The cabbage, the dog and the Silver Fox

IF you have been on Facebook or Twitter over the past two months, you may have come across videos of UNC founder and former leader and prime minister Basdeo Panday, fondly referred to as the Silver Fox, relaxing and doing some hobbies at home.

His daughter, Mickela Panday, began sharing the content online and many social media users began to request more.

“Silver Fox is really a gem, inno,” “More videos of Panday, please,” “This is so precious, I’ll die of happiness,” and “This was the most wholesome thing I’ve seen all day,” were among the hundreds of comments on the posts.

It all started with a video posted on March 30 with the caption “Small blessings.” It showed a visibly proud Panday harvesting cabbages from his small home garden in San Fernando, as Mickela cheered on, “Good job, Dad.”

He then replied, “Put it next to meh cauliflower,” gesturing for her to move the camera a bit to the left to show the other vegetable.

The video now has over 36,000 views on Twitter and over 20,000 views on Facebook.

Speaking with Newsday, Mickela, herself a lawyer and former MP, said she knew many people were expressing feelings of worry and frustration owing to the covid19 pandemic, so she opted to help “lighten the mood...Even for a minute, by sharing a few personal, short videos that might bring a smile to people’s faces.

“My father has been a public figure for many, many years, so I thought it would also be enjoyable for the many who love and respect him and haven’t seen him for some time.”

The “Silver Fox” told Newsday he has been using his time at home to catch up on things he had been wanting to do for a while but could not find the time for.

“I’m reading a lot, doing a lot of research for my biography, practising my music on the harmonium (reed organ), I’m doing all sorts of pleasant things.”

Asked about his garden, the 86-year-old said he has been gardening since he was 12, as he grew up in a family of farmers.

“I’ve been growing vegetables like melongene, peppers…But with the shortage of water and the blistering sun, unfortunately, most of them have died. As soon as the weather changes and we get some rain and we have some water, I’ll get back to it.”

The second set of videos showed Panday sharing the love with the family’s pet dog, Norman, or, as they call him, Normie. Those were viewed over 20,000 times on Twitter and nearly 30,000 times on Facebook.

Panday said Norman was initially a stray dog who often wandered around their neighbourhood in search of food.

“It’s a very nice story. What happened is, one day, Mickela put some food outside our gate, and since that day he kept waiting for her when she returned from work every day. Eventually, we opened the gate and he came inside, and now he has actually taken over the family.”

He said Norman enjoys going for walks, resting and being petted.

“He’s a very loving creature and he loves to be loved. He gives me a lot of joy to see him happy.”

Along with the videos, Mickela wrote, “Dogs do speak but only listen to those who know how to listen.”

She told Newsday, “The response was tremendous, and I thank everyone who took the time to share their thoughts and best wishes.”

Panday will celebrate his 87th birthday on May 25.