Lessons from Mash 2000
Editorial
THE Mashramani 2000 celebrations for the 30th anniversary of the Republic last week Wednesday are being widely heralded as a success and as a signal that it has become a truly national annual event. The exuberance and antics of some dancers in the Mash Day parade around Georgetown have drawn charges of vulgarity and obscenity but these are common in carnival-type celebrations around the world. Floats, costumes (or lack of them) and revellery are taken to extremes in carnivals in places like Brazil and Trinidad and Tobago and carnival devotees would consider the Guyanese observances somewhat tame. The calypsoes continue to be way below the standard accepted for the art form in the Caribbean and those judged as winning entries this year would have been also-rans in calypso contests in several other countries in the region. As one calypso contestant lamented in his lyrics, some people seemed to have found a `recipe for the monarchy'. It, however, is a recipe that does not add much to the national melting pot Guyana longs so much for. The obvious shortcomings aside, Mash seems to have arrived this year and the organisers cannot afford to lose the momentum if they are to take it to better heights next year. There are lessons to be learned and a closer look has to be taken at the calypso guidelines used in Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados. Trinidad and Tobago's carnival has a character of its own and Guyana would not want to be a pale imitation of the celebrations there or in Brazil. But there are tips and methods that can be universally applied for such observances and these should be adopted with the growing mass appeal of Mash. Mash can be bigger and better and Culture Minister, Ms Gail Teixeira has shown that it can be done. President Bharrat Jagdeo acknowledged the contributions of Ms Teixeira and others after the festival last week, also giving kudos to the government agencies and the private sector for their involvement. He recognised that the mass participation "signifies that our people, in spite of perceived differences...want to work together." "They want to play together, they want to celebrate the oneness of our country. "They want to celebrate a national festival that signifies the attainment of nationhood," the President said. A reader who said he was never a "Mash fan", ventured out last week and became a convert. "I am now convinced that Mash is a vehicle for what so many of us work for - the unity of our people", he concluded. "It does not matter when it got started and who started it - it is a genuine Guyanese event. "It is an event that we own. "For those who insist that they must separate themselves for whatever reason - political, racial or religious - my humble plea is that let us reconsider our positions", he urged. These are the sentiments that best sum up the strides forward for Mash and the momentum and the message should be captured fully. The organisers in the state and private sectors should be busy building on the ground gained.
|