By Stephen Kangal
December 26, 2011
The infectious lyrics of chutney this Xmas have currently emancipated itself from the celebration and adoration of the rejected “rum till I die” theme to genuine social commentary/analysis of the deteriorating, dominating and lack-of-confidence conduct of the young Indian woman inside and outside of the marriage contract.
Indian womanhood must take due note of this counter response. It is conducted in song on behalf of young Indian males against the persistent suffocating tentacles of over-dominant, controlling and nagging Indian wives. The message of these popular songs can have a devastating impact and negatively reinforce the natural instinct of the young impressionable Indian man to enter into marital relationships. It can cause stress on fertility rate and population growth. It may also lead to the proliferation of single parent families within the Indian community leading to more deviance among the young. The strength of the Indian community is the cohesiveness and resilience of the Indian family unit. This is fast becoming an endangered social institution given the copy-cat Influence wielded by the young “chutneyteers” such as Ravi B, Rajin etc.
The message of chutney today is that the young Indian husband feels corralled and imprisoned within the walls of the marital home having to endure total control and domineering by their wives. This tendency to controlling the Indian husband is a hang- over of the indentured past when men outnumbered women. Women called the shots in the Indian home. But times have changed including the gender balance.
I commend the male “chutneyteers” for exploring the sociology of the stresses affecting Indian marriage and highlighting a growing but hidden social problem that needs to be addressed in interest of repairing and preserving the social fabric and integrity of T&T.
Best wishes for the Holiday festivities to all!
” The Strength of the Indian community is the cohesiveness and resilience of the Indian family Unit”- Stephen Kangal. “I commend the male “chutneyteers” for exploring the sociology of the stresses affecting Indian marriage and highlighting a growing but hidden social problem that needs to be addressed in interest of repairing and preserving the social fabric and integrity of T&T”. Stephen Kangal “It can cause stress on fertility rate and population growth”- Stephan Kangal
Get off of the mental island that you now reside. This is TNT and is already a problem in all of TNT. Your not in India, but if you were, then perhaps you would already acknowledge severe problems with various family units just as in other nations. What is your end game? Times are changing. People aren’t sticking with old world norms and traditions because they don’t work well in the new world as they are. People are opting to live their lives the way that nature intended…by individual choice. Why should men born in raised in TNT opt for ancient traditions of a culture thousands of miles in distance and thousands of years in time away? The planet is changing. Don’t be a dinosaur. Awareness is one thing, but this sounds more like a warning
“This tendency to controlling the Indian husband is a hang- over of the indentured past?” No cuz Kangal, ‘me think,’ de gene is out of that bottle a long time ago on that score.
Our courageous Indo Trini women, are now pushing back , as everyone now feels she too can be another Queen K , as opposed to daily selling roast corn ,along a smelly highway , pregnant every other week ,bare feet, and awaiting ,…. well you can fill in de blanks, as to what many , and their desperate kids must endure , across the lower socio economic enclaves, at the hands of occasionally, psychologically traumatized males, from within.
You got it wrong , as your attempts at sociological rationalization ,and explanation , re dis alleged , nevo liberated cultural expressions ,fell short.
As a matter of fact , there can never be again , an Indian,Afrikan, Chinese, Arab, European, Jewish, Latino , or any such nostalgic conception, of culture , in our Twin Island Republic.
Any thing that fit’s that pure state is a mere fragment of the imagination of some pre historic thinker,a la Uncle Umbala , or Sat , which I know your are not.
In music ,food, religion , sexual attraction/ relationships ,dance, and as the PP successes indicated , even politics , can never be the same moving forward. Points to note ,but did not Deputy PM MP of Chagurnas Uncle Jack , win more votes in any Indian enclave , than even the Siparia Queen , Her Majesty?
What’s that PNM historic gerrymandering , finally kicked in?
If you dare believe that , then maybe our Caribbean, roving Ambassador , Makandal Dagger ,can sell you the Taj Mahal , after he swim’s the Ganges ,on his South Asian world tour, yes?
Better yet , T&T is about to stand up to America , re the extradition treaty involving croks, Ish, and dish , or better yet, we are about to eliminate the Privy Council, hmmmm?
Listen guys , dis ain’t Guyana, for 25 % or more, of that rising swing vote Dougla / French Creole, calaloo , Jambalaya , mix up , mix up population , was the key , and not any so called fine ideas ,of alleged ,new aged leaders , that presently rule the roost.
One false move by Her Majesty , Queen K ,and the tenuous house of cards , affectionately , referred to as the PP regime , would fall right down to, no vote of confidence / cross de floor, snap election, apple pie – if you catch my drift.
It is why guys like Basdeo , and Manning ,are pulling their hair out, trying to figure out what hit them , and whether they have any chance of salvaging whatever is left of their tarnished legacy.
A word of warning to these pseudo intellectual , elitist fans , who think that leaders can effect changes , by still holding on to the anachronistic back to the indentured ship, slave boats, imperial Europe , divide and rule ,’politricks,’ as it dat cannot work any more.
Sorry for digressing, as you were saying, Chutney music is now the rage? I hope you were not sleeping all this time cuz Kandell. Did you not hear Lord Nelson, ‘all ah we ah one family,’ ,and this did not just begin two years ago mind you, for it’s a wonderful experiment that,- irrespective of divisive , country hating protractors – evolved over the past 49 years, and you know where the credit should go .
