Pepperpot 04 24 2016

DIVYA

YABINDRANAUTH

–Tuschen girl eyes Miss Guyana title ► CENTRE

Samuel Maughn photo

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Chronicle Pepperpot April 24, 2016

WHAT IF? Realisation Of The Dream Before The Road To Brazil & Preparing To Hit The (Cattle) Trail THIS past week our Media and Communications representative, Amanda Wilson - a journalist and filmmaker - put out an open call to artists around to globe to be a part of “The Maroon Sculpture Walk, Yukuriba Heights, Guyana” in which artists of all ages and nationalities are invited to be a part of the Caribbean’s first Sculpture Trail dedicated to the maroons of the Americas in this United Nations designated

Decade for People of African Descent.

Every sculpture along the trail will reflect maroon life.

The Maroon Sculpture Walk is dedicated to the memory of Philip Moore, the celebrated self-taught Guyanese artist who created our 1763 National Monument; Philip Moore used modern and traditional techniques to produce sophisticated, bold pieces that captured West African spirituality. The Sculpture Walk will bring

together a unique collection of original permanent artwork that marries art, history and conservation. It’s the initial project of The Philip Moore Artists’ Retreat a new creativity community in the Guyana, South American rainforest, the last of the tropical wilderness still considered pristine.

Now after all these years, that the time has come that Yukuriba is finally being launched, my reflection on all the attrition of these past decades has led me to wonder, ask the question, WHAT IF? What if I hadn’t screamed that day in the incident described in my first column, Letter From Yukuriba; Before The Road To Brazil (Reflections From My Rain Forest Journals).

I’ve often pondered: What if I

The unexamined life is not worth living -Socrates Capt. Roy with bow and arrow shooting fish between the Rocks in Yukuriba Falls

► Continued on page III

Chronicle Pepperpot April 24, 2016

III

WHAT IF? Realisation Of The Dream Before ... ► From page II

hadn’t decided that those intrepid Trails to Rupununi pioneers were just a bunch of New Columbuses? What if I hadn’t screamed, been more facilitating? Also, what was it at the time that informed my opinion of Terry Fletcher and his entire team? I’ve since concluded that it was mainly the attitude of Harban Singh (that was his name) who came charging through with the advance guard of Trail to Rupununi pioneers, symbolizing the very idea of “Capitalism Gone Mad.” Here again is an excerpt of the original story of my encounter with Harban Singh,

Lethem in ten days.

Capt. Roy Bowen (who grew in the area, who will talk endlessly when asked, and has talked to me on tape about the Kurupukari cattle trail and all the present-day Rupununi business men, ranchers, who had no other recourse but to walk their load on bull cows for miles...the old Kurupukari cattle-trail; about Art Williams and his transportation; great balata boat captains such as Captain Fanfare under whom he grew from small-boy boat-hand to become a certified river Captain himself; about the old order that’s changing, changing, and will irrevocably to transformed by this Road to Brazil), looked at the man and asked:

The disabled tractor being hauled up the slope by a Spanish winch and its operating team meet halfway already. . . .”

“You know …you see that man?”

“I fly over –” “Yes, you a man dealing with technology, I forget”.

At this point, I butt in to beg the man to listen to the people who lived there all

Two Kurupukari residents with the reluctant tractor on the trail above the river.

The village was not known as ‘Fairview’ at this time. first recorded almost thirty years ago, near the turn of the century.

March 16, 1987: A Red Letter Day; not just because it’s Phagwah Day The man sat in my cabin right here at the kitchen counter and said it: “Me going put down one long building from here to down there.”

Where? “Here, right here,” he said.

I didn’t mean to scream. But I had fried the fresh himmorah Brown had caught in a creek three miles away. I’d steamed some in cassareep and there was fresh cassava bread. Brown and I and Capt. Roy were going to sit down to a meal and some history. The man was down the hill in the logie with his crew of Road to Brazil builders, they had come in the afternoon with a tractor, a truck with food, and an idea that he would get to

“To Lethem in how much time?”

“Ten days!”

“Me brother, they have a thing name swamp. They have 52 miles...”

“Ten days!” The man snaps, stubborn as a mule.

“You alone or what?”

“Me and everybody.”

“Trucks too?”

“Truck…all” “You going to widen the bridges that too narrow, from Camoudi Creek, so the truck can pass over?”

“I going to widen them.”

“You going cross over the truck, the tractor, to Kurupukari? You going to float the pontoon?”

“Yes, straight to Surama and through to Lethem. Ten days. The boys at Surama cutting, coming through to meet me. They

their life. Look you have Capt. Bowen, Brown…listen, talk to them…you may learn something.

“I ain got to ask nobody nothing.

No, ten days to Lethem. I gotta get ► Continued on page IV

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Chronicle Pepperpot April 24, 2016

WHAT IF? Realisation Of The Dream Before ... ► From page II

there. I going”.

“Not even if they got ten Christ you ain gon mek dat, mih brother. It have a thing they call rainy season – it going to catch up with you – Anytime bush

cut and grow back in this bush it have a thing name hold-me-back-plimpla guana tail; hirihiri bali… whatever you want to call it – thick, thick, thick… you going stall-up. Then you gon start again next

year to clear again, and you have the swamp to divert and . . .” …Capt. Roy, still trying to convince the man.

“Ten days. . . I gotta get there, I going”.

But why, why such un-

Yukuriba Heights Media and Communications representative Amanda Wilson on Yukuriba Falls

healthy haste? I wondered, I asked.

“Brazil need port” the man said and then – “Me go put down one abattoir at Kurupukari”.

But what about the people who are already at Kurupukari? What about Capt. David Andries and his family? A dynastic family, at Kurupukari since 1933?

“They going to work for me – “One saw mill at. . .

“One paper mill at. . .

“One peanut factory at. . .

“One long building from down there to down here!” ...there we were ready for a quiet evening, good food, good talk; cassette recorder all set and ready for an after-meal session of oral history when – A rumbling sound coming through the forest.

“Vehicle!” Brown said

sitting up.

After a while there it was – a faint rumbling that grew and grew to a rush, then a roar coming through the forest.

“Big one,” Brown said.

“More than one big one,” he added.

I ran to the front of the cabin, alarmed. Whatever it was sounded like the advent of doom, as if it would huff and puff right through the bush, up the hill, and blow my cabin clear into the river. I saw a land rover first, then a bulldozer, then a skidder; in that order. I saw the man standing triumphantly waiting, welcoming the confusion in my life. Then, smiling up at me – “We going to make a movie, Joan”.

I put on the siren in my throat, opened my lungs and screamed that day, but what if I hadn’t screamed?

What if I did not conclud-

ed that the Road To Brazil crew’s raison d’etre was only about pelf and self and not at all about the inspiration, the challenges of discovery associated with conquering new frontiers to the future, as their vanguard member Harban Singh communicated?

Harban Singh was a significant part of that phase in which The Trail to Rupununi team was preparing to move along, launching the pontoon that sat abandoned beside The Old Kurupukari Cattle Trail. They winched the pontoon from the left bank across the river and eventually moored it safely on the right bank where it could be utilized to ferry the tractor back across to the left bank; the cattle trail, and the Fair View Village community location. The tractor however, had had enough of that; it broke down the moment it got onto firm ground on a slope above the river bank.

Now the team had to put their heads together once again...come up with a strategy to move the tractor to a safer level up the slope.

They devised a “Spanish Winch” with “round wood” and rope; their sights were now fixed on their destination...the Brazilian border town, Lethem.

Chronicle Pepperpot April 24, 2016

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Charting a new course -Annalee Davis appointed Caribbean Arts Manager

By Dominique Hunter BARBADIAN independent visual artist and director of the Fresh Milk Art Platform Inc., Annalee Davis, was recently appointed Caribbean Arts Manager by the British Council Americas. This new post was created after the Council recognized the need to establish a mutually beneficial relationship between the UK and the Caribbean through the exchange of art and culture. More specifically, emphasis will be placed on project building in countries where the Council already has a physical presence, as they forge ahead with plans to establish networks with other countries within the region.

The British Council is a cultural relations organization that creates opportunities for persons worldwide to share their expertise on

ANNALEE DAVIS

charting innovative solutions for sustaining cultural exchange. With art as the cornerstone of their mission, the Council is constantly working towards creating a friendly environment where knowledge of the creative sectors between the two regions could be appreciated and developed even further.

Since its establishment in 1934, the British Council has (through various programmes) done work in over 100 hundred countries, connecting millions of people worldwide.

In fact, between the years 2014 and 2015 the Council has connected almost 13 million people, with an additional 4.7 million being connected via broadcast media. On average, the Council organizes about 500 exhibitions and events every year, spanning a diverse selection of creative disciplines including literary, performance and visual arts.

Following her appointment in this new

role as Caribbean Arts Manager, Davis has been liaising with British Council art colleagues from Bogotá, Colombia; the UK in Belfast, Glasgow, Cardiff and London; Havana, Cuba; Kingston, Jamaica; and Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago. Speaking on her experiences thus far, Davis had the following to say: “One month in to the post and I have enjoyed meeting an amazing team of arts experts in Bogotá and across the UK with Luisa Michelsen, my counterpart from Lima. The British Council has an inspiring band of smart, passionate staff doing fantastic work in all of the Arts. My induction trip included seeing the best of British Dance at the British Dance Edition ► Continued on page VI

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Chronicle Pepperpot April 24, 2016

Charting a new ... ► From page V

Fresh Milk Art Platform Inc. located in Walkers Dairy St. George Barbados

in Cardiff, experimental music in Belfast, a dramatic work performed in a church converted into a theatre in Glasgow and the screening of a queer film in Parliament in London! My Caribbean induction includes the launch of Cuban dancer Carlos Acosta’s first season of dance in his newly formed company, Acosta Danza, in Havana, the launch of Calabash in Kingston and the Bocas Lit Fest in Port of Spain. It feels like an enormous privilege and honour to engage with all of these very talented artists and to have the opportunity to shape an arts strategy for the British Council in the Caribbean. I am excited about being able to create visibility for creatives working on both sides of the pond and to bring some of the best talent from the UK and the Caribbean together will be thrilling!”

