Set the record straight

THE EDITOR: I would like to set the record straight with regard to an article in yesterday’s Newsday entitled “Women network objects.” I never said the Rowley Mother Count song was insulting to the Prime Minister.

My position is very clear, it had nothing to do with any competition or the PM at all, in fact, Gosein stopped entering Chutney Soca Monarch for years and it was never the policy of the National Chutney Foundation (NCFTT) to ban anyone from any competition, that is up to the organisers of respective competitions especially when its a private competition.

My comment re this song was, and still is, that there is one word “count” which should be left out or changed to a word such as “vex” because we are adults and understand the double meaning of words and know how they could be interpreted. Since this type of thing has happened before and many of us also commented then, the NCFTT has been advocating for the development of more positive lyrics and, as a result, we have produced the Schools Intellectual Chutney Soca Monarch Competition for all primary and secondary schools for the last seven years. This, because the adult songs were conveying too much negative messages.

My other point is a large portion of the TT population prays to different female versions of God. For example, Hindus worship the Mother Laxmi while Christians pray to the Mother Mary. We even have a wonder of the world in Siparia where both Hindus and Christians worship the same female saint: La Divina / Supari K Mai.

How then, can we, or should we, agree to sing or compose using words to express a negative sound track of women or females in general? We must all respect women, even if you think they, sometimes, don’t respect themselves. Our duty is to respect and worship mothers since we all came from a female. In some teachings, God said, “Your mother is first and then come to Him.”

Dr Vijay Ramlal Rai, President NCFTT