Fire Festival an exclusive event?

THE EDITOR: Is this TT Bridge Initiative an exclusivist organisation? Its New Fire Festival 2019 seems to exclude Spanish, Amerindian, and East Indian performers and artistes.

From April 12-14, the festival will be held at Ortinola Estate in Maracas Valley.

The festival promises to be “inclusive” in its aim to inspire guests “to live more ecologically sustainable lives.”

The festival will showcase King David Michael Rudder, Isasha, Freetown Collective, Nickolai Salcedo with Gyazette, Solman, Nex Chapta, Caleb Hart, Jivanna Chinaka Dayo Bejide Organic Music Movement, Vizion Musiq Entertainment, RootsYardd and Black Chariot.

No artistes like Jairaj Singh, Akeel Ali, Hemlatta Dindial, Dilip Maraj, Neeshad Sultan, Rajan Seemungal, Massive Gosein, Teg Ramlogan, Sharda Maharaj or anybody like that. None of the Pichakaree singers.

No Hindu choir extolling the virtues of vegetarianism and Dharti Mata (Mother Earth) or Divine Agni (Goddess of Fire). No Arya Samaj group doing a fire sacrifice (hawan) on an altar with ghee (clarified butter).

No Hare Krishna choir singing, dancing and drumming. No sacred chanting for the deification of fire as the creator and destroyer of life.

It is ironic that that TT Bridge Initiative hopes to achieve its mission by “connecting people to each other” and creating a space for “meaningful engagement, discussions, learning and skill-building.

FATIMAH MOHAMMED

Cunupia

Comments

"Fire Festival an exclusive event?"

More in this section