No. 1 exporter of sugar, coffee, orange juice, ethanol, tobacco, eucalyptus pulp, poultry and beef, the No. 2 exporter of soybeans, the No. 3 exporter of corn and a major exporter of cotton.

Water that could have helped maintain river and canal levels was used instead for electricity due to rising energy demand and the delay of giant new power projects. Sao Paulo, South America's largest city, came critically close to running out of drinking water.

Rains at the end of 2015 intensified in January, helping water levels on rivers in Brazil's southeast and central-west to recover from one of the worst droughts in decades.

The Tiete-Parana's closure forced more of Brazil's production from the key farming states of Sao Paulo, Parana, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul onto more expensive and precarious road and rail systems.

On average, each of the Tiete-Parana system's barge trains can carry the equivalent of 200 highway trucks, according the Sao Paulo's waterway authority, the paper said Another barge train was expected to pass up the Tiete through the Nova Avanhandava locks destined for Santos on Tuesday, Estado reported.

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Chronicle Pepperpot February 14, 2016

‘The Kiss’ and other Rodin bronzes up for auction in Paris (Reuters) Five small b ro n z e s t a t u e s b y French 19th century sculptor Auguste Rodin will be auctioned in Paris next week, including a cast of his celebrated "The Kiss", which is estimated at 1.5 to 2 million euros ($1.70-2.27 million).

The five statues, to be sold by auction house Drouot on Tuesday, come from the collection of late French art dealer Jean de Ruaz, who bought them from the Rodin Museum in the 1940s.

The main piece is an 85 cm (33.5 inch) high cast of "The Kiss", produced in 1927, 10 years after Rodin's death, by the same Alexis Rudier foundry that had cast many of Rodin's pieces.

First exhibited in 1887, the sculpture portrays Paolo and Francesca, two characters from Dante's Divine Comedy, but became known as "Le Baiser".

It is one of Rodin's best known works, along with "The Thinker" and "The Burghers of Calais".

Auctioneer Alexan-

dre Giquello said some 40 to 50 casts of the work were made after Rodin's death but only about 10 to 15 are of high quality and undisputed provenance. De Ruaz had lent the work to New York's Museum of Modern Art in 1963, he said.

During Rodin's life only about seven casts were made and those had been sold at auctions for 6 to 7 million euros.

"We expect the statue will sell for more than 1.5 million euros," Giquello said, adding

Auctioneer Alexandre Giquello looks at the sculpture ''Le Baiser'' (the Kiss), bronze cast made in 1927, which is part of an exceptional sale of five remarkable bronzes by the French sculptor Auguste Rodin (1840-1917), displayed in Paris, France, February 11, 2016. that it will be the first public sale of a cast of "The Kiss" made after Rodin's death.

The white marble version of the work housed in Paris' newly renovated Rodin Museum is nearly 2 metres high, but miniaturised bronze casts are highly popular with collectors.

The other pieces Drouot will auction next week include "Eternal Spring", another medium-size bronze of a kissing couple, cast between 1935 and 1945 and estimated at 300,000 to 400,000 euros. Three small statuettes, also cast after Rodin's death, are estimat-

ed at between 30,000 and 100,000 euros.

Rodin's work has been widely forged, notably by convicted forger Guy Hain, who in the 1990s produced thousands of fake bronze Rodins, often using original Rodin plaster casts and the Rudier stamp.

Chronicle Pepperpot February 14, 2016

XI

Guyana's Wooden Landmarks

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by Francis Quamina Farrier roverb 20:20 in the Holy Bible states, "Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set."

That has, for the better part, been observed in the breach, here in Guyana; especially with our iconic wooden structures. In the city of Georgetown, there are many iconic wooden structures such as the St. George's Cathedral, State House, the building which is the official residence of the Prime Minister, Red House, Castellani House, the Demerara Mutual Building, and of course, the City Hall, among others. All of the many beautiful and century old wooden landmarks have at one time or another been in need of repairs.

At his very time, both the St. George's Cathedral and the City Hall are in urgent need of repairs.

Thousands of Guyanese residing in the Diaspora, have already made arrangements to visit the land of their birth, in this 50th Independence Golden Jubilee Year. Coming in from the cold and mainly from locations of asphalt, concrete and stone, they will certainly be refreshed by the sights of the many beautiful wooden buildings which still adorn the Guyana landscape; be they commercial or residential buildings, for even though there have been a notable increase of construction of multi-story concrete structures, not only in Georgetown, but also in New Amsterdam, Linden and Bartica, quite a number of the classical wooden structures remain, to delight those who love the sight of a well-designed and well-maintained wooden building.

Among the many grand wooden buildings which Guyana has lost since independence, are The Park Hotel and the Sacred Heart Catholic church; both on Main Street in Georgetown. However, while there has been

This iconic wooden building which dominated the north/east junction of Camp & Charlotte Streets in Georgetown for over a century, was the Christian Mission Annex and was demolished in 2015. the rebuilding of a (concrete) Sacred Heart Church, the plot where the Park Hotel once stood, remains vacant and is now used as a car park. Another beautiful wooden structure which was gutted and where the plot remains empty to this day is the St. Joseph Mercy Hospital wooden section on Parade Street in Georgetown. The western area of the South Block of the Georgetown Public Hospital, which had a section with a tower, was demolished some years ago; while the portion which housed the Observation Wards was gutted. The section at the extreme north-west of that South Block, has already

The old Bedford School building at the corner of Bourda and Robb Streets in Georgetown

been rebuilt; in concrete. The area where the Observation wards were remains vacant.

Still with losses of health facilities, the grand wooden building which was once the Ministry of Health, located at the eastern end of Brickdam in Georgetown was gutted in what has been officially classified as arson.

The fact that that building was previously occupied as Queen's College, is noteworthy, the reason being, that a large section of the present Queen's College on Camp Road, was also gutted, by what was also officially classified as arson. Two students from very wealthy families were fingered in that Queen's College tragedy.

In New Amsterdam, Berbice, one of the most iconic wooden structures - the previous New Amsterdam Hospital - was allowed to become derelict, and bit by bit, vandalized, until not one board remained; the block where it dominated the New Amsterdam skyline, is now over-run with tall grass and bushes. A short distance to the north, was the magnificent grand wooden building at the Fort Canje Mental Institution. That, too, is no longer there and the compound now looks very dowdy and unkempt.

More recently, back in Georgetown, two large wooden buildings were demolished - the old Bedford Methodist School at the corner of Robb and Bourda Streets, and three blocks away, the Christian Mission Annex building at the corner of Camp and Charlotte Streets. Both plots remain vacant at this time.

Change is inevitable and is an international and historic fact; however, one wonders whether some or all of our wooden iconic buildings had to be lost to us foreve.? One wonders what the Guyanese returning from the Diaspora will think of us, for allowing so many of our grand wooden structures to disappear.

Those "ancient landmarks" which "our fathers have set", will never be seen again by us, the visiting Guyanese, and the future Generations of Guyanese as well.

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Chronicle Pepperpot February 14, 2016

Norman Sue Bakery – a taste of Guyana in Canada

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By Frederick Halley aving served the Scarborough, Toronto community with distinction for several years under the Norman Sue Bakery banner, Guyanese Norman Augustus Sue passed away on October 7, 2013, leaving a rich legacy behind, a legacy that his two daughters Kim and Natasha have no intention of relinquishing.

The late Sue was seen as a pioneer who brought a taste of Guyana to Canada with the production of salara, mithai, beef patties, cheese rolls, pine tarts, plait bread, tennis rolls and other foods that reminded him of home.

Norman Sue Bakery still stands as a beacon among the many Guyanese business enterprises in Toronto and according to the daughters “not only has their business become a legacy, but so has the name Norman Sue. “It’s not only a name. It’s a home, it’s a community, it’s not only Guyanese, not only West Indian, it’s international.”

The bakery was and continues to be a family affair with Norman’s widow Lynette also playing a pivotal role in its existence.

