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Last Sunday, this year’s Panorama semi-finals brought strong feelings of peace and togetherness to the Queen’s Park Savannah and its environs. The event mirrored the camaraderie of the previous Sunday when the Panorama judges visited seven Port of Spain panyards and the crowds were so big that they could only be fully captured by drone photography.
It appears that what I referred to as the unofficial truce that seems to prevail within the main Carnival centres at Carnival time is holding for the moment. Sadly, a murder occurred in Charlotte Street, in the vicinity of a popular panyard, shortly before 8pm, while Panorama was in progress.
However, due diligence was not observed in reporting where the bullets struck their target. It was not a strike against a panyard.
The references below to midnight or later as a benchmark are grounded on the norm of panyard events at other times of the year, which begin to empty at 11pm. It is also grounded on other more severe adjustments many have made to the hours they are willing to be out at night.
From my observations last Sunday, citizens bonded around the competing bands and the music. They showed love, or at least respect, for each other.
The crowd in the North Stand (yet again overstuffed) stayed later than usual. The track was packed beyond midnight.
Photo: Pan Trinbago
Walking back, after midnight and later, to vehicles parked many blocks away from the Grandstand and the track, evoked little fear. Everyone, young and old, seemed in a good mood—the passing of remarks or accosting others at a minimum.
The Panorama bond is strong, enduring and inter-generational. When will some sensible cultural policy emerge in order to seize this unique opportunity to further peace in our communities?
It cannot be over-emphasised how many youngsters are playing or following pan. These are precious human resources, which have not yet been misled. This energy can be captured within the expanded panyard model for which I have been a constant advocate.
What I am describing is an example of self-regulation stimulated by the common objective, to follow pan. We are capable of that high level of self-regulation and bonding when inspired to unite—most recently, perhaps in smaller numbers, by the first West Indies Test win in Australia in Test for 37 years, after the glory days of our teams had so long vanished.
On account of these columns, I make new acquaintances with persons who make me out while attending public events. I also run across acquaintances previously made in this way. The readers’ club demographic is pleasing and wide.
While in the Grandstand last Sunday a person in the front row reached out, after discreetly verifying my identity with Kavita. Scarlet is a teacher, a stably married mother of five whose children are involved in pan. A son and daughter were playing in two different large bands that evening.
Photo: Pan Trinbago
I was particularly delighted when she introduced herself because I immediately recognized that she was a person whose letters to the editor I usually read with interest.
Next morning, she shared with me what she wrote while disturbed by the inaccurate report that the Charlotte Street murder bullets were fired into the nearby panyard. She has the perspective of a parent whose children may be in a panyard up to 4am in the height of the season.
Here are some of Scarlet’s perspectives: “These panyards are places where three to four generations of musicians co-habit, bolstered by a community that has contributed its support.
(via Pan Jumbie)
“Within this space, the prospects are more practical, achievable, and impartial compared to the opportunities outside the yard. Panyards, located in the heart of these neighbourhoods, serve as the engine room of hope, providing opportunities for individuals/youths to aspire and become something more.
“My optimism stems from witnessing the fiery dedication and genuine love for the steelpan in the eyes of young individuals during the early morning hours when most are still asleep.”
She wisely concluded that “there is a need to protect the purity of this cultural haven, which has long served as a beacon of togetherness, strength, and artistic expression.”
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Martin G Daly SC is a prominent attorney-at-law. He is a former Independent Senator and past president of the Law Association of Trinidad and Tobago.
He is chairman of the Pat Bishop Foundation and a steelpan music enthusiast.