Thanks as always for your insightful commentary , and desire to change the debate, from the usual distractions , more favored by already compromised , entities ,of de Trini 4th Estate.
We wish this 1.3 million, and counting , mosaic of people well for 2012 and beyond, yes ?
Luv Humanity!
It is these ‘Stephen Kangal’, ‘Sat Maharaj’, ‘Devant Maharaj’, ‘Tim Gopeesingh’, ‘Suruj Rambachan’ ‘Simboonath Capildeo’ types that have brought Trinidad and Tobago to where it is today – a nation filled with money but there is no love and no happiness because there is a segregational tilt that is forcing the ‘Indian’ towards ‘oneness’ (whatever that means). Up till the PP, there has always been and will continue to have a melting of the culture. Chutney as a musical art form was born out of the unique experience of the Indo-Trinidadian and the expressions in song and dance amply identifies the long journey from ‘arrival’ to Carnival. Yes Mr. Kangal, your mind might want your people to remain in the cultures of the archaic east (which in itself is changing) but time marches on and the mixture will continue. Sat will one day die as the rest of us will and the foolishness which he has our present Queen K doing will be no more. Diehards like you will only experience short periods self agrandisment. You can praise the retail exploit of the Indian, the cunning and expansive ownership traits of the Syrian, the business savvy of the Chinese, the consumerism and fun loving habits of the African, all prey on the weakness and strengths of the other but one thing that comes out of all this a Trinidadian who thinks he is someone else until he ends up in a foreign Capital (hoping to be someone else), only to find that he is most comfortable with a Trini……… Mr. Kangal, your dream is really a nightmare!
http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/_Ambulance_took_too_long_-136461098.html
To your point kian, there should be less obsessions ,over so called noble culture , and more about enhancing education , especially of low caste folks ,from de tribe , so that they too can understand what are their responsibilities in terms of self preservation, a la 21 st century , UN Millennium goals.
Our mimic society , unfortunately, has become too litigious , ladened as it is, with these numerous egomaniacal, ambulance chasing ,back slapping ‘silk gathering lawyers-‘ in and out of power, hummm? As for the above , just watch out for the law suite, that would inevitably follow , from this travesty.
We are on the verge of 2012 , and just had some clueless Trini send me this undermentioned link,which is essentially , an over the top, possibly paid PR mantra, aimed at …..,? Your guess , is as good as mine , as if to imply ,that our country has evolved into this safe ,progressive ,tourist haven , over the past two years.
In the mean time , no talk about neglected Tobago, or any true efforts , aimed at highlighting Afrikan contributions to our country’s overall global brand.
Let the brayers , wake me up ,when their leaders decide to start spending some of our resources into the ignored tourism industry.
http://travel.nytimes.com/2012/01/01/travel/36-hours-trinidad.html?emc=eta1
In the mean time , someone should tell them that , even with all of it’s negative fall outs ,tourism remains one of the highest revenue earning component for most countries globally. We in the global South ,must recognize it does not occur by chance , or by us pretending to be Europeans , but then I digress, when one time Foreign Service head guru Uncle Kangal , has a bigger message for us to be concern about.
http://travel.nytimes.com/2012/01/01/travel/36-hours-trinidad.html?emc=eta1
Not certain about you cuz Kian , but I personally, along with numerous others , prefer to live on Mars ,for the next 40 years , even naked , and starving, than to suffer the indignity of returning to my own country , and succumb to any 4th class citizen status, under the obvious manipulations of closet barbarians.
We wish our people well.
Neal, thanks for the linkages. As one who owns a home in the vicinity of the ‘Avenue’, I too can attest to the vibrancy of night life there and the potential for elevating it’s features for future tourist attractions. There are so many things lacking in our little country that it is amazing how many of us go about boasting about of our ‘first world’ abilities. The other story about the ambulance is really sad. This is a case for our friend Stephen Kangal to ponder upon before writing about the crap about keeping Indian women in ignorance and slavery.
You are welcome cuz Kian , and best wishes to you ,for the coming year . Speaking about linkages, I noticed with some slight amusement, that Her Magesty, Queen K , and de Queen maker in Chief, Uncle Jack, were quick off the bat to make the typical media posturing , congratulatory gestures , to our Yardee neighbor Sister P , re her victory, in the just concluded Jamaican polls.
Now, ain’t that ironic , for what this victory , in actuality signifies, was a renunciation of political corruption , as played out by ex PM Bruce Goulding, who was tied like a Siamese twin .to the waist of Dodus de coke bandit, who preyed on the mainly low caste innocent in his country, then when the kitchen got hot , was ready to hide like a Trini Zandole, yes?
http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/saturday-december-31-2011/jamaica’s-first-woman-pm-urges-national-unity
Kind of remind us of two local white color , politically cuddled , criminal bums , that big brother America ,is likewise trying to extradite to their country, so that they too can face the the law for their crimes, but certain unmentionable elements, are doing everything feasible in their powers , in an attempt to prevent them, huh Kian?All of a sudden , someone is calming to adore our local justice system.
Hopefully , someone is taking notes from the more sophisticated Jamaicans.
Sing with me , and my Black Socrates, musical advocacy head guru brother ,Black Stalin, for in 2013/14 de people that matters , might be tempted to join in de chorus, and say ..Is De same old thing …DAC /ulf/UNC/ PNM ./ aand dis pp – you doing what again?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fkas7MpxxdU&feature=related
Change we can believe in huh? Tell dem for me , dat, de people shall not be bamboozled , all the time!
Luv Country!