“We grew up in the business,” said Kim, the eldest sibling who took over the reins when her father started fighting his cancer in 2010.

Kim remembered her father as a man who touched many lives, cared less about material things and one’s colour or religion didn’t matter to him. She believed he had re-defined the words humility and forgiveness and was responsible for touching many lives while her mother who hails from the Pomeroon, was also a tower of strength before and after the passing of her dad.

The business started in 1976, a few years after the family migrated to Canada, when a brother who was visiting from Guyana decided to make Guyanese pastries in their Scarborough home. Having made what was considered too much for

the family, they gave some away to friends. The baking and sharing continued for some time until people started offering to pay for the pastries.

This prompted the Sue family to start baking in their basement and after trying out a few other locations, they eventually settled at the current one, situated on Ellesmere Road, near Midland Avenue, Scarborough.

Kim recalled that her father had a special relationship with his staff, and he also regarded them as an extended family and would even pick them up on his way to work, in addition to cooking lunches for the entire staff on Fridays. The late Sue also took time to drop off some of his workers on very cold days. Taking a lead from her father, Kim still contributes immensely to community events, donating “goodies” to assist various organizations to raise funds.

Since the passing of her father, Kim also introduced “The Norman Sue Spirt Award,” presented mostly at cricket functions to “acknowledge individuals who have given selflessly in the community.” Among the recipients were Albert Ramcharran, Richard Ramlall, Dereck Patram, Bobby Ramlagan, Vish Jadunauth, Azeem Khan, Dharam Lall and Ranjan Persaud - all Guyanese nationals residing in Canada.

At last year’s Appreciation and Tribute to the stalwart Guyanese, Guyana’s Consul General to Toronto, Sattie Sawh, lauded the outstanding contribution Sue made to the community.

According to Sawh, the late Sue had left an undeniable and wonderful mark “on all of us and this to me is symbolic and significant of the wonderfully positive, bright and friendly demeanour of Norman Sue. He was a friend and a supporter to many; and as we look back on his time with us, we feel the warm and pleasant nature of his presence here today.”

Reminding the audience that the late Sue “was a man who left quite an impression on his family and friends and on the community at large,” the Consul General said his name was

Norman Augustus Sue-Kam-Ling, and wife. synonymous with many positives and worthwhile community initiatives from the delicious Guyanese treats that his bakery provided to the many laudable causes that he and his family have supported.

Sawh echoed the view that “in our community in Toronto, his name is exceptionally well known and respected and the goodwill that he has shown has brought an undeniable sense of popularity to the Norman Sue name.”

Norman Sue during his early years in Canada

Norman Sue, Jr., Natasha, Dorothy (longest serving worker, with 25 years’ service) and Kim at the bakery.

Sawh said she had personally worked with Sue and his wider family for a number of years. “I count it as a personal and special relationship that we share and I am truly thankful to share their friendship and support for the community.”

Observing that while the Guyanese community in Toronto are much poorer for the loss of a great man like Norman, “in our midst, we celebrate the fact that he did so much for so many and that his legacy will continue to live on through his business and his family’s community spirit.”

Norman Augustus Sue-Kam-Ling was born in 1947 in Georgetown, Guyana, to a father born in China and a mother whose parents had emigrated from India. The late Sue, who died at age 66, lived in Georgetown and Linden, Upper Demerara, before migrating to Canada in 1971. Apart from Kim and Natasha, the other siblings are Nashenka, Nadia and Norman jnr.

‘Acting is not a job’

Chronicle Pepperpot February 14, 2016

XIII

- Comedian Chris Gopaul speaks of his love for comedy and why artistes should be offered more

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By Telesha Persaud ICTOR Christopher Gopaul, known as Chris Gopaul, got his heart’s desire when he ran into local entertainer Kirk Jardine (Chow Pow) and enquired about how he could get into the entertainment industry in Guyana.

Jardine told him to show up for Upscale’s Comedy Night to show off what skills he had. If he did well with the crowd and made people laugh, Jardine promised to pay him the second time he performed. Upscale Restaurant featured a comedy night every first and last Friday of the month.

Chris blew the roof off on his first visit to the restaurant and Jardine made good on his promise by bringing him back on the second occasion, and of course, this time, paying him. From that day forward, Chris never looked back.

On a later occasion, Chris, 35, was sitting in his Ministry of Infrastructure Office when he received a call from Jardine encouraging him to audition for the Mori Javon show. Many persons didn’t qualify to do a specific part in the show, but Chris got it!

After this, GT&T did ‘Cinderella’ at the National Cultural Center (NCC) and Chris was afforded the opportunity to play the Prince. Chris would continue to make a name for himself Chris Gopaul in the entertainment industry with numerous other plays including those by Neaz Subhan.

Although it has only been about five years since Chris entered the acting fraternity, he feels that this aspect of his life dates back to ever since he was a child. In fact, he fondly recalls how he deliberately ‘spoiled’ every photo that the family took by making funny faces, much to the ire of his mother.

Chris loves the stage and would do anything to promote local talent in Guyana. “Acting is not a job. Acting is a part of me that I can’t see myself without. Acting is never about the money; it’s about respect. Whenever I leave the country, I am proud to promote Guyana to everybody. I don’t hesitate. I also leave phone numbers so that if people want to contact artistes here, they don’t have to go through me.”

Chris hopes to take his talent overseas, although he has no intentions leaving Guyana on a permanent basis. “I really want to go international to be able to showcase Guyana; show people what Guyana is capable of doing.”

DROP THE TAXES! The only proper stage that local artistes are given is that of Theatre Guild which holds approximately 300 people. “For us to get the Cultural Center,

there is a 20 percent tax imposed on every single ticket. Then, there is a 16 percent tax imposed on every single ticket. Then, there is a rental fee attached. Then we have to read, write and regurgitate. Each and every artiste would also have to be paid. So that’s how tough we have it trying to put entertainment on the market,” Chris explained.

Furthermore, he said: “If something is shown on the screen at the NCC, you don’t have to pay a tax but if it’s a live show you pay a tax. It’s crap! Help us showcase what we have and help people enjoy what we do. Drop the taxes so we can drop the prices,” he urged.

If those in authority really want to boost the local talent that is available, Chris said they would definitely do something about this plight of local artistes.

Then there’s the issue of the push cart people who pirate artistes’ material and sell it back for next to nothing. “To pay a videographer to do a show is at least $60,000. People take two and three of our DVDs and put them on one and sell them for $200. We have stopped making DVDs because this kills our art,” Chris noted. This puts the artistes at a huge disadvantage financially.

SENIOR GIS Chris, born and raised in Triumph Village, East Coast Demerara, admires such qualities as honesty, punctuality, and professionalism, and he believes that these qualities set him apart in the fraternity.

Born to caring parents Raymond and Carol Gopaul, Chris attended St. Peter’s Primary in Beterverwagting (now out of existence) and then Annandale Secondary. Just after finishing school, he briefly taught Physical Education and English at his secondary school. He pressed on academically and eventually secured Diplomas in Land Surveying and Building and Civil Engineering.

He gained employment with what was then the Ministry of Public Works (now Ministry of Public Infrastructure) in 2006 and started off as a land surveying technician. He then became a sea defense clerk and he is now a Senior Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Officer.

Chris credits his success with his books to his parents and siblings who all knew the value of an education and who did all they could to help him through school.

His upbringing has taught him the importance of remaining humble and in giving back to others. “I’m the last of five children. We grew up in a two bedroom house. We knew how to share two plantain and one egg. We know what poverty is. We used to make cars out of Colgate boxes and drink corks because we couldn’t afford to buy anything. My parents and siblings (Stephen, Diane, Denise, Fabian) definitely had an impact on how I viewed my education.”

Chris believes in the Golden Rule to treat everyone the exact way that you would like them to treat you.

He is married to Oritta and they have a daughter, Emily.