Davis is the founding director of the Fresh Milk Art Platform Inc., a not for profit artist-led initiative located on a working dairy farm and former sugar cane plantation that nurtures the creative practices of local, re-

gional and international contemporary artists.

She lectures part-time in the BFA program at the Barbados Community College, and is on the board for ARC Magazine. Davis is also the co-founder of Caribbean Linked (an annual three-week residency program in Aruba that is geared towards connecting emerging artists within the region). In addition to her work on those platforms she has also co-developed the framework for Tilting Axis, a traveling project that supports the development of the Caribbean’s creative infrastructure.

Davis received her BFA from the Maryland Institute, College of Art and an M.F.A. from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. She has been actively producing and exhibiting her work regionally and internationally since the early nineties, with a range that has been expanded to include installation, video, sound work, printmaking, drawing and painting.

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

Chronicle Pepperpot April 24, 2016

VII

What does marijuana do to us?

HELLO Everyone, I hope this week has been kind to you all. I recently got an opportunity to do street interviews for a television show that’s coming up (will keep you updated on that) and found out a few opinions of the average Guyanese. A popular one is that Marijuana (weed) is not a drug; that it’s not bad or harmful to individuals. Therefore, I’m going to talk about marijuana and its effects today.

First of all, what is a drug? It is any substance that alters your perception, mood, behaviour and thoughts. Marijuana is definitely a drug.

Marijuana is a class B drug (which means it is illegal to possess, give away or sell any amount) and is classified as a sedative and hallucinogen.

Marijuana is the most widely used illegal drug in the world. Yes, it is naturally occurring, coming from the cannabis plant but let’s not forget the alterations that can be made to it, especially if grown inside under lights.

Even if you obtain the most naturally grown marijuana, its main chemical is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC for short).

This is what makes you feel happy and relaxed. However THC can also cause hallucinations, which means it can alter your senses so you see and hear things that aren’t really there. Cannabis being safe because it’s natural is a myth- sorry to break it to you readers.

What are the signs and symptoms of smoking cannabis/weed?

A smoker will experience - Redness of the eyes - Dilated pupils - Dry mouth - Dizziness - Mood swings - Increase/decrease in appetite - Increase/decrease in sleeping patterns - Impaired motor skills/ slowed reaction time - Feelings of anxiety or paranoia These symptoms can happen within minutes of smoking and about 30 minutes after eating it. The high (depending on how much was consumed) can last anywhere between two to six hours.

What does marijuana/ cannabis/ weed do to us?

1. It affects how the brain works.

As I said, it causes hallucinations but also causes people to be anxious and at times,

paranoid. It makes it difficult for one to concentrate and therefore learn. It negatively affects memory as well as causes one to be less motivated.

2. It causes mental health problems.

Long term use of marijuana has been directly linked with the development of schizophrenia and depression. It has also been linked to suicidal thoughts.

3. It affects the body. Smoking cannabis, just like cigarettes, has been associated with lung diseases like lung cancer, bronchitis and tuberculosis. It can also increase heart rate and blood pressure. It has also been known to cause heart attacks or strokes in elderly heavy smokers. Studies have also shown that cannabis affects fertility which means having a child is much more difficult for a heavy smoker. Cannabis has also been linked with unhealthy weight fluctuations. A new smoker will more likely put on a lot of weight due to the “munchies” and a long-term, addicted smoker is likely to lose a lot of weight as food is no longer a priority. It has also been known to disturb sleep patterns just the same.

4. It causes lawful problems. Growing/Smoking marijuana is illegal in Guyana and is punishable by a monetary fine or jail in some cases. It can also cause car accidents as your motor skills and reflexes are compromised.

5. It causes monetary problems as the average smoker will consume more than once a day.

6. It can cause tolerance and withdrawal to the drug. Heavy smokers eventually need to smoke larger quantities in order to feel the same high. This is known as tolerance. Withdrawal is the physical and mental pain experienced when the drug is no longer obtainable. These two factors are the major signs of addiction to cannabis.

What are the risk factors for smoking marijuana? This means, what causes people to want to smoke?

Persons of any gender, age, ethnicity or socio-economic status can smoke and become addicted to marijuana. However, certain factors make it more likely.

- Poverty - Mental illness - Low education - Abuse in the home - Absent parenting - Stress - Peer pressure

Is marijuana a gateway drug?

The theory “gateway drug” means that using cannabis will cause the individual to use different and harder drugs. To be honest, this theory has been debated for years about its accuracy. However, I believe it to be true. I believe that individuals are more likely to drink and try other drugs if they already use marijuana.

Another debatable fact has been whether or not marijuana is addictive. I’m here to tell you that it definitely is. About 10% of marijuana users become addicted. It may not seem like a high number but I can’t even count the amount of people who come to see me at GPHC for marijuana

addiction.

If you feel like you have an issue with marijuana, you can come in to GPHC and see me personally. Just come in to the psychiatric department, ask for me and we can solve the problem together.

Thank you to everyone who has been writing in to caitlinvieira@gmail.com.

Please continue to do so and let me know what you would like to talk about. OR stop in and see me at Woodlands Hospital Outpatient Department. For issues with drugs/ alcohol – Monday’s at 4:30. General mental health issues- Wednesday’s at 4:30.

Say Yes to Life and No to Drugs!

Always!

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Chronicle Pepperpot April 24, 2016

By Subraj Singh

Ama Ata Aidoo’s Anowa

AMA Ata Aidoo is a Ghanaian playwright who focuses mainly on gender and postcolonialism in her plays. Her 1970 drama, Anowa, not only reflects both of these fields of study but seeks

to intertwine the two perhaps in order to show that gender issues and the postcolonial situation are often very much connected to each other – through her presentation of the protagonist,

Anowa.

The play is a significant one not only because of its focus on important themes that are relevant to African and Caribbean societies (in fact, all postcolonial societies) but also because

the play departs from the traditional European approach to theatre and is one of several works in a special area of theatre (including the plays of Derek Walcott and Dennis Scott) which uses traditional storytelling tropes and other aspects of African culture to create theatre. In a way, such playwrights write in an attempt to solve the many questions and problems that arose during colonialism and they also use the form of the plays they write, not just the words within the play, to accomplish their goals.

It is an important lesson that must definitely be taught to all students and practitioners of theatre.

The forms of theatre that emerged from Europe are not the only theatre-types available to us.

Aidoo’s play is rooted in African traditions and folklore and contains poetry, proverbs and the use of African musical instruments. The play also comprises of elders who narrate the story to the audience – in much the same way that in the ancient days, the older folk in the village would relate stories to the rest of the people.

Aidoo, however, does not stop there. She gives this elderly couple in the play the ability to function as a sort of chorus (in the same way the ancient Greeks used the chorus) to comment on the action and decisions of the main characters. Aidoo, by doing this, proves that employing theatre-techniques that are more traditional does not necessarily mean that one should entirely discard the features of Western theatre from one’s work.

If anything, she is able to fuse the African features of theatre along with the Western features and make their use stronger than if

(Pearson Education, 2004) the elderly couple were to just function solely as narrators or solely as the chorus.

The main subject of the elderly couple’s scrutiny is Anowa, the heroine of the play. Throughout the work, Anowa comes to stand for many things.

However, the one strand of interpretation that is most evident and, perhaps, most important is the way the playwright uses her life as a mirror for the events of Africa, slavery and the slave trade. The Anowa we see in the beginning of the play represents the idyllic beauty and purity of Africa before the arrival of the white man. Her marriage to the slave trader Kofi Ako makes an important

parallel between marriage, slavery and the postcolonial relationship between masters and slaves. The Anowa we come across at the end of the play, haggard, half-mad, dirty and ready to be discarded, in more ways than one presents her to be a symbol of both the slave and of African itself, after they have been exposed to the mindset of the colonialist, as represented by Kofi Ako and his actions.

The feminist stance of the play is revealed in this storyline as we watch Anowa move through life – from young, carefree girl, to hard-working wife, to a woman who has been wronged and takes action at the end, when it is already too late.

Chronicle Pepperpot April 24, 2016

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How to become a Professional Makeup Artist ANYONE can be their own Makeup Artist, but not everyone can turn it into a career.

Throughout my eight year career as a professional Makeup Artist, I've been asked this question umpteen times: "How do I become a Makeup Artist?"

As I always try to encourage makeup artists, especially in Guyana, I end up sharing and helping as much as I can. Although makeup artistry as a profession is very rewarding, it's also a very hard industry to break into.

You can't just obtain a degree or certificate, and automatically you're a makeup artist.

You have to earn your professional status

Just the other day, I had a young client who asked my price, someone who because of affiliation, I foolishly assumed she'd know, even though it was the first time we worked together. It wasn't until after the work was done, that she popped the question like any new client. She then proceeded to fret about cost. I apologized for my ignorance. However, in less than 15 seconds, she paid the exact amount in cold hard cash.

Don't let people make a mockery of you and your work. For someone who claimed to not have it, it somehow magically appeared.

There are many different conclusions that

through diligent extensive work. Your portfolio, time management skills, and talent must all be of the highest standards.

Connections and work affiliations must be made at all times. Networking and developing standards for yourself is important, and it's imperative to show up for all bookings and always perform your best.

Despite popular belief, makeup isn't like hair. Clients aren't going to show up every week just to get their makeup done, but they might go to a salon every week to just wash their hair.

Your clients are rare and sparse. Establishing contracts, and appropriate prices for your service is of the utmost importance.

Consider your expertise, and especially your makeup kit.

I was on the phone for over two hours a couple days ago, assisting and encouraging an aspiring Makeup Artist, when she asked me if it were economical to purchase the high end brand foundations for her makeup kit. Yikes!

It's imperative to think like a business person while pursuing your dreams. You have to know your market and the economy. You also have to be wise with your investment. The market always dictates prices, and I've said before that no makeup artist should charge less than US$40.

Everyone will try to beat your price down to the ground; ask any independent contractor. You have to be steadfast, and always act wisely.

can be drawn from that scenario, but I'll let your artistic juices flow.

