Skip to main content

plant baigan


The name is derived from the Sanskrit term 'dipavali' meaning 'row of lights'. It is celebrated in late October or November on the new moon night. I guess like many religious festivals the moon plays a big part as to when the celebrations are held hence the fact that we normally have rain on Divali. Could be way off target here but somehow the moon actually plays a part in if it is going to rain or not, satellite imagery and other technology sort of confirm the obvious.
A comment was made today that one smelt curry everywhere they went today. A popular roti shop in the capital hired extra security today to deal with the crowds purchasing roti. These are the little indicators that tell us we are truly an integrated society regardless of the stupid racial politics. Imagine me, wanting to be a great chef, actually did a stupendous 'baigan choka'. It was quite good, the rest of the meal was everything to celebrate Divali done by the other great chef in the house.
Maybe if we remove the stupid racial politics then we could actually be a lesson for the world as to how different races and religions could actually live together, celebrating each other without the friction.
Well the next biggy is Christmas so we wait and see.

I am having a problem with how the things are playing out on the rock. The accusations, the public threats, people having information on people that only the authorities should have, a lot being said in the media without being substantiated, plenty ole talk. Its great if you are one of the fanatics it's not great if you are serious about the future of the rock. The PMOTT is constantly talking about corruption, and I fully support him in his stance to dig it out and jail those involved. The talk is however, where I have the problem. Why is there the public shaming without one ounce of evidence? The ferry fiasco was the favourite at one time now that is passe, why? Because of those involved. The involvement of persons in the construction of public housing is headline news, then the issue disappears. I hold no brief for anyone who took a load of gravel, banked millions of dollars off of government contracts or took a wad of copy paper from a government office. You steal, you are a thief full stop. There can be no classification for stealing. Big, medium or little it is all the same, it is not yours and if you take something that is not yours you are a thief.

The authorities cannot be making the accusations without the evidence. This nonsense of putting peoples names in the media, without a shred of evidence that could be used in a court, to distract from the real issues facing the rock is reckless and does the PMOTT's claim of dealing with corruption no good. The persons responsible for the thievery must be brought to justice, lock they tails up, lose the key. Stop making the 'lash meh nah' foolish accusations and get down to serious forensic audits, without the headlines, and get on with the job.
Just remember,
he who holds the ladder is as bad as the thief  
The so-called oil spill in the port of Port of Spain and the manner in which the authorities have handled it tells a tale of gross incompetence. It took 24 hrs before an alarm was raised as to the spill. It was raised not by the Coast Guard or the Maritime Services Div, or the EMA or one single state agency. It was made public by the persons who were affected by the spill. Is it then that no state agency works on a weekend? Is it that the Coast Guard has zero patrols in the port area over a 24 hr period? Or is it that 'oil spill' is not my responsibility? The fact that no one knew to me is worst than the spill it self. The Minister of Energy says it was not natural. I can only assume he is stating the obvious that there are no known oil production wells off of Five Islands. The emergency containment procedure of the spill was 'the tide changing just now, everything will go out the First Bocas'.
Bumbling, stupid, incompetent, don't give a damn, could not care less authorities and nothing is done. Not a single official, not a single person with any semblance of authority will be held accountable for this debacle.

If and when the PMOTT is serious about corruption it is these little things, these situations where persons responsible are just not doing what they are paid to do, that matter. If you cannot stop the theft of a truck load of potable water, a load of bricks, a wad of copy paper and the pollution of the gulf then you are pissing in the wind. A multimillion dollar fraud with the award of a ferry contract is the same guilt as the person who wilfully opened the valve to empty the bilge of the vessel polluting the gulf.

The fireworks have started, the dog is going crazy and I am ready to start a lobby to BAN FIREWORKS. I don't give a 'firetruck' (thanks BC) as to how many people will lose their jobs and how much money would be lost by the investors. Plant baigan!

Happy Divali!

Good night and good luck!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

R&R

We had two of the four grands spend the weekend with us whilst the parents went off to the North Coast for some rest and relaxation. From all reports, the sojourn was well spent with both singing the praises of our North Coast, no beach, just R&R. We are ten minutes from the coast and I hate to admit it but it is rare that we venture north. One of the selling points of coming to live in the wilds of Maraval in 1983 was the fact that Maracas Bay was a mere 30 mins away. Maracas could have been next door it did not matter, we just do not do it. Having grandchildren I think puts you in a very different place. When our kids were growing up we were struggling with building a business from scratch, living off of a teachers salary, impossible then as it is now, and generally ketching. But as it is with all things in life we survived. Looking back at those years it was difficult, kids, dogs, mortgage and other loans, but you knew why you were putting yourself through all this hard...
Post a Comment
Read more

the Grand Pooba! The Constitution 101 [6[

The distance the Tobago ferries have to travel between the islands is approximately 80 miles. For safety reasons the First Bocas cannot be used so the ferries sail through the Second Bocas which adds time on to the sailing schedule. The water or wave pattern is different on the sailing to Tobago as the wave comes at an angle to the sailing direction of the ferry that does not provide the passengers with the most comfortable ride. At certain times of the year, November to March in particular, the seas can get extremely rough. There have been cancellations of the service because of adverse sea conditions. The current design of the passenger ferries being used, the Incat hull, have proven to be the best to date. They are fast, in excess of 35 knots, which should give a sailing time of just over two [2] hrs. Being a catamaran type design, with a wave piercing capability, it is probably one of the best vessels for the service. There are newer designs of the same basic hull that can take...
Post a Comment
Read more

'Teacher Lucy'

May Day is significant both as a spring festival in the northern climes and of course as the International Labor Day. The latter was started in the 19th century by the communists and socialists and strangely enough in commemoration of an event in Chicago. May 1st on the Rock is just that May 1st. Within recent times a couple trade unions have recognized the day but our big labor celebration is on another day. On the Rock, you get to celebrate Labor Day twice and get paid for it. The dreaded SEA examine is happening this week and if you somehow forgot one is reminded by the number of photo-ops taken by persons of import. These persons visit schools hand out 'SEA packs' (consisting of pens, pencils and other trinkets), call for all God's best wishes on the poor children and to me scare the hell out of these kids who are about to sit an exam that will mark them forever. The SEA is as bad as it gets and to further stress the kids is simply not something that should ...
Post a Comment
Read more