XIV

The Midi Skirt W

e always hear that skirts are awful, they look like shapeless sacks. Well , Midi skirts are all over the runways.

Whether you are petite or not, they are perfect for any occasion. It can be worn to the office and easily styled for nights. The Midi skirt is very fresh and lady like. I’m in love with them; it’s comfortable and comfort is really important for confidence. When styling a Midi skirt, it’s all about proportion. Balance the length of the skirt with shorter tops so it doesn’t seem overwhelming.

Cool and a little bit edgy, these skirts have a lot of volume so you can tuck in your top; make sure the top is fitted to your body to show your waistline. You can add your favorite office or denim jacket to dress up or down the look. Nude tops are always safe and it doesn’t distract from the skirt These skirts are making a comeback so step up and fulfill you girlish fancy. Express your individuality in one of these Olympia Small-Sonaram designs. There are 20 pieces, with each piece being of a different pattern. Have fun adding your personal touches to get the desired look. You can contact Olympia’s Fashion on 600-5445.

Chronicle Pepperpot February 14, 2016

Indigo

Chronicle Pepperpot February 14, 2016

XV

- The comeback collection by Lou Ann Lewis-Jackson

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niquely, Lou Ann Lewis-Jackson has always been someone who fits in, but always stands out!

Running away from Mathematics classes at St. Joseph High, she sought shelter under the arts, painting and creating things throughout the Math period, and is now ranking high in the creative field.

A teacher at the American School, the artist imparts her knowledge of English as a second language to students from around the world, but as an artist she has greater responsibilities and greater gifts, some that are still to be uncovered.

Lou Ann has always trusted in colours and wears her designs with confidence as she understands the power of her creation. She speaks to Sunday Chronicle about the uniqueness of her designs, the power of colour and the psychological work of art.

A woman well-learned in the field, she is verbally quiet about quite a few things but her work shouts aloud her expertise in recreating cloth. With a sure flair for individualism and communication, her work alone speaks into conditions, garnering favor with a hint of just the right colour.

“I know what I’m wearing, so it’s like my secret until somebody else finds out,” she told Pepperpot in an interview. “I know what orange can do to a man,” she went on, but just as the interview had taken a more attention-grabbing twist, a burst of laughter came, then she injected, “from a business perspective!”

The colour orange can diffuse anything, and even an aggressive man can become humble under the influence of orange.

“There was an issue I wasn’t pleased with and I knew I was going to meet a manager (so) I chose to wear orange because I knew that individual was a difficult person. I walked into the individual’s office and I watched the person change in front of me because of the colour I had on, and it diffused anything that was potentially going to happen.”

She investigated in depth the meaning of each colour, and knew that orange “..creates mood, it sets a tone, it says something about you . I know the power of orange and I know when to wear it and when not to wear it”.

Jackson explained that a simple motif can cause a reaction in the persons looking, even they themselves are not aware that something has happened, since according to her “it’s a subliminal thing” and that sometimes makes her work outstanding, delivering a message that is sometimes larger than life.

Lou Ann Lewis-Jackson “A lot of thought goes into my piece(s), also a little of my own personal style, where I like comfortable clothing, but it must be outstanding. It must be outstanding not in a gaudy kind of way, but in an interesting kind of way. It may be a colour scheme, it may be a particular motif that is exaggerated, that is larger than life or you choose a part of the motif that stands out and you work with that”.

Though her fashions can identify with her own name sometimes, she said they have not changed but remain trendy. “It’s as interesting as the time period it’s in, so it’s always relevant to that fashion era. It always fits in but stands out.”

Lou Ann had taken some time off designing to pursue her Masters in English but created a recent line titled “Indigo.” She is also preparing a new major collection for Guyana’s 50th independence anniversary celebrations in 2016.

Indigo, a collection featuring white and blue, is a reflection of brilliance and was inspired by her students at the American school, who she said are “very bright.” Colour psychology explains that indigo is the color of intuition and perception and brings insight. “It promotes deep concentration during times of introspection and meditation, helping you to achieve deeper levels of consciousness. Service to humanity is one of the strengths of the color indigo. Powerful and dignified, indigo conveys integrity and deep sincerity.”

Over the past five years, Lou Ann had been transforming the lives of children with an annual art workshop which is held during the July/August break at Carifesta Sports complex. She has worked with over 200 children between ages 3 and 16, teaching them painting, textile designing, craft, cardboard and scissors and bluing in the program which is subsidized by cell-phone giant Digicel.

“The main premise on which I started this thing (is that) I saw the need for something outside of

math lessons, and English lessons during the summer holidays or video games and I felt that we were losing part of society by not having art for our children. Art is always fun, but it’s more for development of the child.

A lot of children don’t really have that art experience. Parents don’t like giving their children paint, because of the mess they sometimes make, and a lot of schools have removed art from their curriculum.”

Lewis-Jackson explained that art also “helps with problem solving because you’re drawing something, you look at it from here and go around there and then you find an angle that you can work with. That same skill you can apply to other areas of life where you can look at things from different angles before you can work out how you’re going do this thing; so it’s a skill that is transferrable it’s not just for art, but it’s for life.”

She knows that art “opens your mind so you’re more receptive to ideas from others, you’re able to be more empathetic.

“It gives you a wider perspective on life.

You’re in a situation and some people just act and then they think after. Art helps you to think.”

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Chronicle Pepperpot February 14, 2016

Divisive politics return as Modi eyes make-or-break state vote (Reuters) At a campaign rally in a north Indian city, a visibly drunk election worker from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's nationalist party climbs unsteadily onto the stage after being called to speak.

Swaying, he unzips his leather jacket, drops a saffron party flag and declares: "I want to teach Muslims a lesson; a lesson that will prove Hindu unity and protect our religion from Islam."

A year before Uttar Pradesh holds a state election that could make or break Modi's chances of a second term, political opponents, analysts and commentators say his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is re-testing a divisive formula at a by-election on Saturday in a troubled corner of India's most populous state.

It was here in Muzaffarnagar, in 2013, that at least 65 people were killed in communal clashes between Hindus and Muslims. Around 12,000 people were driven from their homes in the surrounding villages where farmers grow sugarcane.

The following year, the BJP won 71 of 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh in a general election, handing Modi India's biggest parliamentary majority in three decades.

Despite two major state poll defeats since, the BJP recently re-appointed Amit Shah as its campaign manager, counting on him to win again in the 2017 regional vote. Shah, who holds the rank of party president, was banned by the Election Commission of India from campaigning in 2014 for statements promoting "hatred and ill will" between religions.

A senior aide to Shah told Reuters the Muzaffarnagar campaign raised legitimate issues to expose the flaws of the state government, led by the left-wing Samajwadi Party that is widely supported by Muslim voters.

"It's not illegal to voice the concerns of Hindus," said the aide, who did not want to be named.

"To assume that we will only win elections by polarisation is ridiculous. Our

INDIAN Prime Minister Narendra Modi (L) and Amit Shah, the president of India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), wave to their supporters during a campaign rally ahead of state assembly elections at Ramlila ground in New Delhi, India, in this January 10, 2015 file photo. work will prove a point and Modi's image will work the best for us."

ALL-OUT ATTEMPT At the BJP rally in Muzaffarnagar, a town of 300,000 people, a businessman chants a Hindu prayer and, to cheers, says girls should not fall for

Muslim boys waging a "Love Jihad" against his community.

As the party worker totters off the wobbly podium, he gets a pat on the back from Sanjeev Balyan, a federal agriculture minister who was elected as the local member of parliament in the 2014 landslide.

Balyan, 42, is being tried in a Muzaffarnagar court for rioting, disturbing the peace and unlawful assembly during the 2013 clashes, his lawyer said. He spent 12 days in prison before being granted bail. Further hearings are pending, and Balyan has pleaded his innocence.