Being a makeup artist is no easy task.

Like any other profession, you must be realistic, understand your value, and be industrious.

Clients don't fall from the sky, but you also can't please everyone.

As a makeup artist, you should constantly and consistently educate yourself, beyond YouTube videos. You're learning as a professional, there is hardly, if any, free education for professional makeup artists.

There are many self-training information and makeup tips available to help the average woman apply it on themselves. But if you want to learn to apply makeup on someone else, solve problems, as well as develop versatility, you have to study it. Buy books, attend workshops, and take counsel from other professionals.

Not all professional makeup artists attended a makeup or beauty school, but they all have one common denominator - ART! It's important to study the background and know where most celebrity, industry professionals got their start. From Pat McGrath to Joyce Bonelli, Mario Dedivanovic to Sam Fine, Arlene Villarule to Kerry Woolford, all calibre have either been artists, have studied art, and grew up in an artistic environment.

Therefore, who really decides whether a girl or boy applying makeup is indeed a professional, without a certificate? There are boards, companies, executives, who

determine whether you qualify. Once they have acknowledged your dedication and commitment, you're in! It goes beyond that supportive friend or family, popularity, talent and a certificate. All of those things are key factors in getting you underway. However it's

not the deciding factor.

Faith has worked wonders for my endeavours, and there are many goals still left to accomplish.

If it's truly a passion of yours to become a makeup artist, Godspeed!

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Chronicle Pepperpot April 24, 2016

Chronicle Pepperpot April 24, 2016

XI

XII

Chronicle Pepperpot April 24, 2016

What’s the point of stretching? are unable to lengthen and absorb this energy.

Does stretching reduce soreness?

There is no evidence that stretching helps to reduce or prevent a type of pain that can show up a day or two after exercising – also called delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS).

Researchers found that pre- or post-exercise stretching didn’t stop bothersome aches and pain. (The likely reason: Micro-tears in the muscle and surrounding connective tissue are to blame for soreness, which stretching won't repair.)

STRETCHING for sport and exercise improves flexibility, which increases the ability of a joint to move through its full range of motion; in other words, how far it can bend, twist and reach. Some activities, such as gymnastics, require more flexibility than others, such as running.

Different types of stretches Static stretch: Stretching a muscle to the point of mild discomfort and holding that position, typically for at least 30 seconds or longer.

Proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF): Methods vary, but typically PNF involves holding a stretch while contracting and relaxing the muscle.

Dynamic stretch: Performing gentle repetitive movements, such as arm swings, where one gradually increases the range of motion of the movement, but always remains within the normal range of motion.

Ballistic or bouncing stretches: Involves going into a stretch and performing bouncing or jerking movements to increase range of motion.

Most of the research on stretching has focused on static stretching; there is less evidence on other forms.

What happens when we stretch?

While the exact mechanics of what happens are not fully understood, regular stretching is thought to increase flexibility, both by making muscles suppler and by retraining the nervous system to tolerate stretching further. Flexibility from regular stretching gradually disappears once you stop stretching – typically after four weeks.

How much flexibility do I need?

It depends on your activity. The flexibility demands of a gymnast or a ballet dancer are clearly different to those of a runner. There is little to be gained for a jogger or runner from having the flexibility of a gymnast.

To generate power during exercise, the muscles and tendons store and release energy like a spring. Too much flexibility may reduce the muscle’s natural spring, which may be detrimental for activities involving running, jumping and sudden changes in direction, such as running, football or basketball.

Too little flexibility may increase the risk of muscle strain injury, as the muscles

Should I stretch before exercising?

Your decision to stretch or not to stretch should be based on what you want to achieve. If the objective is to reduce injury, stretching before exercise is not helpful.

Your time would be better spent by warming up your muscles with light aerobic movements and gradually increasing their intensity.

If your objective is to increase your range of motion so that you can more easily do the splits, and this is more beneficial than the small loss in force, then you should stretch.

For most recreational exercisers, stretching before exercise is therefore a matter of personal preference. If you like stretching, do it, and if you don’t like stretching, don’t do it.

Should I stretch after exercising?

There is some evidence that regular static stretching outside periods of exercise may increase power and speed, and reduce injury. The best time to stretch is when the muscles are warm and pliable. This could be during a yoga or pilates class, or just after exercising.

However, there is very limited evidence about specifically stretching after exercise.

Since people tend not to set aside one time to stretch and one time for other activities, I recommend that they stretch after exercise.

A post-exercise stretch will also slow down your breathing and heart rate, and bring the mind and body back to a resting state.

Chronicle Pepperpot April 24, 2016

XIII

From sewing ‘flour bag’ outfits to bridal dresses -The Vino Mattan story

“Flour bag was in style then. You used to make shirts and the word ‘flour’ used to be on the back. I also made short pants suits for my sisters out of the brown cotton material.”

Even before he did such work though, he often scanned thorough his mother’s wardrobe and other places she would keep her fabric, and took out her cotton sheets that she had packed away.

Once his mom, Latchpattie, left for Bartica to buy stocks for the little shop they owned, Vino would take out the sheets and make clothes for his sisters. Veeta, in particular, would put on anything that Vino sewed and then parade the streets of the village at 72 Miles, Potaro, where they grew up, for everyone to see.

Taking out his mother’s sheets always led to a thrashing for Vino, but his mother could not help but notice his passion and so began giving him fabric to work with.

“I was now getting the feel of the machine and I was excited. I was now devel-

that I cut. She was trying to figure out how I did it and I think this was when she realized this was going to be my profession. And I think this is something that was passed on to the family because all of my brothers and sisters know how to sew. But it was only me who took it up for a living.”

Today, Vino sews for males and females and there is absolutely no style that is too hard for him.

“My mother did not sew for males but I learned on my own. I learned to make pants by losing out one and putting it back together. I started sewing tailored suits for women but then I noticed that the cut is almost similar for gents, except that you won’t put in the extra shape,” Vino said, adding, “My mom taught me the basics but I developed the rest on my own. I wanted to study in the field but I never got the opportunity. The only things that I would stay away from are those intricate designs that only a machine can do.”

Among the complicated styles that Vino

Designer Verwin Vino Mattan

By Telesha Ramnarine AT age 10, while other boys were outdoors for a good game of cricket or something else, Verwin Vino Mattan stood beside his talented seamstress mom and observed how she skillfully cut her fabric to make garments.

Perhaps it is his mom’s example that developed in him a love for sewing, so much so that people took work to him when he was just about 12 years old. With his bare hands, he started sewing school uniforms for his friends and making garments for his siblings out of the flour bag that they got from the shops.

“The first thing I sew was a flour bag top for my sister.

In those days, you purchased the flour in a cloth bag and I cut up that and made an armless top for my sister with embroidery thread around the armhole.”

“I started by watching my mother cut fabric because I was always impressed with the cutting. She was a fantastic cutter,” Vino told the Chronicle in an interview a few days ago at his workstation, 253 Thomas Street, South Cummingsburg.

“The first thing I sew was a flour bag top for my sister. In those days, you purchased the flour in a cloth bag and I cut up that and made an armless top for my sister with embroidery thread around the armhole.

At his work station

With his sister Veeta who loved to ‘dress up’ in whatever he made as a child oping the art of cutting and she didn’t have fabric to give me to cut. I used to get bad licks for taking her cotton sheets. After a time though, she got fabric for me. So I can cut any style without a pattern. I developed that over the years.”

Vino, now 54, attended 72 Miles Government Primary and Secondary School, but while in Form Two, he told his mom that he felt the books were not for him, and that being behind the machine was really his interest.

“I started with the pleated school uniform that featured the low arm hole, V neckline, and pleat around the waist. When I finished sewing it, it was like the machine had done it. With needle and thread, and with my bare hands, this took me about three to four days to sew. I eventually worked and bought my own machine.”

While saving to purchase a second-hand machine, Vino was employed at Waveney’s Boutique where he gained experience with fabric.

“When I started sewing on the machine, I made a dress and my mother was surprised because she couldn’t cut the style

can master are those that have to do with wrapping and gauging. In fact, he said his specialty is sewing bridal gowns and dresses for the bridesmaids.

“In the past, I sewed for a top designer and my gowns were used on international pageants. I also do alterations on clothes with intricate designs in such a way that they look the same way afterwards.

“Some people bring bridal gowns that are too big or too long. It’s not just about cutting and hemming them back. You have to know how to get into the inside, alter it and close it up back so that it looks professional. Brides and bridesmaids are my specialty. I love sewing bridal gowns especially. I feel satisfied and accomplished.”

Vino’s advice to others in his field is as follows: “Don’t get into it because of the money or because someone who is doing it is doing well. You have to love it. It’s an art and if you don’t have love for it, you can’t master it. You also have to like dealing with fabric.”

He is married to Gomaty and they have three sons, Brandon, Daniel and Chad.

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What really does the EPA do to protect the environment?

LIKE many other countries there is an Agency in Guyana that deals with the protection of the environment.

But what really does the EPA do to protect the environment? Before we address this question, it is interesting to let you know that the EPA was actually established 20 years ago on

the 5th of June, 1996, World Environment Day. It was on this date, that the Environmental Protection Act (No 11 of 1996) was passed and it is this Act that called for an EPA to be set up.

In the first three years of the EPA being set up, there were just two Divisions with about twenty-five persons employed to conduct

its work. However, over the years, the EPA has gradually grown and today there are FIVE Divisions and close to a hundred persons conducting the Agency’s work.

The Administrative Division, supports the work of the FOUR technical Divisions within the EPA, through provision of the

materials, transportation, offices, salaries etc. Let’s take a brief look at what kinds of work is done by each technical Division: ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT AND PERMITTING DIVISION This Division deals with the environmental authorisation of projects in our country. Persons who wish to operate a project needs to apply for environmental authorisation from the EPA. Some examples of projects that must apply include fish rearing, certain types of farming and livestock rearing, gas stations, sawmills, lumber yards, rice mills, etc. Depending on how large the project is, the EPA will determine how it may affect the environment and will issue an environmental authorisation that states what measures must be put in place for a project to operate. In fact, prior to issuing the authorisation the EPA, usually requires that a project indicates, in an environmental management plan the measures it will take to operate, so as to minimize its impact on the environment. If the EPA finds this plan satisfactory, only then will it issue an authorisation. To verify that the plan provided by the project is adequate, Officers of the EPA will conduct visits to the project site, research etc.

ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT AND COMPLIANCE (EMCD) This Division responds to complaints or environmental issues that are causing harm to the environment or individuals. The response involves making site visits to assess the problem and to make recommendations to ensure proper environmental management procedures and standards are being followed. Also, the collecting of physical and biological samples from the environment are paramount.

You may be aware of the country-wide a ban being placed on the importation of Styrofoam. This is intended to move the country to a greener and more eco-friendly environs.

Also Litter Regulations was enacted which allows for

persons to be fined for littering and non-compliance.

To date, many persons who would have been found guilty of littering have been charged and fined. This work is being carried out by the Litter Enforcement Unit under the EMCD. EDUCATION, INFORMATION AND TRAINING This Division deals with raising awareness of environmental issues, targeting groups, schools, organizations, governmental and non-governmental entities and the general public. This is done through outreach, presentations, workshops, media and information materials.

BIODIVERSITY MANAGEMENT DIVISION This Division assists in the development of areas for conservation of nature which includes, ecosystems, and animals and plants, particularly those in the wild. The Division also issues Biodiversity Permits with specific conditions which allow researchers to conduct research and collects data to aid in the management of biodiversity. Persons wishing to conduct research must first apply for a Permit before they can proceed.

An important task of this Division is to advance the country’s pursuit of meeting its obligations under the United Nations Biodiversity Convention.

As such, the Division implements projects that result in the preparation of National Biodiversity Policies, Strategies, and Action Plans as well as Biodiversity Regulations, So this is the work of the EPA in a nutshell. We hope that it has piqued your interest to find out more about what we do.

“THE ENVIRONMENT IS EVERYBODY’S BUSINESS” You can 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.

Sunday

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XV

Nostalgia The ‘Big 2’ meet

On April 29, 1966, then Opposition Leader Dr Cheddi Jagan met with Prime Minister Forbes Burnham. The meeting lasted some 90 minutes and the two discussed a range of issues, including matters of national emergency, the release of detainees at Sibley Hall and key appointments in the Public Service and the Judiciary

Burnham with Arya Samaj devotees

Prime Minister Forbes Burnham hoists a flag at the American Aryan League headquarters on Vlissengen Road, Georgetown to celebrate the birth of the founder of the Arya Samaj, April 26, 1966

West Indies cricketers in England

Lady Luckhoo, wife of the Britiish Guiana Commissioner, greets Lance Gibbs at a reception held by the West Indian Offices in London on April 18, 1966 for the touring West Indies team in England. The reception took place at the Commonwealth Institute

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The classic smile Dr. BERTRAND R. STUART, DDS. A SIGNIFICANT portion of our population is supported in their habit of chronic dental neglect by unaffordable care despite the valiant effort by the government to provide almost free service.

Notwithstanding, perhaps an equal portion of our dentists’ population is now also suffering due to the elimination of rampant tooth decay by

widespread education, as is provided by this column.

The future and financial success of the profession is that supply of senior patients slowly decreases and disappears.

While the demand for restorative procedures may decrease, the supply of dental graduates is increasing. I believe that substantial decreases in fees will soon reach out to the enormous number of individuals who cannot now afford desired care.

The profession is now

focusing on completion of cosmetic treatments.

Artistic talent will always be required when the dentist takes out his high-speed drill. Combined efficiency of that instrument plus the options and permanence of new cosmetic products will hopefully ensure availability of affordable attractive smiles.

Those considering smile improvement will find that most, if not all, offices offer free cosmetic consultation. This is the case in the Unites States where, for example, only a few weeks

ago I visited a colleague, Dr. Cook in Coral Gables, Florida, in which he confirmed it. Patients considering cosmetic improvements should prepare by studying the characteristic features that contribute to design of an attractive smile, features that vary only slightly. I refer to such a smile as a “classic smile”.

Accept that perfectly aligned and shaped anterior teeth may appear quite monotonous, uninteresting, without the all-important characteristic incisal-edge

design. That biting edge of front teeth is critical to the character of an attractive smile. Proper tooth shape, size, and alignment are important, but the incisal edge that those teeth reveal is as cosmetically important as the smile’s other features. Shape and incisal edges of centrals and laterals furnish more character than do any other teeth. Length is best calculated by studying the existing centrals and the upper lip drawn to extreme by an exaggerated smile.

Features of the upper centrals, the two teeth at the middle of the dental arch, form a long contact as they meet, which contributes to their almost square shape. The adjacent teeth, the laterals, must also be a bit square. Only the canines (eye teeth) are roundish; it reveals a bolder look from its larger size and length. It extremely important how much longer centrals are than the laterals. The incisal edge of both must be flattish, not curved. The canine, a touch longer than the laterals, has an angled incisal edge that should be a touch rounded. A bit too long will furnish an undesirable Dracula-like look.

It might be best to request that your dentist who is being paid to do your smile makeover provides you with a few photos of before and after work he or she has done on previous patients and then compare their work with the tips I have given

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More evidence links heartburn drugs to serious kidney problems

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(REUTERS HEALTH) - PEOPLE taking common heartburn medications known as proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are at increased risk of new and severe kidney disease, according to a U.S. study.

Among hundreds of thousands of patients in Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) databases, new users of PPIs without kidney disease were 30 percent more likely to develop chronic kidney disease over the course of five years. Their risk of kidney failure was doubled.

PPIs like Nexium and Prevacid are prescribed to treat ulcers, heartburn and acid reflux and are some of the most effective forms of treatment available, the study authors write in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

PPIs were at significantly higher risk of new kidney problems compared to those taking H2 blockers.

The risk of a decline in kidney function was 32 percent higher for people taking PPIs and the risk of new cases of chronic kidney disease was 28 percent higher.

Patients taking PPIs were 96 percent more likely to experience end-stage renal disease - kidney failure - than those who took H2 blockers.

The risks also increased with the time that someone was taking PPIs, leveling off after about two years of use.

Because many PPIs are available over the counter, people may take them without the input of a doctor, Al-Aly said. He recommends limiting the use of over the counter

These drugs are generally viewed as safe and may be overprescribed and continued for long periods without being necessary, they note.

“We suggest judicious use of PPI, and that use be limited to when it is medically necessary and to the shortest duration possible,” said senior author Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly, associate chief of staff for research and education at the VA Saint Louis Health Care System.

The study team analyzed data in national VA databases on 20,270 people who had recently started taking PPIs. They compared this group to 173,321 people who had started taking H2 blockers, a group of drugs that reduce stomach acid by a different mechanism, blocking histamines in the stomach.

All patients were free of kidney problems at the start, and were followed for five years to see if their kidney function changed.

After adjusting for personal, social and economic factors as well as health conditions that could influence kidney disease risk, the study team found that people taking

PPIs to only times when it is necessary.

“If people find themselves taking over the counter PPI frequently, then a doctor consultation is definitely needed to determine best and safest options available to that patient,” Al-Aly told Reuters Health by email.

H2 blockers are much less likely to cause kidney problems but often aren’t as effective as PPIs, said Dr. David Juurlink, a clinical pharmacologist and drug safety researcher at the University of Toronto, said by email.

“For many patients, dietary modification (less fat and alcohol) would make acid-lowering drugs unnecessary and would impart other long-term benefits as well,” said Juurlink, who was not involved in the study.

“Patients should appreciate that, like all drugs, PPIs carry risk. The fact that they’re available over the counter doesn’t mean they’re safe,” Juurlink said. “People who take PPIs and are later found to have kidney problems should ask their physicians whether the drugs might be playing a role,” he advised.

Chronicle Pepperpot April 24, 2016

THE INSIDIOUS KILLER - PROTECT YOURSELVES

RECENTLY, the newspapers carried a report with a photograph showing a large number of neatly stacked boxes containing insecticides which had been seized from China Trading, a large recently-established Chinese business.

The goods had passed through the port without being examined and after the seizure, were duly destroyed.

This prompted members of our Committee to visit the markets and smaller shops where we

saw a large number of illegally-imported mosquito coils, liquid insecticides of various types as well as herbicides on offer. A few months ago, this column carried an article on the dangers to health of inhaling or otherwise ingesting insecticides. We therefore thought it necessary to carry another such article.

Most people still do not realize that breathing in the fumes of insecticides or having liquid insecticides or herbicides touch their skin would lead to such being ingested into

the body. Though such may cause immediate discomfort or even temporary sickness people need to understand that taking in such poisons into the body damages the lung and other parts of the respiratory system as well as the stomach and other parts of the digestive system. This often results in chronic illnesses or even the shortening of life.

Many of these insecticides which are smuggled from our neighbouring countries through our porous borders originate

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CONSUMER

CONCERNS:

from East Asia. Many are believed to have illegally come through the ports. These insecticides invariably do not con-

form to Guyanese or other Western standards and are dangerous to health.

These illegally imported insecticides are â–ş Contiuned on page XX

PAT DIAL

XX

THE INSIDIOUS ... â–ş From page XIX

usually attractively packed in colourful packaging. What makes them more insidious and dangerous is that they are often perfumed. For example, mos-

quito coils with dangerous chemicals far above the quantities permissible in the Guyana standards, often smell like incenses. And liquid insecticides and even herbicides are perfumed to give them a pleasant odour. Western

Chronicle Pepperpot April 24, 2016

manufacturers tend to have a slightly unpleasant or neutral odour to such products, a good example being the Bayer products such as Baygon.

To protect themselves from the dangers of pesticides, insecticides, rodenticides (rat poisons), weedicides and fertilizers, consumers and the general public should carefully read the instructions on the labels and also ascertain the country of origin of such products. If no country of origin is stated, don't go any further with such products. Having read the instructions, then carefully follow them.

