Act to make pan nationaltreasure

THE EDITOR: Congratulations to Barbados on the attainment of political independence and republican status. Barbados’s Prime Minister needs to be singled out for this accomplishment during an international health crisis – covid19.

Mark Forde, a blogger on Facebook, wrote the following: “Barbados made the transition to being a republic last night and the opening performance of the night was my arrangement of This Is Who We Are, performed by the National Steel Orchestra. Happy independence, Barbados.”

Did you know that Barbados has a national steel orchestra? Who knows, Caribbean islands may soon designate national steel orchestra status on steelbands that are their equivalent of national symphony orchestras.

The above begs the question: should TT officially proclaim pan as its national musical instrument, thereby specifically identifying pan’s birthplace/place of its origin? Recall a letter I wrote in 2019 that a Heritage Library and Nalis search failed to “locate any Hansard records of it being established by an Act of Parliament.” Of course late prime minister Patrick Manning, in an Independence Day address to the nation, had declared the pan the national (musical) instrument of TT.

Pan was invented/created in the Land of the Hummingbird. It is our first and oldest national. It preceded both you and me and our attainment of independent and republican political status. Unfortunately, it is yet to be recognised as being a national treasure.

While we must be proud and excited about the Caribbean’s acceptance of pan as an adjunct to sun, sand and sea as another attraction to our islands, I beseech the powers that be in TT to pay attention to the plight of pan – the instrument. On a posting re Expo 2020 in Dubai (postponed from its original date because of the covid19 pandemic to October 1, 2021-March 31, 2022) someone wrote, “Look where pan reach!” TT needs to ensure that it never has to say, “Look where pan gone.”

HENRY HARPER

Petit Valley