With this reporter present, Balyan gives no speech; only expressing gratitude to his voters. Asked later by Reuters about the broader significance of the Muzaffarnagar by-election for Hindu unity and for Uttar Pradesh, he described it as a prelude to "an all-out final attempt to protect Hindus."

Modi must win in Uttar Pradesh, India's biggest electoral prize, to sustain his hope of one day gaining full control of parliament, where he lacks a majority in the upper house that represents the federal states.

A victory there would help the 65-year-old leader advance his development agenda by passing land, tax and labour reforms that have been thwarted by the opposition. Defeat could turn his

government into a lame duck ahead of the 2019 general election.

With Modi's promise of growth and jobs yet to materialise, the temptation to shore up his political base is growing, say political analysts.

"The party has nothing to boast about on the economic or development front," said Sanjay Kumar, director of the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, a New Delhi think-tank specialising in social sciences and opinion research. "If polarisation works, then they will be tempted to replicate it in the 2017 state elections."

Party leaders say the BJP is determined to keep its base intact with a message of Hindutva, or the idea that India is a Hindu nation.

"Many people are taken aback by the directness of the BJP's Hindutva messaging in the Muzaffarnagar by-election, but we are only speaking the truth," Chandra Mohan, a BJP spokesman in Lucknow, told Reuters by telephone.

Hindus make up nearly 80 percent of India's 1.3 billion people. Uttar Pradesh, home to one in six of the population, is also predominantly Hindu. But, in the west of the state, Muslims are in a slight majority.

"The BJP has mastered the art of winning elections by labelling Muslims as terrorists and traitors," said Sajida Khatoon, a 54-year-old Muslim whose brother and eight neighbours were killed in 2013.

She says she has warned her two teenage sons to avoid Hindu youths and not get involved with Hindu girls. "They're at an age when they easily get attracted to girls, but a Muslim falling in love with a Hindu can lead to riots here."

Chronicle Pepperpot February 14, 2016

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Google self-driving car effort expands hiring, posts manufacturing jobs (Reuters) Alphabet Inc's self-driving project is advertising dozens of jobs on its website with a special focus on manufacturing expertise.

Thirty-six jobs related to the Google X car project were listed including engineers working on motion control, displays, robotics and sensors as well as managers charged with operations, materials and marketing.

Google, which declined to comment, has denied in the past that it had any interest in making cars. Many industry experts believe the tech giant will partner with an established carmaker, supplying the software that will pioneer the fully autonomous vehicle.

But the jobs listed pro-

vide a window into how much hardware Google may build to contribute to the cars of the future. Developing self-driving cars has been a key priority of traditional carmakers, technology companies like Apple Inc (AAPL.O), Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] and auto suppliers.

A manufacturing process engineer job listing says the post is responsible for "designing factory assembly stations, optimizing production floor layout, automating critical manufacturing processes and approving fixture designs used in the assembly of electronic modules for the self-driving car."

A manufacturing supplier quality engineer will create and approve "manufacturing inspection processes,

equipment, tools gauges and fixtures for raw material, mechanical components and mechanical assemblies."

A mechanical global supply chain manager, meanwhile, is responsible for manufacturing development execution, among other tasks.

In January, president of the Google self-driving car project, John Krafcik, said he wanted to form partnerships with established carmakers and suppliers in 2016 to accelerate work.

When he was hired in September, Krafcik's prior experience at Hyundai and Ford fuelled speculation that Google planned to build its own cars.

Google posted other jobs outside of manufacturing that provided clues as to the scope of the growing project.

A Google self-driving car is seen inside a lobby at the Google headquarters in Mountain View, California November 13, 2015.

A marketing manager position posted nine days ago requires someone to "shape go-to-market strategy and storytelling to win hearts and minds of community members, influencers and

governments."

The company is even searching for a head of real estate and workplace services, suggesting that hiring may continue to rise.

Google currently tests

its prototype cars in its home base of Mountain View, California and Austin, Texas. It announced last week it would expand testing to Kirkland, Washington later in February.

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Chronicle Pepperpot February 14, 2016

La Nina expected in next months for the first time since 2012 (Reuters) Even as the El Nino weather phenomenon continues to impact global temperatures and crops, its counterpart La Nina is increasingly expected to emerge in the coming months for the first time in four years.

The return of La Nina, Spanish for "the girl" and characterized by unusually cold

ocean temperatures, is possible later this year, the U.S. government forecaster said Thursday. It joined other forecasters in projecting La Nina could follow on the heels of one of the strongest El Ninos on record.

Weather models indicate La Nina conditions, which tend to occur unpredictably every two to seven years, may

emerge in the Northern Hemisphere fall, while El Nino - which means "the little boy" in Spanish - is expected to dissipate during the late spring or early summer, the National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center (CPC) said in its monthly forecast.

The phenomenon can be less damaging than El Nino, but severe

La Ninas are linked to floods, droughts and hurricanes.

Even though CPC is not on official watch for La Nina, the probability is trending towards one, said Michelle L'Heureux, a CPC climate scientist and El Nino/La Nina expert.

When La Nina last appeared from August 2011 to March 2012, it hurt corn and soybean crops in Argentina and Brazil, brought the worst drought in a century to Texas and

increased the number of storms that threatened U.S. coastal regions, like Hurricane Irene.

Energy and agricultural commodities have been roiled by the current and muchwatched El Nino, which involves a pattern of warmer ocean surface temperatures in the eastern and central Pacific every few years.

Over the last year, El Nino has parched fields in the Philippines and Indonesia, brought unseasonable rains to ar-

eas of South America, driven up global food prices, and caused flash floods in Somalia that destroyed thousands of homes.

El Nino is likely to keep affecting temperature and precipitation patterns across the United States in the upcoming months, CPC said in its forecast.

"As we get into the spring, we'd still expect to see some influence. Folks need to keep their eyes on El Nino," CPC's L'Heureux said.

Rosamund Benn

Chronicle Pepperpot February 14, 2016

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XIX

- Mother, coconut oil expert

he name Rosamund Benn is one that is well known among women in many Regions of the country because she has served as the President of the Women’s Agro-processors Development Network (WADN) since 2013. But beyond the influential title, which sees her promoting the businesses and livelihoods of 11 groups of women across Guyana, Rosamund is a humble woman who sees herself simply as a mother, a farmer and a maker of coconut oil- in that order.

The good, simple life A native of Waramuri Mission, Region 1, Rosamund, at age 16 and at the time still in school, met the man who would become her husband. The young man, who hailed from the Pomeroon, married her as soon as she graduated, and he took her to his hometown and introduce her to his family profession of farming. Thirty four years later, Rosamund and her husband live on 25 acres of farmland. The 50-year -old credits farming as the strength upon which her entire family – their five grown children included- has been supported.

“I always tell my children, when you marry a farmer, you have to be married to the farm.

“When I look back, I cannot see my life without farming; I cannot give up on it because it is the backbone of everything we have acquired over the years,” Rosamund told Pepperpot in an interview.

It is also through farming that Rosamund discovered how to make coconut oil, a byproduct of their farm’s main resource. As a long standing member of the Pomeroon Women Agro-processors Association, Rosamund was involved with the factory that helped to manufacture the women’s products there.

“The factory had started making coconut oil by using a

solar dryer, but they were taking a long time; it could take up to 3 days, using 100 coconuts and you would only get about a gallon of oil,” she said. By using the boiling process at home, Rosamund realised she could make more oil in the same amount of time. “Using the natural sun in the open air, I could get about four gallons from 200 coconuts by the third day.”

She explained that the three day process involves bursting, digging and milling the coconuts, squeezing off the excess juice and leaving it to set for another day. By the third day, a formation of oil would appear, at which time the excess fat could be removed to access the oil in its purest form.

Rosamund’s finished product, dubbed “Benn’s Coconut Oil” is then packaged and sold at her stall in the Pomeroon Marketplace- another task which she enjoys. Undoubtedly, the last six years of making and selling her coconut oil has brought her much joy, and she admits that the support from her community is just added satisfaction for what she does. “Lots of people look forward to my oil; people love to know that they can buy pure coconut oil from a local manufacturer, and many people call me and visit my stall to buy it,” she said.