To protect themselves from inhaling the fumes of such products, consumers are enjoined to use a piece of gauze or a towel or a handkerchief as a mask. Even when using an aerosol spray for a short time, use a mask. In handling liquid insecticides/herbicides, always use gloves and take care not to allow any of it to spill on the skin. If any of it gets on the skin, immediately wash it off using soap and the liberal use of water.

Cooking gas is now made with neutral odour. Avoid inhaling it and always keep kitchens where the gas cylinders are stored well-ventilated with windows open.

CONSUMER

CONCERNS:

Ensure the cylinders are securely turned off when retiring to bed. There are numerous cases, both in Guyana and abroad, where persons lost their lives from inhaling gas or becoming sick from gas poisoning.

Cooking gases are one of the perils of modern civilization since they have replaced wood or coal fires from chuhlas or coal pots.

The National Bureau of Standards and the Pesticide Board occasionally publish warnings about the dangerous brands of mosquito coils and pesticides. Cut out these advisories and keep as a reminder, or directly ask the Bureau or Pesticide Board for such lists. Consumers may also ask the Consumer Division of the Ministry of Business or the Guyana Consumers Association (GCA) for further advice.

GCA Email: patdial26@gmail.com

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XXI

Recreation of destroyed Palmyra arch unveiled in London

(REUTERS) A meticulous recreation

Johnson said: "this is an arch of triumph

of the 1,800-year-old Arch of Triumph

and in many ways a triumph of technol-

in Palmyra, Syria, destroyed by Is-

ogy and determination.

lamic State militants last year, has

"We're here in a spirit of defiance,

been erected in Trafalgar Square in

defiance of the barbarians who de-

what London Mayor Boris Johnson

stroyed the original ... as they have

called an act of defiance.

destroyed so many other relics in Syria

The 5.5-metre (20ft) model, two-

and the Middle East."

thirds the size of the original, was made

The United Nations cultural organi-

using 3D digital scanning technology

zation UNESCO calls Palmyra one of

and Italian marble.

the most important cultural centers of

london Mayor Boris Johnson speaks at the unveiling of a 5.5-meter (20ft) recreation of the 1,800-year-old Arch of Triumph in Palmyra, Syria, at Trafalgar Square in London, Britain April 19, 2016. (REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth) It was created by the Institute for

the ancient world.

Digital Archaeology (IDA), a joint

"From the 1st to the 2nd century, the

venture between Harvard University,

art and architecture of Palmyra, standing

the University of Oxford and Dubai’s

at the crossroads of several civilizations,

Museum of the Future.

married Greco-Roman techniques with

"Palmyra was the perfect example in its day of east/west cooperation and the

local traditions and Persian influences," it adds on its website.

arch symbolizes that as much today as it

The replica arch will stand in

did back then," said IDA director Roger

London for three days before going

Michel on Tuesday.

to Dubai, New York and ultimately

"No one should have the power to

back to Palmyra itself which was

delete such monuments from our his-

recaptured at the end of March after

torical record."

having been under the control of IS

Unveiling the monument, Mayor

for some 10 months

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At Israeli brewery, last sip of beer that Jesus might have drunk (REUTERS) A Jerusalem brewery has produced a craft beer with a taste it says dates back to the time of Jesus. A sip of the concoction may help explain why wine was the preferred sacred drink of the Bible.

Herzl Brewery, Israel’s smallest, took wheat that Tel Aviv University geneticists say was the strain used for beer in the Holy Land two millennia ago to produce 20 liters (five gallons) of “biblical beer”.

There’s a hint of honey and berries in the

cloudy – and flat – nectar, which has a three percent alcohol content. The brewery made it from 5 kilos (11 pounds) of grain donated by the university, along with the other traditional ingredients hops, yeast and water.

Herzl’s owner Itai Gutman and his friends have downed most of the results of the sixmonth experiment. Only one bottle remains and there are no plans to make more.

“We were curious about being able to come up with the first ‘biblical’ beer,” said

Gutman, whose award-winning brewery produces five contemporary labels for sale.

“It’s really not the kind of flavor that has a market.”

Wine is the sacred beverage for both Judaism and Christianity, is frequently mentioned in their scriptures and figures to this day in their religious practice.

But beer likely would also have been familiar to Jesus and his disciples. It was brought over from Egypt by the ancient Israelites, according to the Jewish Museum in Munich, which is taking part in 500th anniversary celebrations of the Bavarian Beer Purity Law that regulated Germany’s brewing industry.

Herzl Brewery in Jerusalem April 18, 2016. (REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun)

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XXIII

Shimron Hetmyer - Captain of Destiny

By Daniel Haynes

YOU could not write a better script in cricket - the same team winning all three major T20 world titles.

However, the West Indies did that. Both the Male and Female teams won on April 3rd. But it was the U19 team’s win a month earlier that set in motion the triple glory for

Hetmyer, so it was no surprise that he became interested in cricket.

What did come as a surprise, however, was the fact that his inspiration did not come from the heroes and pioneers of Berbice cricket. It was not the Rohan Kanhais or the Joe Solomons or even Basil Butchers of the world that inspired him to become one of Guyana’s best players; his inspiration came from the bat of his older brother Seon Hetmyer.

“My brother was always a cricketer, and when I was younger, I always told myself I have to be as good as him, and even more so,

“It is hard to give the feeling of winning in words, to be honest. This was something I had dreamed of accomplishing and I had done it and I couldn’t have done it with better guys.”

– Shimron Hetmyer

SHIMRON HETMYER West Indian fans.

Coning down to the final two overs, the equation was a simple one - 9 from 12 balls. AS simple as it looked, it was done, and the West Indies U19 team won their maiden World T20 trophy, and the squad etched their name in the record books. The one person with the front row seat – and the one responsible for steering the team to victory - was the captain, Guyana’s Shimron Hetmyer.

He was born the youngest of four children on December 26, 1996 in Cumberland Village, East Canje Berbice.

“I was the baby of the family, and whenever I wanted to go somewhere I always had to go with one of them.”

Growing up in Berbice where the culture of cricket has been embedded into the county’s DNA, definitely impacted a young

I had to be better than him,” Hetmyer told the Guyana Chronicle in a recent interview.

It was with this mentality and determination that the youngster from Berbice picked up the bat and started his career at the age of 11.

He joined the Young Warriors Cricket Club. In those formative years of his cricketing career, he focused on learning the game, being a skilled competitor, always striving for perfection. His dedication and attitude led to his selection for the Berbice Under-15 team two years later at the age of thirteen. This “coming out” was a successful one and despite not scoring many runs in the Under-15 inter-county competition, his obvious talent earned him a place on the Guyana Under-15 team, where he then also excelled. As a result, he was selected for a special training camp of the West Indies Cricket Board 9WICB) in St Lucia.

In 2009, while only 13 years of age he scored the only century (118) in the Berbice county Under-19 inter-zone competition, something that was an outstanding achievement for the youngster who wanted to surpass his brother. He also hit a century in the 2010 Berbice Under-13 club championship.

In September 2011, Shimron received the Sports Ambassador award from the Berbice Chamber of Commerce at its annual awards ceremony.

Shimron Hetmyer with the T20 trophy As an aggressive opening batsman, he enjoyed considerable success in the 2012 Regional Under-19 competition in Barbados. He hit a superb 116 for Guyana’s Under-19s against Windwards n the 50-overs segment of the competition. In July 2013, he scored 105 off just 65 balls against Trinidad & Tobago in the Regional Under-17 competition in Tobago - the only century scored by any player in the competition.

In October 2013, Shimron represented the West Indies Under-19 team in several Under-19 One Day International Matches against Bangladesh in Guyana. He kept wicket in at least one of those matches.

Shimron had surely surpassed his brother when his name was called as the captain of the West Indies U-19 World T20 squad. This squad was to head to Bangladesh to take on the best young talent the other cricket nations had to offer in this format of the game.

He embraced the challenge with the same fortitude and determination that was his nature. The championship goal started with a loss against the English side, something that tested the morale of the team.

Hetmyer however inspired his team, and in their second game they came through like a Caribbean hurri-

cane decimating Fiji and winning by 262 runs.

After that, there was a controversial win against Zimbabwe, where the team “Mankad” their way to a two-run victory.

From there it was history - the team beat the Bangladesh side in the semis, then handled India in the finals and brought home the gold.

“It is hard to give the feeling of winning in words, to be honest, this was something I had dreamed of accomplishing and I had done it and I couldn’t have done it with better guys.”

His form did not dip after the tournament and proof of that was when he put the Jamaica Scorpions bowlers to the sword with a masterful 107 to secure his maiden first-class century when the Guyana Jaguars dominated the opening day of their final round of West Indies Cricket Board’s Professional Cricket League (PCL) Four-Day game at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence on March 19.

With his drive, determination and ambition, the sky is the limit for the left handed batsman from Canje, who had not only made Berbice proud, but the whole of Guyana.

DIV

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YABINDRA

–Tuschen g Miss Guy DIVYA Yabindranauth, 20, knows there is a lot of pessimism about pageantry and girls who enter pageants.

But she believes that the evidence speaks for itself – national beauty pageants, especially Miss World Guyana, have allowed contestants a much greater stage to rally support for the vulnerable in society through its signature humanitarian programme Beauty with a Purpose, and hence her participation in this year’s pageant.

Originally from Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo, Divya migrated to the USA seven years ago. She currently lives in Houston, Texas with hr parents and two younger brothers.

Even before thinking of Miss World Guyana, she has been part of Saving Hands Emergency Aid 9SHEA), which provides financial aid and medical treatments for individuals in dire need of medical care.

In December of last year, SHEA facilitated the US travel for six-year-old Shazim Saman, who suffered second and third degree burns to 40% of his body, after an object exploded from a burning garbage heap where he was playing.

Shazim is still in Texas receiving treatment and could soon head back to Guyana.

“Seeing the condition Shazim was in when he was first transferred to Texas for treatment has touched

m s in

to u to

e C M

VYA

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XXV

ANAUTH

girl eyes yana title

me on so many ways as I’ve seen his agony and struggle first hand,”” she says in a brochure promotng the work of SHEA. “It has given me the strength and determination o give it my all in making sure someone in need of urgent medical care receives the help that is essential o save their life.”

