Category Archives: Passed on

General T&T, Passed on, Sports

Relief from grief

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By Raffique Shah
August 10, 2024

Raffique ShahI thought I would never get over her. That night when everybody had left and just a few members of the family remained to keep us company, comforting words from my dearest relatives and friends hardly helped. I was just seeing her face everywhere.

Rosina must be laughing wherever she was: I feel sure she was in our room because I heard her laughter, her voice, and even saw her face smiling at me. Readers might become bored with this 78-year-old geezer who has just lost a wife. That happens almost every day to someone or several people worldwide, and when people read this column they’d probably laugh at me pining away after Rosina.
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General T&T, Passed on

Passing of a beautiful soul

By Raffique Shah
July 31, 2024

Raffique ShahOn July 18 I lost my life partner, the woman whose beautiful face was the first thing I saw when I awoke, and the last thing I saw as I drifted off to sleep at nights. I must have had a hard day the day before, because for some reason on the morning she passed, I was lying next to her between sleep and wake, as close relatives of hers drifted in and out of our room, praying for her in between sobs and whispered words. If the last few weeks have been tough on my family, the last few days leading up to her death and funeral were sheer torture.
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General T&T, Passed on

A sterling example

By Dr Selwyn R. Cudjoe
April 16, 2024

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeThe passing of Michael de la Bastide, former chief justice and first president of the Caribbean Court of Justice, signified the end of an era in Trinidad and Tobago or even Caribbean jurisprudence. Archbishop Jason Gordon says he was concerned about mercy at the end of his days. However, what stood out during his active years as an attorney was his commitment to law and justice.
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General T&T, Passed on

D’Prive who was a King

By Raffique Shah
March 05, 2024

Raffique ShahWhen I was informed last week of the passing of the man known universally as D’Prive—ex-Private Winston Nurse—I went into an introspective mode for just about a minute, and then my mind drifted to The King. Not Charlo or any other monarch. This king is the lead character in the author James Clavell’s novel, King Rat.

D’Prive and I had shared a private joke over my observation that he shared similarities with Corporal King, the main character in this epic novel set in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp in Singapore. King Rat was one of Clavell’s most colourful creations. He—not the generals and other high-ranked personnel, some of whom were of royal stock, and all of whom were of the officer caste—called the shots in almost every way, the exception being that he could not leave.
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General T&T, Passed on, Politics

Karen’s foibles

By Dr Selwyn R. Cudjoe
January 16, 2024

Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe“Ah did tell Karen, at least in my dream, not to storm de people fete (ah mean de funeral). I told her, don’t go where you are not wanted and most of all, never make yo’ self a pappy show among Trini people. They will never let you forget it. Consumed with self-importance, Karen responded: ‘Ah have to show respect and honour Panday’s remarkable career, so ah going.'”
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General T&T, Passed on, Politics

No HOPE, only disappointment

By Raffique Shah
January 16, 2024

Raffique ShahTrust Trinis to set the stage for another type of public misbehaviour. It’s as if the near-collapse of good manners and social graces that have led to a behavioural pattern that span the spectrum of classes from young miscreants and criminals, to parliamentarians and holders of public office, have become the norm.

At the state funeral last Tuesday for former prime minister Basdeo Panday, we witnessed some spectacles that would cause shame and disgrace in the ­average society anywhere in the world. Here in Trinidad, though, we have once again managed to make everything into a joke.
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General T&T, Passed on, Race and Identity

Pillars of Brinsley Samaroo’s achievements

By Stephen Kangal
July 17, 2023

Stephen KangalIn an attempt to assess and conceptualise the varied life, exciting times and indeed the unique legacy and saga bequeathed to us by the late Prof Brinsley Samaroo, I can think of his odyssey of life as a solid platform that was supported by four event-filled but interlocking pillars.

The first pillar, in some chronological order is his Naparima–Presbyterian foundation and pillar that coloured, expressed and energised his entire odyssey from Ecclesvile, to San Fernando, St Augustine and to the rest of the world.
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Africa, General T&T, Passed on

Rituals of grief

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By Dr Selwyn R. Cudjoe
September 26, 2022

“The glories of our blood and state, Are shadows, not substantial things; There is no armour against fate, Death lays his icy hands on kings. Sceptre and crown must tumble down, And, in the dust, be equal made with the poor crooked scythe and spade.”

—James Shirley

Dr. Selwyn R. CudjoeI didn’t expect to spend so much time looking at the funeral of Elizabeth II. I was intrigued by the spectacle made of death (a display put on for its visual effect and impact) and the ritual of grief (a solemn ceremony performed according to a prescribed order) that was enacted before millions of people.

It took 20 years of planning to stage this event. It was the responsibility of Edward Fitzalan-Howard, who inherited the role of Earl Marshal of England when his father died in 2002. He “descended from the same family that has planned royal funerals and coronations since 1672”. He takes his responsibility seriously. He did not earn a cent for the tireless work he did for the Queen’s funeral.
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England, General T&T, Passed on, UK

The Queen and I

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By Raffique Shah
September 12, 2022

Raffique ShahIt’s incomprehensible that I, whose generation had every reason to dislike the British monarchy and wish for its early demise and for it to be replaced by something more modern, early in my life, became indifferent to the Windsors’ lingering presence as a symbol of Britain’s once inordinate prowess, and more than that, one woman’s mesmerising presence that defied all odds for almost 100 years.
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