It is these simple ventures that have contributed to her family life. In a community where financial facilities don’t exist, Rosamund’s success is therefore self-made. She has avoided bank loans and instead depended on her daily trade on the farm and in the market to satisfy her family’s needs. She added that she has also partaken of the traditional custom of “throwing box hand” for the last 12 years, which helps her to save money as well.

Yet, it is feeling of accomplishment that these things have brought to her life that Rosamund says gives her the

biggest rush.

“It gives me a satisfaction to see that I no longer label myself a housewife and I no longer look and say that just because I didn’t have a higher education, I can't fulfill my role as a woman in business,” Rosamund said. Moreover, she admits that she also gets pleasure knowing that the product she makes is one that fulfills the needs of her customers who avidly look forward to Benn’s Coconut Oil. “It gives me a passion to go on and it is also good to know that I was able to personally contribute to my children’s school expenses, and other things,” she said.

The Women’s Agro-processors Development Network (WADN) Rosamund has been an active member of the Pomeroon Women Agro-processors Association since 2006. In 2011, at a women’s workshop in Mabaruma, she and another representative from the Pomeroon group were elected to join the first formation of the WADN which consisted of five women’s groups at that time. The body aimed at creating a network for women involved in agro-processing to expand their trade and support each other, while helping to create employment for persons in their communities.

The WADN now consists of 11 Women’s groups from across the country and Rosamund has served as President of the body for two consecutive terms, having been re-elected.

The WADN aims to meet in Georgetown only twice yearly, considering that the women have to come from far outlying Regions and this may cause significant expense for them.

Rosamund states that she is glad to be part of the WADN as it has exposed her to many significant opportunities.

Most notably, she was given the chance to visit Brussels to share the experiences of women entrepreneurs in Guyana; an event that she remembers to this day.

Benn’s coconut oil

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Chronicle Pepperpot February 14, 2016

Chronicle Pepperpot February 14, 2016

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XXII

Chronicle Pepperpot February 14, 2016

Digicel assists orphanages, grants wishes to celebrate 9th anniversary

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obile phone network Digicel spent the week leading up to its ninth anniversary (today) by supporting several orphanages and children’s home around Guyana.

In a release, the company said the homes and orphanages it visited were the Prabhu Sharan Orphanage in Cornelia Ida, the Saheed’s Boys Orphanage, the Red Cross Children's Convalescent Home, Gifted Hands Special School and the St. John’s Bosco Boys Orphanage.

“As we celebrate nine years in Guyana the importance of giving back is a priority on our list of activities.

“Our commitment to the less fortunate and vulnerable children is steadfast. In 2013 we completely rebuilt the Mahaica Children’s Home and since then we have continued giving back to homes and orphanages in Guyana,” Communications Manager Vidya Sanichara stated.

The donation included food hampers, groceries, books, teaching aids, desktop computers, back packs, and small appliances, Digicel stated.

In addition, through a letter writing competition it put on, the company selected nine persons and granted wishes they requested in their letters.

The wishes granted included an eye test and glasses for a mother of a young lady who wrote in, a sofa set for a single mother of two who didn’t have one, two laptops for students who needed assistance, full tuition payment for nursing classes for one young lady, a Nikon camera, a shopping spree, a cell phone, a Valentines dinner for two and a donation to the Palms Geriatric home.

Some of those who were granted their wishes by Digicel

Representatives of Digicel make a presentation to the Prabhu Sharan Orphanage, West Coast Demerara

Chronicle Pepperpot February 14, 2016

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New app helps young Iranians avoid "morality police" (Reuters) A new smartphone application that helps Iranians dodge the Islamic Republic's "morality police" is proving popular with the young, tech-savvy population but has quickly fallen foul of the authorities.

The Gershad app allows users who spot checkpoints set up by the morality police, who enforce Islamic dress and behaviour codes, to tag their location on a Google map with an icon of a bearded man, enabling others to steer clear of them.

The app was blocked by the authorities soon after it was released for Android devices on Monday but many Iranians bypass Internet restrictions by using a Virtual Private Network.

It is already trending on social media and has received almost 800 reviews on the Google Play app store, nearly all of them positive, although Google Play does not show how many times Gershad had been downloaded.

Gershad is seen by some as setting a precedent for "digital protest" in Iran as elections loom and the country emerges from years if isolation following the lifting of international sanctions imposed over its nuclear programme.

"Technology has created an amazing opportunity to forge a cooperative solution to common social problems," Gershad's secretive creators said in an email exchange with Reuters.

Gershad is a contraction of the full title of the Gashte Ershad (guidance patrol), which is part of efforts to purge Western culture from the country following the Islamic revolution which overthrew a Western-backed king in 1979.

"For years the morality police have been causing disturbances for Iranian women," the Gershad team said. "Avoiding them in the streets, metro stations and in shopping malls is challenging and tiresome."

Iranian officials have not

commented on Gershad but state broadcaster IRIB said the app had been written about on social media and "networks opposed to the (Islamic) revolution".

"This is an innovative idea and I believe it will lead to many other creative apps which will address the gap between society and government in Iran," said Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran.

Ghaemi said the app's developers were based outside Iran but had grown up in the country and experienced the problem first hand.

"It's really an indigenous product... these are the kind of people who have been stopped at checkpoints," he said.

DIGITAL PROTEST Gershad is an example of how young Iranians are turning to technology to circumvent checks on their everyday lives.

"It's showing a trend in digital protest... I see it as a precedent for future apps of its kind," said Amir-Esmaeil Bozorgzadeh, a Dubai-based consultant for app makers in the Iranian market.

Gershad does not describe itself as a form of protest, but its website describes it as a "social movement" and asks: "Why should we give up the most basic right of choosing what clothes to wear?"

An online video advert shows patrol members, rendered as dopey-looking cartoon figures, fidgeting impatiently at a checkpoint as the app diverts the flow of pedestrians away from them.

"Wander freely!" says the tagline.

Smartphone messaging applications are popular in Iran, where half of the population is aged under 25.

Young Iranians use apps to share news and jokes that would not be allowed in the tightly controlled traditional media.

A recent poll suggested

that about 20 million Iranians, around a quarter of â–ş Contiuned

on page XXVI

A woman adjusts her scarf after seeing the morality police in a cafe during a crackdown on "social corruption" in north Tehran June 18, 2008. (REUTERS/ Stringer/Files)

XXIV

Chronicle Pepperpot February 14, 2016

Decrying graft, Pope Francis to tour poor, violent corners of Mexico (Reuters) Pope Francis will visit some of the poorest and most violent corners of Mexico on his first visit as pontiff, and will also head to the northern border to address the plight of migrants trying to reach the

United States.

More than 100,000 people have been killed in Mexico’s drug wars over the last decade and its reputation was battered by the case of 43 students abducted and apparently massacred in 2014.

President Enrique Pena Nieto´s government botched the investigation, and relatives of the victims are looking to Francis for help in getting to the truth.

“The pope … is coming to see how institutions have

sought to forget the case of our children and leave it in impunity. He will see how drug gangs have infiltrated the government,” said Meliton Ortega, whose son Mauricio is among the 43.

So far, the remains of just one of the students has been positively identified from charred bone fragments the government says were recovered from a garbage dump in the restive state of Guerrero in southwest Mexico.

A team of international experts probing the case has rejected the government’s version of events.

Relatives of the students

People walk past a banner with a photo of Pope Francis outside a store before of his visit to Mexico City, Mexico February 7, 2016. (REUTERS/Henry Romero) ► Continued on page XXV

Chronicle Pepperpot February 14, 2016

Decrying graft, Pope Francis to tour poor, violent ... ◄ From page XXIV will be among those attending a Mass the pope will say in Ciudad Juarez, on the border with Texas, which was for several years one of the world’s most violent cities.