This week, Divya travelled to Region One, to introduce residents there to SHEA. In the Miss World Guyana pageant, she was named the Ambassador for Region One. Even though she had not previously visited the Region, she believes the idea of having some of the contestants represent a geographic region which is not their hometown allows them the opportunity to know their country better and appreciate its varied customs and way of life.

Divya travelled to Mabaruma and Shell Beach, among other areas in Region One, and returned to Georgetown even more inspired to continue her work with SHEA. The Miss World Guyana pageant is set for May 27 at the National Cultural Centre. The winner will represent Guyana at the Miss World Pageant later this year.

Samuel Maughn photos

Duo Collection returns for Independence

XXVI

By Akola Thompson

IN December of 2012, fine arts artist and acclaimed designer, Nadia Thomas along with her niece, Natalya Thomas, launched their new clothing line, Duo Collection at the Princess hotel.

This year, the Duo is back again and is set to

launch their new clothing collection titled “United and Free” on the May 21, at the 50th anniversary fashion show.

The collection, they said, will be based on the monuments, beauties of Guyana and the celebration of its 50th independence. They hope that through their work, they

can showcase the hope of “togetherness and freedom which will help us overcome our struggles and regain our strength.”

The theme ‘United and Free’, said Nadia, was chosen to celebrate Guyana as an indepen► Contiuned on page

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Duo Collection returns ... ► From page

XXVI

dent nation for 50 years.

Guyana experienced a dark past where our first people were displaced from the land they found, slavery was a way of life, many suffered through the system of indentureship and we endured colonial rule.

“Yet, we have surpassed those years to now being a united, free and developing nation. The clothing line highlights many aspects of our history: The 1763 monument is a constant reminder of the shackles that were broken so that the children of this soil can now live happy and free lives. The strength and resilience we inherited empowered us to fight to become a free nation in 1966. The St George’s Cathedral, being a major landmark in Guyana shows how as a nation we have grown to even making history through our infrastructure by having the tallest wooden building in the world. Also, our rich flora and fauna are depicted, highlighting our natural beauty and resources. As designers, we are proud to portray various aspects of Guyana and its culture through fashion. It is within this dear land that we were molded into becoming who we are today.”

With their creative original prints showcasing Guyana’s heritage, the duo hopes to have the line sold in both local and foreign stores as well as online.

Currently, they are working on a website from which they will be showcasing and selling their designs. It is hoped that it will be up and running by the end of April.

They had in their last fashion show donated some of the proceeds earned to the Cancer Institute in hopes of raising awareness and educating women on the dangers of cancer and the need for early screening.

This is something they hope to continue throughout the years as they have had family members who

have passed away to the disease. They are hoping to hold a fashion show this coming December and plan to contribute part proceeds to the Cancer Institute.

While Nadia has been in the designing world since 2000, Natalya started in 2014, showcasing her love for sequins, vibrant colors and unique,

yet “wearable” fashion for the everyday woman.

Natalya explained that while she has always had an interest in fashion, it was only in the recent years that she realized it was something she was truly interested in doing.

By 2013, she was experimenting with different designs and textures and when her aunt noticed her

deep interest, they decided to work together and create the fashion line, Duo Collection, successfully launching it one year later at the Princess Hotel, where artwork by Nadia and other Guyanese artists were also displayed.

While they have chosen to work together, the duo still retains their own creative flairs in the inter-

est of always remaining original and true to their own expressions but which will reflect their similar cultural backgrounds.

Heavily influenced by the elegance and detail of the 60s and 70s style, Nadia states that her hope is not to be a designer who caters for only one specific crowd, but rather hopes to create a line which clothes

women in all shapes and sizes and which flatters and empowers the wearers.

Meanwhile, Natalya who also has a love for the look of elegance states that what she wants to create is a mixture between current trends and eccentric clothing, which will be heavily influenced by various cultures.

XXVIII

Rice sculpture: Taiwan artist gets granular with president elect

(REUTERS) A Taiwan artist has refused to see the big picture and instead captured the likeness of president-elect Tsai Ing-wen, to celebrate her inauguration next month, on a single grain of rice.

Chen Forng-Shean, who has also sculpted the face of China's late Chairman Mao Zedong on rice, said the staple was a fitting medium for his work because it met the basic needs of ethnic

Chinese.

"Rice gives nourishment to the proverbial belly of the ethnic Chinese people. I used rice (as a medium) to encourage Taiwan's leader, Tsai Ingwen, hoping that she can take care of the common people, so they don't need to endure hunger, and improve their â–ş Contiuned on page XXIX

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Miniature artist Chen Forng-Shean poses with his latest work, a miniature portrait of Taiwanese president-elect Tsai Ing-wen on a grain of rice, in Taipei, Taiwan April 18, 2016. The Chinese characters read, "Modest, modest and even more modest." (REUTERS/Tyrone Siu)

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Rice sculpture: Taiwan artist gets granular ... â–ş From page XXVIII financial situation," he said.

He outlined the facial features and accompanying Chinese characters with a needle-point pen on to the surface before carving and then dabbing black paint into the grooves.

It took three months and more than 10 tries to get the sculpture to Chen's satis-

faction. Visitors to his cluttered workshop near the capital Taipei can view more than 150 of his works using a magnifying glass.

Chen reminded Tsai, who takes office on May 20, that she pledged in her acceptance speech in January to work for the people of Taiwan. "'(Be) modest, modest and even more modest.' I wrote this sentence of hers on to this grain of rice."

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Huge long-necked dinosaurs had big, precocious babies THE babies of a huge, long-necked dinosaur called Rapetosaurus that lived on the island of Madagascar did not just sit in a nest and look cute. They were born ready for action.

Scientists on Thursday announced the discovery of fossils of a baby Rapetosaurus the size of a big dog that apparently starved to death during a drought several weeks after hatching from its soccer-ball-sized egg.

Unlike many animal babies, particularly humans, the hatchling Rapetosaurus had adult proportions, meaning it likely did not need significant parental support and was actively foraging for plants rather than waiting for momma to feed it.

Such babies are known as “precocial,” as opposed to “altricial” offspring that have different body dimensions from adults, cannot get around by themselves and require considerable parental support for food and protection, Macalester College paleontologist Kristi Curry Rogers said.

“The main conclusion was that this is the first evidence for a truly precocial dinosaur: one that matured rapidly and without parental care,” Adelphi University paleontologist Michael D’Emic added.

Rapetosaurus lived about 67 million years ago, not long before the demise of the dinosaurs, and was the

An artist’s illustration showing the size comparisons of a newborn dinosaur called Rapetosaurus (2nd from L) that lived on the island of Madagascar to some large-bodied mammalian newborns such as a baby black rhino, African elephant, hippo and dog. largest creature in Madagascar at the time.

The baby, known from a partial skeleton including limb bones, pelvic bones, fingers, toes and several vertebrae, was probably around 4 feet (1.2 meters) long from head to tail and weighed between 50 and 90 pounds (23-40 kg) when it died.

An adult Rapetosaurus was probably around 40 feet (12 meters) long, a little more than a school bus, and weighed around 16 tons, roughly 2-1/2 times as much as an elephant, Curry Rogers said. It was a medium-sized member of a dinosaur group called titanosaurs, which included the largest land animals ever on Earth.

Titanosaurs were part of a larger assemblage of dinosaurs called sauropods, known for their long necks, long tails and voracious appetite for plants.

D’Emic said the researchers looked at the microstructure of the baby’s bones to see preserved cavities that once held cells, blood vessels and nerves. The density and organization of those indicated a rapidly growing individual, and there was even evidence for bone repair, suggesting an active lifestyle and fast metabolism, D’Emic added.

Examples of precocial animals today include most lizards, snakes and reptiles, certain birds and some large mammals including wildebeest.

“Precocial young can avoid predation on their own, and there is a much smaller chance of the entire brood succumbing to predation at once,” Curry Rogers said.

The research was published in the journal Science.

Chronicle Pepperpot April 24, 2016

XXXI

South Africa boosts crop forecast accuracy with satellite imagery (Reuters) SOUTH Africa’s estimates for key crops such as maize have become increasingly accurate thanks to satellite imagery and as farmers’ often biased input has been cut out of the picture, a conference was told on Thursday.

South Africa’s maize crop has been hard hit this season by a scorching drought, bringing into sharp focus the need for accurate forecasts of the harvest’s size to guide government policy and markets.

From 1997 to 2002, all of the maize forecasts made by the official Crop Estimates Committee (CEC) underestimated the size of the harvest, said Eugene du Preez, director of privately-held SiQ, which provides the committee with satellite and aerial data, which helps it determine the size of the area planted.

“That was a red flag,” Du Preez said. The reasons for the underestimates were clear -- the CEC was relying on farmers for much of its information, and they had a transparent incentive to say they had planted less than they had because that would support prices.

Du Preez said from 2003 until 2008, five of the six forecasts underrated the size of the crop.

“We started providing the government with data in 2002, and at that stage we were still very much providing them with information coming from farmers, and there was problems with that,” Du Preez told Reuters on the sidelines of a conference on monitoring food insecurity threats from space.

“And then we decided we needed to change the system.

So we developed the producer independent crop estimate system.”

The system includes satellite images and also surveys conducted with the use of low-flying aircraft.

HIV-positive farmer Eunice Chiyabi walks near a field of maize during a visit by a home-based care team in Chikonga village, close to the town of Chikuni in the south of Zambia February 21, 2015. (REUTERS/ Darrin Zammit Lupi) For yield estimates, the CEC relies in large part on on-site surveys conducted by the state-run ARC Grain Crops Institute.

“They are doing work in the three main maize provinces, Mpumalanga, Free State and North West,” said Marda Scheepers, a senior statistician with the CEC. “They go into a field and they do crop counts and plant counts to get an average yield for the province,” she said.

Removing the farmers’ input removes the bias.

From 2009 to 2015, the CEC had three underestimates and four overestimates for the size of the crop. And it has been getting closer to the actual crop size.