He will also celebrate Mass with indigenous communities in Mexico’s poorest state, Chiapas, speak with young people in Morelia, the capital of violence-torn Michoacan state, and visit prison inmates in Ciudad Juarez.

There is no private meeting planned between the students’ relatives and the pope, although such encounters are often organised at the last minute.

Ahead of his visit, which begins on Friday, Francis urged Mexicans to battle against corruption and drug gang violence.

“The Mexico of violence, the Mexico of corruption, the Mexico of drug trafficking, the Mexico of cartels, is not the Mexico our Mother wants,” the pope said in a video released by the Vatican last week, referring to Our Lady of Guadalupe, who Roman Catholics venerate as the patroness of Mexico.

“Of course I don’t want to cover up any of that. On the contrary, I exhort you to fight every day against corruption, against trafficking, against war, against division, against organised crime, against human smuggling.”

Pena Nieto’s government has drawn criticism for failing to go after corrupt politicians,

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even those indicted in the United States. He, his wife and his finance minister have all been embroiled in conflict-of-interest scandals over houses purchased from government contractors.

Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, said the Pope wants to visit parts of Mexico a pontiff had not visited before, and that the Mass in Ciudad Juarez “is a symbol of his concern for migrants”.

Illegal immigration is a major issue in the U.S. presidential election campaign with Republican hopeful Donald Trump vowing to put up a wall along the border if he is elected and forcing Mexico to pay for it.

“The Mass is being intentionally held right on the border so that it will be visible from both sides,” Lombardi said. “It´s a fence, it´s not a Chinese wall.”

The Vatican expects a crowd of at least 200,000 on the Mexican side and of 50,000 on the U.S. side.

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New app helps young Iranians avoid ... XXIII â—„ From page

Chronicle Pepperpot February 14, 2016

Iran's population, use Telegram, a messaging app with a focus on privacy and security.

Many young Iranians hope the lifting of the nuclear-related sanctions last month will be accompanied by an easing of cultural restrictions, particularly if an election on Feb. 26 ushers in a more moderate legislature.

But hardliners in the establishment have moved to block any relaxation of the Islamic Republic's social rules, warning of the "infiltration" of Western culture. Thousands of moderate and reformist candidates have been barred from standing in the elections.

SECURITY Gershad's interactive map at times shows dozens of checkpoints in Tehran and other Iranian cities but also flags checkpoints in London and Los Angeles, showing the potential unreliability of data provided by an online community.

Some Iranians have expressed concern on social media about Gershad's digital security in a country where the authorities frequently arrest social media users for sharing what they regard as "immoral" or "subversive" content.

The developers said they were working to better detect false reports. They said their servers were based outside Iran and that they do not collect user information when users report checkpoint locations.

Gershad's website says it uses Psiphon, a Canadian-made app designed to circumvent censorship. Psiphon co-founder Michael Hull said his company's technology allows users in Iran to open an encrypted connection to Gershad's servers outside the country, making their activity harder to block or detect.

"Once they have that tunnel, the traffic that's going back and forth is just mixed in with the rest of the Psiphon network," Hull said.

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n lieu of the current Budget Debates currently occurring in Guyana's Parliament, it begs the questions, where do I fit in? I seem to be purchasing brands from cosmetic companies worth more than my own country's GDP. How much should I spend on a makeup artist, and why?

In the world of beauty, it really does boil down to perspective. What's pretty in one facet may be unattractive in another. It's imperative that you choose your makeup artist according to your needs and wants, not how professional they are, how pretty their skin is, whether they seem saner that the other one or not - it's really about you and your needs.

The current Guyana Budget 2016, is one designed for the people of Guyana, by the people of Guyana, and it's the people's representatives who debate whether it's a valid, plausible and feasible one that satisfies the needs of the entire population.

The beauty industry in the same sense, is a multi-billion

dollar industry, and globally represents, changes, and is defined by the consumer. Products change as seasons change, and as celebrities try new trends people too are influenced and dare to follow the fad. By the way, the “multi- billion” means US currency, and so because U.S. currency is among the top traded currencies, I will refer to all prices and fees in US currency.

A makeup artist's kit matters. However, skill supersedes what product the Makeup Artist owns. There were too many occasions where I, as a professional makeup artist, had to apply makeup with make-shift, cheap brands, just to help someone about to hit a stage or make a TV appearance. It's not easy to work with those products, but a good makeup artist makes it work. Just don't expect to look like a celebrity!

Celebrity Makeup Services can amount to over $7,000. Yikes!

So how much should you pay? The mean figure is $100.

Most makeup artists, depending on skill, experience, and accessibility can charge between $50-$150. The most sought after makeup artists range from $250 and up.

It's recommended that trainees accept at least $50 and up.

Why? Because of the price of products.

Makeup can easily cost between 100-300 dollars on proper product. And Makeup Artists easily have to spend 10 times the amount since they have to cater to about 10 different faces. They must have a variety of eyeliners, mascaras, eye shadows, foundations, etc. And any good professional Makeup Artist must rely on several brands to effectively provided The Look their clients’ desire.

Remember the first thing people notice about a person is their face, it's no wonder smiles are so engaging. And as Harry Winston said "People will stare, make it worth their while" Invest in your individuality.

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The Beauty Budget Debate How much does a Professional Makeup Artist really cost?

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Three cockroaches squeeze though a 3mm crevice under a room door at different stages of traversal, in this undated handout photo courtesy of PolyPEDAL Lab, UC Berkeley. Scientists said on Monday they have built a prototype searchand-rescue robot, inspired by the cockroach.

Chronicle Pepperpot February 14, 2016

Snug as a bug: the hated cockroach inspires a helpful robot (Reuters) People use a lot of words to describe the reviled cockroach: disgusting, ugly, sneaky and repulsive, to name a few. But it may be time to add a surprising new one: inspirational.

Scientists said on Monday they have built a small search-and-rescue robot, inspired by the ability of cockroaches to squeeze through tiny crevices, designed to navigate through rubble to find survivors after natural disasters or bombings.

"We feel strongly that cockroaches are one of nature's most revolting animals, but they can teach us important design principles," University of California, Berkeley integrative biology professor Robert Full said.

Using a specially built obstacle course, the researchers observed how cockroaches scurried in less than a second through crevices smaller than a quarter of their height by compressing their jointed exoskeletons in half.

Once inside the crevice, the cockroaches managed to move rapidly, at nearly 20 body lengths per second, with their legs splayed completely out to their sides.

"If you scale it up to the size of a human, it would be equivalent to about 70 miles per hour (113 kph), over twice the speed of the fastest sprinter," said Harvard University biologist Kaushik Jayaram, who worked on the research while at UC-Berkeley.

The researchers said the cockroaches were

about a half inch (13 mm) tall when they ran freely, but compressed their bodies to about a 10th of an inch (2.5 mm) to get through cracks.

Experts have been studying animal locomotion in order to invent robots that can maneuver in tough environments.

For example, sidewinder rattlesnakes inspired a serpentine robot.

"Nature has a library of design ideas. This diversity enables discovery.

You never know where basic research will lead.

The most important discoveries are often from the most unexpected creatures, some of which are disgusting," Full added.

The observations involving the species Periplaneta americana, the American cockroach, inspired the design of a prototype soft-bodied, multilegged robot called CRAM (Compressible Robot with Articulated Mechanisms) that in the future could be used in swarms to help locate survivors in collapsed structures.

The simple and inexpensive robot, 7 inches (18 cm) long, 3 inches (7.6 cm) tall and weighing 1.6 ounces (46 grams), was constructed using an origami-like manufacturing technique, Jayaram said.

It can reorient its legs and compress its body like a cockroach to get through "vertically confined spaces," Jayaram added.

T h e re s e a rc h w a s published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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World's top scientists pledge to share all findings to fight Zika (Reuters) Thirty of the world's leading scientific research institutions, journals and funders have pledged to share for free all data and expertise on Zika to speed up the fight against an outbreak of the viral disease spreading across the Americas.

"The arguments for sharing data and the consequences of not doing so (have been) ... thrown into stark relief by the Ebola and Zika outbreaks," said a statement issued by signatories from around the world.

Specialists welcomed the initiative, saying it showed how the global health community had learned crucial lessons from West Africa's Ebola epidemic, which killed more than 11,300 people and saw scientists scrambling to conduct research to help in the development of potential treatments and vaccines.

Zika, a viral disease carried by mosquitoes, is causing international alarm as an outbreak in Brazil has now spread through much of the Americas.

"In the context of a public health emergency of international concern, there is an imperative on all parties to make any information available that might have value in combating the crisis," the signatories wrote.

Much remains unknown about Zika, including whether it may cause birth defects or other neurological problems.

Brazil is investigating a potential link between Zika infections and some 4,000 suspected cases in newborn babies of microcephaly, a condition in which an abnormally small head size

can result in developmental problems.

Medical and scientific research teams around the world have stepped up efforts to find out more about the disease, including how vaccines or treatments might be developed to fight it.

Mark Woolhouse, a University of Edinburgh professor of infectious diseases, said the open sharing of data commitment was "one of the most welcome developments" he'd seen in decades.

"If acted upon, this declaration will save lives," he said.

Signatories to Wednesday's agreement to share the fruits of that research included the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Health Organization (WHO), France's Institut Pasteur, the UK Academy of Medical Sciences and the Wellcome Trust global health charity.

Scientific journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine, Nature, Science and The Lancet, pledged to Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust and a signatory of the statement, said research is an essential part of the response to any global health emergency.

"This is particularly true for Zika, where so much is still unknown about the virus, how it is spread and the possible link with microcephaly," he said.

Trudie Lang, a professor and director of the Global Health Network at Britain's Oxford University, said that if data is shared more, "questions can be

answered faster".

"This agreement is a very important step... and it is excellent to see the lessons we learnt from Ebola being put into place," she said.

A health technician analyzes a blood sample from a patient bitten by a mosquito at the National Institute of Health in Lima, Peru, February 2, 2016.

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Wildlife Enthusiasts

A

thoughtful person once said “When you love someone you protect them from the pain, you don’t become the cause of it.” This, sadly, is seldom a reality in human interaction with wildlife; the very things we should cherish are often misused and abused or even neglected. Wildlife provides invaluable service for health and well-being and should be cared for. Fortunately,the Wildlife Management and Conservation Regulations (2013) afford some protection to several of our wildlife species. We continue from last week’s focus on wildlife as we shed some more light on the protected species of Guyana. In last week’s article, we have established that,wildlife classified as ‘protected, may not be collected, held in captivity, hunted, killed or otherwise molested.

Depending on the level of threat, wildlife may be given a status and classified as Critically Endangered, Endangered or Vulnerable etc. This classification is based on criteria from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Such Wildlife is protected throughout the whole Guyana at all times. Therefore a person who commits an offence by collecting, holding in captivity, hunting, killing or otherwise molesting wildlife is liable, to penalty specified in paragraph E of the third Schedule - a fine of not less than seventy five thousand nor more than five hundred thousand dollars and imprisonment for six months (WMR, 2013).

Further, in the interest of wildlife management and maintenance of biodiversity, an area may be classified as a wildlife conservation area. Such an area may contain threatened species or one or more protected species and may often be in need of actions to reverse the conditions which lead to such classification. No one must collect any wildlife in a classified area except they were granted a Special Wildlife License. A Special Wildlife License may be issued to allow wildlife to be hunted, kept or confined in captivity, for the purpose of scientific research; collection of wildlife for zoological parks or botanical gardens, museums and similar institutions; or any other purpose that the Environmental Protection Agency may deem appropriate.

Make a pledge to love all wildlife today!

Share your ideas and questions by sending letters to: “Our Earth, Our Environment”, C/O EIT Division, Environmental Protection Agency, Ganges Street, Sophia, GEORGETOWN, or email us at: eit.epaguyana@gmail.com or you can contact the Agency on 225-5467-9. Also check out our facebook page, Environmental Protection Agency-Guyana.

Chronicle Pepperpot February 14, 2016

CONSUMER CONCERNS:

Pat Dial

50th Year of Independence: Rebirth of Garden City and Successful Drainage

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he celebration of the 50th year of Guyana's Independence is fast approaching and much good work is being done in cleaning up the City of Georgetown. On the occasion of the celebrations, thousands of Guyanese from the Diaspora who had never visited their homeland for many decades will be ingathering and we hope to accord them a fitting welcome. Our capital city will again regain its pristine glory and downtown has gone a far way in this direction.

A few weeks ago, this column reminded the organizers of the "City clean-up campaign" of the importance of the quick removal of the vagrants from the streets and pavements. This week we would like to address the theme of the trees of the City and the drainage, especially of the outlying areas east of Kitty and south of Albouystown's Independence Boulevard.

Old Georgetown had the enviable reputation of being the Garden City of the West Indies. Trees were planted along the main roadways under the guidance of horticulturists and were always cleaned and kept free of parasites, trimmed and kept in good condition by the Town Council. Each street had its own type of trees. In Main Street, for example, there were stately Samaans, in Camp Street there were the blazing red flamboyants so memorably captured in Sharples' water colours, in Upper Hadfield Street there were the Mora trees, in Broad Street two columns of stately cabbage palms, one on each side of the street ran from the Le Repentir Cemetery's gate to Saffon Street. Brickdam, the City's most famous street, ran from Vlissingen Road across the City and was planted on either side with rare or little known trees, some of them exotic.

The trees were never allowed to become too tall so as to maintain a pleasing symmetry in the skyline. And dead or diseased trees were promptly replaced. All trees were tagged with permanent metal plaques stating their common names as well as their botanical names and some class teachers in the primary schools had their classes study the names and â–ş Continued on page XXXII

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50th Year of Independence: Rebirth of Garden City and Successful Drainage â–ş From page XXXI descriptions of the trees as part of their Nature Study. A few of these metal plaques still survive.

Many trees of 19th and 20th century Georgetown still survive and some semblance of the tree lined streets could still be restored as far as practicable, taking into account the parking needs for motor vehicles. In this exercise, the advice and guidance of the Police Traffic Department, a horticulturist and interested NGO's could be sought.

Greater effort should be concentrated on the "newer" outlying parts of the City (Greater Georgetown) such as Subryanville, University Gardens and Sophia and other districts east of the Old City as well as districts to the south such as Ruimveldt. Old Georgetown could provide the newer areas with much useful information and guidance in tree-planting.

Old Georgetown, despite never using pumps, and depending wholly on its drainage infrastructure and natural drainage, successfully got its excess water to the river. Flooding of the city was very rare. Today, after a heavy shower, the City is flooded. If the drainage system were cleaned and maintained, there would be no flooding. This means clearing the small feeder-drains of silt and debris and an occasional blow-out by the Fire Service. The bigger "collector canals" have been cleaned in the current "Cleanup Campaign" but the kokers need to be cleared and repaired and competent Koker operators need to be appointed. The outfalls in the River need to be dredged.

In passing, it should be mentioned that the excess earth dug from the canals and drains could be used to build up the low parapets, and more important, to build up the road shoulders. Many main roads or parts of those roads do not have shoulders so the sides of the roads keep breaking away causing their quick deterioration. This disastrous situation could be seen in upper Brickdam, in parts of Camp Street and in North Road in the vicinity of the Bourda Market.

Many of the newer districts east of the Old City depend on pumps to drain them but there is almost always flooding after a moderate shower of rain. The main reason for this is because, first, the small cross-drains which are almost all earth drains are clogged and silted up; secondly, the culverts, wherever they exist are clogged or even broken; and lastly, many of the parapets are of the same level as the road and this allows water from the clogged drains to flow unimpeded to the road.