Du Preez said from 1997 to 2002, its forecasts were routinely 6 or 7 percent off target and even close to 13 percent out. But he said the average since 2009 was 2.6 percent and last year the difference between the CEC’s final forecast and the size of the harvest was 0.2 percent.

South Africa will likely harvest 7.1 million tonnes of maize in 2016, 29 percent less than the 9.95 million tonnes reaped last year because of drought and late plantings, the CEC said last month.

Its next forecast is due next week and a Reuters poll sees it cutting its last estimate by 5.5 percent to 6.7 million tonnes.

XXXII

Chronicle Pepperpot April 24, 2016

Monkey mariners made monumental migration 21 million years ago (Reuters) MONKEYS resembling today’s capuchins accomplished the astonishing feat of crossing at least 100 miles (160 km) of open ocean 21 million years ago to get from South America to North America eons before the two continents joined together.

Scientists said on Wednesday they reached that conclusion based on the discovery of seven little teeth during ex-

cavations involving the Panama Canal’s expansion, showing monkeys had reached the North American continent far earlier than previously known.

The teeth belonged to Panamacebus transitus, a previously unknown medium-sized monkey species. South America at the time was secluded from other con► Contiuned on page XXXIII

Placed in a wax jaw, fossil teeth belonging to Panamacebus transitus are compared with those of a modern female tufted capuchin, Cebus apella, in this picture courtesy of the Florida Museum of Natural History. Florida Museum of Natural History

Chronicle Pepperpot April 24, 2016

Monkey mariners made monumental migration 21 million ... ► From page XXXII tinents, with a strange array of mammals evolving in what 20th century American paleontologist George Gaylord Simpson called “splendid isolation.”

How Panamacebus performed the feat is a bit mysterious. After all, seagoing simians seem somewhat suspicious.

“Panama represents the southernmost

extreme of the North American continent at that time,” said Jonathan Bloch, a vertebrate paleontology curator at the Florida Museum of Natural History on the University of Florida campus.

“It may have swum across, but this would have required covering a distance of more than 100 miles, a difficult feat for sure. It’s more likely that it unintentionally rafted across on mats of vegetation,” Bloch

added.

Bloch said as far as anyone knows these monkeys were the only mammals that managed to cross the seaway from South America to reach present-day Panama.

While South American giant ground sloths managed to reach North America about 9 million years ago, it was not until about 3.5 million years ago that the Isthmus of Panama formed, allowing animals to begin trekking in large numbers between the continents in one of the biggest mixing of species on record.

Bloch said learning that monkeys lived then in North America was a “mind-bending discovery” because it had long been accepted that they simply did not exist there at that time.

XXXIII It would be akin to learning that Australia’s kangaroos and koalas live in the wilds of Asia today.

Monkeys originated in Africa and later spread to other parts of the world. Scientists believe monkeys made an even lengthier transoceanic voyage, perhaps 37 million years ago, when they transited from Africa to South America, also probably on floating debris.

Bloch said the seven teeth, the largest of which were molars about one-fifth of an inch (5 mm) long, were unmistakable as belonging to a South American monkey, and their shape showed Panamacebus had a diet of fruit in its tropical forest environment.

The research was published in the journal Nature.

XXXIV

Chronicle Pepperpot April 24, 2016

EU lawmaker seeks bigger clean tech fund, targeted CO2 permits (REUTERS) THE European Union should boost its clean technology fund and adopt a more targeted approach to allocating free carbon permits to keep industry from moving abroad to avoid pollution curbs, a leading EU carbon policymaker said on Friday.

Fredrick Federley, who is drafting the European Parliament industry committee’s proposals for reform of the EU emissions trading system (ETS) to be published next week, said he wants to add 150 million unallocated allowances to the innovation fund.

The Parliament is reviewing a European Commission reform proposal, which calls for 400 million allowances to go to low-carbon technologies and will reduce the share of free carbon permits handed out after 2020.

The extra funds -- worth some 750 million euros at a price of 5 euros per carbon permit -- would be earmarked for non-energy heavy industry, not utilities, Federley said. It could cover up to 60 percent of the costs of low-carbon projects.

“The ETS should not be a system for driving industry out of Europe but one where you drive innovation,” Federley told Reuters.

He wants to amend the Commission proposal to allow for a more tiered approach, allocating more free permits to industries most at risk of relocating in what is known as “carbon leakage”.

“Not all sectors are at risk,” Federley said. “And we are also addressing a risk -- not a fact.”

Doing so would help avoid triggering reductions for all sectors caused by a cap on overall allocations.

Industry has been united in opposing what is known as the cross-sectoral correction factor (CSCF), saying it would penalize even the cleanest plants.

Due to the CSCF, some industries promised 100 percent free permits will only get 83 percent in practice next year, Federley said. The EU executive, however, has said it thinks it unlikely the CSCF would be triggered.

‘DEVIL IN THE DETAIL’ Ten years since launching what aims to be the EU’s flagship climate policy, the plan to reduce the sweeteners to some of Europe’s biggest employers aims to fix a system in which oversupply is depressing prices.

The EU executive proposes to cut to 50 from 180 the list of industries getting handouts, worrying some sectors.

“We fear the discussion is turning around which big sector can we throw out,” said Ken Coppenholle, who heads the European Cement Association.

Britain and France are among those calling for the tiered approach, but the Commission has steered clear of the trickier calculations.

“The devil is in the detail,” European Climate Action and Energy Commissioner Miguel Arias Canete said this year. “The problem is where to put boundaries between sectors.”

So far the Commission says it sees no evidence of carbon leakage. But with a global carbon market still far off, multinationals say even the potential of higher carbon price in the future is sending investment elsewhere.

Chronicle Pepperpot April 24, 2016

XXXV

Women work like machines in India’s textile mills, says union leader

(Thomson Reuters Foundation) - RAJARAM Paritha is on a mission.

The 35-year-old tailor wants to be the voice of every young girl who is lured with the promise of big money to work in textile mills in southern India’s Tamil Nadu and then exploited and abused.

Head of the all-women Tamil Nadu Textile and Common Labour Union (TTCU), Paritha uses her experience as a factory worker to challenge forms of exploitation such a debt bondage, long hours and sexual abuse in the garment and textile industry.

“Workers have to come together like they did a few days back ... against the government’s controversial government pension plan. If they don’t, the exploitation will not stop,” she said in an interview with the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

The scale of the issue Paritha and her organization are trying to address is huge: much of India’s $42 billion-a-year textile and clothing export industry is located in Tamil Nadu, and to boost productivity and increase margins, parts of its lucrative supply chain are built on bonded labor.

A 2014 study into Tamil Nadu’s textile industry by the Freedom Fund, a philanthropic initiative dedicated to ending modern slavery, and C&A Foundation, which partners with the Thomson Reuters Foundation on its human trafficking coverage, found workers were often subjected to low wages, excessive and

sometimes forced overtime, lack of freedom of movement as well as verbal and sexual abuse.

A conservative estimate suggests there may be at least 100,000 girls and young women being exploited in this way.

“I vividly remember the one year I worked at a mill,” Paritha said. “The machines would always be running and we were constantly working, just like the machines. Even a restroom break meant ensuring a co-worker manned your position for the few minutes you were away.”

A year into the job, Paritha quit because standing for eight to 10 hours was taking a toll on her health. “I learnt tailoring and moved on. But many can’t do this due to economic pressures.”

Working with women and girls in 10 districts of Tamil Nadu, the union, now with nearly 5,000 members, trains its members on their legal rights, lobbying and leadership skills and addresses sexual harassment and violence in the workplace.

“We are fighting for justice for a teenager who was found dead in a mill hostel a month back and a young woman who was recently penalized for stopping the machines for a few minutes when her clothes got stuck in it,” says Paritha.

“Their individual voices are suppressed by mill managements. They cannot do the same with our collective voice.”

This week, after thousands of protesters clashed with police in the city of Bengaluru, the govern-

ment decided to scrap a proposal to change the rule on pension withdrawals - a rollback seen as a victory

for workers’ unions. But the battle for rights is far from over, said Paritha.

“The change is so

slow,” she said. “I still see the same issues of wages being withheld, no restroom and lunch

breaks come up even today. It only makes me more determined to fight.”

XXXVI

Mileposts

Chronicle Pepperpot April 24, 2016

Roshinie Boodhoo ties the knot Former Miss India Worldwide Roshini Boodhoo Roshini Boodhoo last weekend married gym trainer and Laparkan Customs Brokerage officer Jewan Persaud in a lavish, Bollywood-style wedding. Boodhoo is a current radio jockey and manages her own dance company, Jewan Ka Nritya.

Before their wedding, the couple performed on stage with each other, most notably as Ram and Sita in the stage adaptation of the Hindu epic Ramayana. (Cleveland Bradford photo)

Two doctors Say ‘I do’

Doctors Lachan Sultan and Sadhana Samtani tied the knot two weekends ago. Sadhana’s parents, sister Bhavana and brother Rishi sent in this photo from photographers New World Studio, wishing the new couple a lifetime of peace, joy and romance.

Chronicle Pepperpot April 24, 2016

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Chronicle Pepperpot April 24, 2016

English

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY She never told her love,

stump, and feeling the cold light, I could not quite get rid of the fear until a black-and-white dog named Fonzie came up, smelled the stump, snorted, and relieved himself on it. So much for ghosts.

But let concealment, like a worm i’ the bud,

(From “A Glow in the Dark” from Woodsong by Gary Paulson)

Feed on her damask cheek: she pin’d in thought,

About the Passage

And with a green and yellow melancholy, Sat like patience on a monument, Smiling at grief.

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (1564-1616) Twelfth Night: Act 2, Scene 4

STUDY SUCCESS Dear Student,

You need to try some relaxation techniques at this time. This one allows

In this Paulson’s passage, the ‘I’ narrator struggles with doubts and fears in a wilderness setting as part of his experiences while training for a dog-sled race in a cold country, Alaska.

What to Do 1. Jot down and discuss details Paulson used to affect the way the reader views the challenge faced by his ‘I’ narrator? See suggestions below:

you to relax your head and neck. Just let your head drop forward, and try

* the narrator’s imagination which helped create excitement

not to pull it down. You should feel muscles at the back of your neck being

* the narrator – brave or not; by how much

stretched by the weight of your head. Now allow your head to drop back-

* Details which you think revealed the writer’s character.

ward, then to the left and right. Do this a small number of times whenever

* Details which helped to alleviate the fears of the writer.

you feel ‘pushed’ during study. Be wise.

2. How did the ‘I’ narrator’s ignorance of a scientific explanation for the

Love you.

THE PASSAGE

…..But curiosity was stronger. My legs moved without my wanting them to move and my body followed them, along-side the team in the dark, holding

glow add to his fear?

3. Work on solidifying your skills by producing a wonderful and exciting fictional story utilizing choice parts of some remarkable personal experiences. Maybe use an ‘I’ narrator; but you must let well-chosen details support the main character and setting. Design the effects you expect details to have on your readers. Maybe there is a scientific ignorance you can inject.

to each dog like a security blanket until I reached the next one, moving closer

READING

to the light until I was at the front and there were no more dogs to hold.

Read the passage for the main idea. Then, answer the question.

The light had gotten brighter, seemed to pulse and flood back and forth,

If the painter wishes to see enchanting beauties, he has the power to

but I still could not see the source. I took another step, then another, trying

produce them. If he wishes to see monstrosities, he has the power to create

to look around the corner, deeply feeling the distance from the dogs, the

them. If he wishes to produce towns or deserts, he can… Indeed, whatever

aloneness.

exists in the universe, or in the imagination, the painter has first in his mind

Two more steps, then one more, leaning to see around the corner and at last I saw it and when I did it was worse.

and then in his hands. – Leonardo Da Vinci This quotation is from a painter who turned what he saw in his mind

It was a form. Not human. A large, standing form glowing in the dark.

into what the world saw on canvas. Those of us, who look at what we have

The light came from within, a cold-glowing green light with yellow edges

painted and know how different it is from what we imagine, feel differently

that diffused the shape, making it change and grow as I watched.

about the creative act. Like children who draw stick figures when they are

I felt my heart slam up into my throat.

thinking of real people, what is painted is so much less than what we think.

I couldn’t move, I stared at the upright form and was sure it was a ghost,

Rather than feel Da Vinci’s power, we often feel powerless.

a being from the dead sent for me. I could not move and might not have

1. What is the main idea of the quotation?

ever moved except that the dogs had followed me, pulling the rig quietly

A. Painters can make beauty.

until they were around my legs, peering ahead, and I looked down at them

B. Painters can make monstrosities, but painters should focus on beauty.

and had to laugh.

C. A painter can represent what can be seen or imagined.

They were caught in the green light, curved around my legs staring at the

D. Painters have imagination.

standing form, ears cocked and heads turned sideways while they studied it.

2. What is the main idea of the two texts?

I took another short step forward and they all followed me, then another, and

A. Artists feel powerful or powerless.

they stayed with me until we were right next to the form.

B. No artist can equal Da Vinci.

It was a stump.

C. For good painters, painting is creating.

A six-foot tall, old rotten stump with the bark knocked off, glowing in

D. All painters feel powerful through art.

the dark with a bright green glow. Impossible. I stood there with the dogs

3. The first sentence in the second paragraph

around my legs, smelling the stump and touching it with their noses. I found

A. continues the first paragraph.

out later that it glowed because it had sucked phosphorous from the ground

B. is a definition of the painter.

up into the wood and held the light from day all night.

C. is a transition between two ideas.

But that was later. There in the night I did not know this. Touching the

D. is a contrast from the quotation.

Chronicle Pepperpot April 24, 2016

'Nil Battey Sannata' will bring a smile Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari’s “Nil Battey Sannata” is a charming little film that shines light on people we tend to overlook in movies and in daily lives – domestic helps. They often don’t get days off or a place at our table, and certainly not a movie about their life, writes Shilpa Jamkhandikar.

(REUTERS) THE quintessential domestic help in Bollywood films is “Ramu Chacha”, with the ubiquitous gamcha (cotton towel) around his shoulders, an appropriately servile expression and usually scurrying around to do his master’s bidding. But in “Nil Battey Sannata”, Tiwari goes deep into the narrow lanes where domestic help Chanda and her daughter live. She follows Chanda as she hurries from one job to the other, sorting spices, packing shoes and cooking other people’s meals for a living. Her daughter Apeksha is a headstrong teenager who stumbles her way through school and would much rather watch a Bollywood movie than study mathematics, the bane of her existence.

The mother, worried about her daughter’s complete lack of ambition and her own inability to help her with her studies, decides that the only remedy is to join school herself. Egged on by a benevolent doctor who employs her (Ratna Pathak Shah), Chanda enrolls in the same school as her daughter.

Apeksha is mortified and like all teenagers, does what she knows best – sulk. But when Chanda wins over her friends and the earnest school principal (Pankaj Tripathy), Apeksha realizes that she has competition she hadn’t bargained for.

The biggest plus here is that there is none of the heavy-handedness that often accompany a narrative around poverty and the debilitating effect it can have on people. The dialogue is smart and focuses on the bond between mother and daughter. The desire to rise above one’s lot and dream about a better future is an important motif, but it never eclipses the relationship at the heart of the film.

Swara Bhaskar as Chanda and Riya Shukla as Apeksha are mostly in sync with each other and share an easy rapport that translates into some lovely scenes. Tripathy as the eccentric and always animated principal provides a chunk of the humour and is a delight to watch. The screenplay can’t escape a few bumps, and some scenes such as a chance meeting with a benevolent civil servant come across as gimmicky. But these are small hiccups in what is otherwise a film that is bound to bring a smile to your face.

XLVII

Will Prince's control of his music extend from the grave?

(REUTERS) THE late pop star Prince was known in life as an artist fiercely protective of his intellectual property, but how much others may profit from his legacy, including a large body of unreleased songs, hinges on how astute he was in arranging for control of his music after death.

Prince, 57, who died on Thursday at his home and studio compound in Minnesota, is one of relatively few recording artists, even of his stature, believed to have possessed ownership of his master recordings and his own music publishing.

"Ownership of his catalog will follow his estate," veteran Los Angeles-based entertainment lawyer Jay Cooper said on Thursday. "Ownership of the masters will go to whoever inherits it from his estate."

At stake are potential retail sales, licensing fees and royalties on music from more than 30 albums that have sold over 36 million copies in the United State alone since 1978, plus an extensive cache of unheard recordings said to be locked away in a vault.

The collection is believed to include an entire album he recorded with jazz trumpet great Miles Davis, said Owen Husney, who was Prince's first manager and teaches music business at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Husney said he would put the overall value of Prince's existing catalog at well over $500 million. That estimate factors in not just the potential for re-

tail music sales but for rights to film, television, commercials and video games - which Prince in his lifetime rarely if ever licensed, Husney said.

The key unanswered question about the fate of Prince's intellectual

probate attorney Dan Streisand, who has represented the estates of Marlon Brando, Barry White and Rodney Dangerfield.

Through instructions in a will to a trustee, the artist could posthumously

property is whether the performer had a valid will or estate plan in place at the time of his death, lawyers said.

Twice divorced with no surviving children, he apparently lacked any immediately identifiable heirs, though Husney noted Prince had a sister, Tyka Nelson. His parents are both deceased.

"Hopefully, Prince executed a trust, and indicated his intentions both with respect to who his trustee would be and how he would want the estate to be disposed of," said celebrity

restrict the granting of commercial licenses to his music, and thus, in effect, maintain control over his songs from the grave, lawyers said.

"In my experience, with a lot of musicians and performers, who knows if he executed a trust or a will," Streisand said. "Prince was an incredibly smart person, he had great legal representation ... so I would suspect that somebody along the way said, 'Look, we've got to get you to execute some documents.'"

Absent a will, inheritance would be

De Niro, Foster, Keitel, reunite for 'Taxi Driver' anniversary (REUTERS) ROBERT De Niro, Martin Scorsese, Jodie Foster and Cybill Shepherd turned out in New York to celebrate the 40th anniversary of “Taxi Driver,” the 1976 movie that made De Niro a superstar and that spawned the iconic catchphrase “You talkin’ to me?”

Although it won none of the four Oscars it was nominated for at the time, the film about an obsessed, lonely Vietnam veteran with insomnia who drives his taxi through the streets has since been hailed by critics as one of the best movies of all time.

Foster, who was just 12 years old when she was cast as a young prostitute, said she

had watched the movie again a few days ago.

"It's funny seeing yourself so young and yet you have the same gestures and the same voice, and the same physical patterns," Foster told Reuters. While many around her were concerned about the young actress taking on the role of a prostitute, Foster said she took on an "instinctual" approach. “I didn't think about it too much. I read the script, I loved the script and I played the character and that was that."

The 40th anniversary was marked with a screening on Thursday at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York which De Niro founded in 2002.

determined by a probate court, subject to the laws of succession in Prince's home state of Minnesota.

Prince was almost as well known for an unyielding defense of his artistic rights as he was for his music.

So assertive was he in maintaining creative control that during a bitter contract battle with Warner Bros. in the 1990s, he famously changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol and scrawled the word "slave" on his forehead in performances.

The dispute centered at least in part on Prince's desire to release his music more frequently than the label was willing.

Prince ultimately made peace with Warner, reaching a deal in 2014 to regain ownership of his master recordings in return for allowing the label to digitally remaster and reissue his back catalog, according to trade publication Variety and other media accounts.

The artist had been similarly unstinting in limiting the use of his material on YouTube and digital music streaming platforms such as Spotify and Rhapsody, although he made his catalog available on the artist-owned, premium subscription streaming service Tidal, launched by rapper Jay Z. Still, news of his death sparked an immediate bump in online sales of his music, with nine of the top 10-selling albums on iTunes belonging to Prince on Thursday. Eight of the top-selling singles on iTunes were Prince tracks, led by "Purple Rain."