The drainage of these areas could be quickly brought under control if it is tackled area by area rather than to attempt to deal with the whole large area. For example, if Subryanville were a pilot project, it could be drained in a few days: Firstly, the largely mud drains of the five streets of the area could be cleaned by a small dragline in a matter of two days, Guyana Water Inc being asked to temporarily remove the water pipes going over the drains so that the dragline could work rapidly. The mud from the drains could be used to immediately build up the parapets.

The culverts could then be cleared or repaired in a week.

Subryanville would then be adequately drained. And the same could be repeated for other contiguous districts.

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Bollywood Movie Review:

Fitoor

By Shilpa Jamkhandikar

(Reuters) For a film supposedly based on Charles Dickens‘ “Great Expectations“, director Abhishek Kapoor seems to have started reading the book before abandoning it halfway.

Kapoor’s adaptation begins with the story of Pip, Estella and Miss Havisham, but tapers into a narrative about unrequited love, complete with a Bollywood ending.

To Kapoor’s credit, his vision is ambitious and “Fitoor” (Obsession) has the look of a brooding, sweeping romance that transcends time and, at times, the realities of the era in which it is based.

Kashmir replaces the marshlands, and Hazrat Begum (Tabu) is the Miss Havisham of this tale. Pip is Noor Nizami, a wisp of a boy who lives with his sister and her husband and paints in his spare time.

Katrina Kaif is Firdaus, the ice maiden who thaws and freezes again depending on circumstances.

Noor grows up adoring Firdaus, in spite of the Begum’s many attempts to play with his emotions and scuttle young love. He spends his days pining for her, until an unknown benefactor sponsors him for an art program that will propel him into Delhi’s hallowed art circles and, more importantly, into the same social circles that Firdaus inhabits.

But even that doesn’t seem to move Firdaus, who is unable to muster up the courage to escape from the Begum’s all-encompassing presence.

Meanwhile, Noor goes from besotted to obsessed

with Firdaus, almost channeling the hero of another classic English novel – the notorious Heathcliff.

Actor Aditya Roy Kapoor broods, sulks and rants, and sometimes it is difficult to tell one from the other.

T h e d i re c t o r a n d co-writer Supratik Sen reduce Magwitch’s role (the benefactor in Great Expectations) to a twoscene cameo and dilute a lot of the book’s other underlying themes, including Pip’ attitude to his sudden fortune. What “Fitoor” does focus on is the individual hand of the Begum, dictating all that Noor and Firdaus do, just as Miss Havisham haunts Pip and Estella.

And fittingly, it is Tabu who steers this film with a supremely confident performance, holding you captive right till the end.

“Kya dil toota hai tumhara” (How your heart has broken), she tells Noor in what is one of the film’s finest lines, as she surveys what is supposed to be his best artwork. And just like that, Noor goes from a

confident artist to a pining lover who will do anything to get Firdaus back.

The other star of “Fitoor” is cinematographer Anay Goswamy, whose gorgeous frames capture the desolate snowy landscape of Kashmir and the ice-cold interiors of Delhi’s art galleries with equal panache. It is Goswamy’s frames that lend “Fitoor” its grandeur and scale.

Thank God for these two, because “Fitoor” is saddled with two of Bollywood’s most limited actors. They try to come out of their comfort zone and play their parts, but fail miserably. Kaif looks ethereal, but is one-toned and static in most of her scenes. Kapoor as Noor is equally awkward, often overdoing the emotional scenes. Together, Noor and Firdaus do not have the power to endear you to their romance, and it is largely because of them that “Fitoor” feels hollow and superficial.

If only the director had got his main leads right, perhaps this would have been a different film.

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BFFs no more: Kanye West, Taylor Swift feud over his 'Famous' song (Reuters) Looks like Taylor Swift and Kanye West are never, ever getting back together.

Just six months after two of the biggest names in music publicly put a long-running feud behind them, the "1989" pop star and the rapper have fallen out again over West's claim in a new song that he made Swift famous.

"I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex, I made that bitch famous," rapped West, while unveiling his new single "Famous" on Thursday to an online audience of some 20 million.

The fallout came four days ahead of the Grammy awards ceremony in Los Angeles, where Swift has seven nominations and will be the opening performer. West has four nominations.

West's new song referred to an infamous 2009 MTV Video Music Awards (VMA) incident in which he snatched the microphone from Swift during her acceptance speech and declared that Beyonce should have won.

West, who is married to reality television star Kim Kardashian, and Swift put that to rest at the VMA show in August when she presented him with an lifetime award and praised his talents.

West later sent Swift dozens of white roses and she called him her BFF (Best Friend Forever).

West said on Friday that Swift, whose "1989" album was the world's best seller in 2014, had approved the lyrics to "Famous."

"I did not diss Taylor Swift and I’ve never dissed her," West said in a string of Twitter postings. He tweeted that Swift came up with the idea for the song and that she thought the line "was funny and gave her blessings."

But the country-turned-pop star denied it and called West a misogynist.

"Kanye did not call for approval, but to ask Taylor to release his single 'Famous' on her Twitter account," Swift's representative said in a statement. "She declined and cautioned him about releasing a song with such a strong misogynistic message. Taylor was never made aware of the actual lyric, 'I made that bitch famous.'"

Swift's brother, Austin Kingsley Swift, responded to the song by posting an Instagram video of himself throwing a pair of West's Yeezy brand of sought-after fashion shoes into the trash.

West is due to perform on TV sketch show "Saturday Night Live" this weekend to promote his new album "The Life of Pablo." It was not clear on Friday whether he would attend the Grammys on Monday.

Taylor Swift presents the Video Vanguard Award to Kanye West at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles, California, August 30, 2015.

Clooney says refugee crisis is huge, U.S. Muslim ban won't happen (Reuters) George Clooney said on Friday the refugee crisis is bigger than the headline-grabbing exodus from Syria and Iraq, and he believes Americans "will do the right thing" by rejecting Donald Trump and calls to ban Muslims entering the United States.

Clooney spoke to Reuters on the same day he and his wife, the human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin Clooney, met German Chancellor Angela Merkel behind closed doors at the chancellery to discuss the refugee issue.

The Clooneys were in the German capital for the international premiere of "Hail, Caesar!", in which Clooney has a starring role and which opened the Berlin International Film Festival on Thursday.

"For me the refugee crisis is not just the Syrian refugees," Clooney told Reuters.

"You know there's still IDPs (internally displaced people) and refugees in South Sudan, in Darfur, that’s still millions of people and they are still dying.

"So it's really all over the world – 60 million displaced people right now in the world – it's just a terrible, terrible time for it," he added.

Clooney, who was challenged at a press conference on Thursday by questioners who urged him to use his public prominence to do more to help end the refugee crisis, said he is not afraid to speak out on controversial subjects.

"I can talk about Darfur or I can talk about other things without having to worry about the political implications," he said.

Asked about Trump, who has called for banning Muslims and building a border wall to block illegal Mexican immigrants, Clooney said he thought Americans would eventually do the right thing.

"I always have to caution people when they watch American politics. We go a little crazy during the political season and it’s a very long season," Clooney said, adding: "I think it was Winston Churchill said, ‘You can always count on Americans to do the right thing -- after they have exhausted every other possibility’. So you know it's all going to be fine it’s just going to take us a minute."

Josh Brolin, Clooney's co-star in "Hail, Caesar!",

said he thought that while Trump's ideas may appeal to people who want a quick fix, he did not think they were realistic.

"There is something about the American psyche that defined us as anybody can do anything – isn't that the whole American definition, is anybody can become anything?

"That's what we prided ourselves on but at the same time – 'anybody can do anything' – that's also, you look at it, and it's like this is a scary prospect."

German Chancellor Angela Merkel receives actor George Clooney and his wife Amal (2nd R) in the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, February 12, 2016, to discuss the policy on refugees and the work of the International Rescue Committee.