Kiskadee Days Village People Gaitri Pagrach - Chandra This copy of Kiskadee Days Village People is part of a special limited edition. It has been signed and numbered by Gaitri Pagrach-Chandra, author and ceramics artist. Foreword Gaitri Pagrach-Chandra enjoys the best of two exciting worlds - the world of her girlhood in British Guiana (now Guyana), in South America, and the world of her adulthood in Holland, Western Europe. This talented author willingly shares with the rest of the world, her girlhood experiences, in the form of intriguing stories drawn from a people who came from the Indian Sub-continent to British Guiana, and became an integral part of a Nation of six races. They toiled together in the sun and rain, building a solid foundation for generations to come and creating the basis for a shared culture. Guyana, known as the ‘Land of Many Waters’, was in past centuries also dubbed ‘El Dorado, the City of Gold’, which the great English Explorer Sir Walter Raleigh set out to conquer. A beautiful land with a flat coastal plain, lofty mountain ranges, lush green rain forests, and grass-covered savannah lands with roaming cattle as far as the eye can see. From the golden wealth of that diverse land which six races call home, Gaitri shares nuggets of her early life in ‘El Dorado’. She draws the inspiration from a shared history and personal memories for her writings, skillfully integrating standard English with the local Guyanese Creolese, as she relates the rich culture of the Peoples of Guyana. About Francis Francis Quamina Farrier is a household name in Guyana and far beyond. A veteran journalist, poet and dramatist, his varied work is in turn informative, intriguing and entertaining as he showcases the complex culture of Guyana in his own Francis in a play at the unique way. He has created, written and directed numerous University of London. productions for radio, theatre, television and film. Already a successful published author, Ms. Gaitri Pagrach-Chandra continues to dig deeper into the literary and culinary treasures of her native Guyana which she shares with the rest of the world, with her informative and entertaining books. Windmills in my Oven and Het Nederlands Bakboek reflect the culture of her newer homeland. Her other books, Warm Bread and Honey Cake, Sugar and Spice and Wrapped contain many treasures extracted from the gold mines of the culture of Guyana. Her Kiskadee Days series of stories are named after the tiny bird which got its name from its whistling chirping, “kiss-kiss-kadee”. So it's safe to say that there are 'kisses' for the readers of the books of Gaitri Pagrach-Chandra. This her latest included. August 2019 Francis Quamina Farrier Francis has been the recipient of a number of prizes and awards, with more than one Lifetime Achievement Award National Lifetime Achievement Award. to his name as well as the National Award of the Medal of Service. He knows Guyana and her people intimately, having travelled to all four corners of the 83,000 square mile country over the past fifty years, including the vast unexplored interior regions seen by very few. Writing the Tides of Susanburg. 7 Meet the Ladies… 7 They come in all forms, shapes and sizes Kiskadee Village is typical village near to a sugar estate. Many of the people who live there are in some way connected to the sugar estate, which in turn relies on the villagers for all kinds of services. The men work in various capacities in the factory, in the cane-fields and in the senior staff compound. Some of the ladies work as weeders in the backdam and elsewhere. Others are employed as domestic helpers at the houses in the compound, cooking, cleaning, laundering and helping to bring up the children, either intentionally or unintentionally. The ladies who live in the village come in all forms, shapes and sizes: short, tall, fat, skinny, voluptuous, dark, fair, young, old. Some are kind, while others are malicious; some count their blessings while others are envious and covetous; some greet each new day positively while others quarrel and complain; some are helpful while others are spiteful. Most have known hardship and they all deal with it in their own way. A few are selfish, thinking only of themselves, but in general, the inhabitants of Kiskadee Village are kind and caring folk who live simply and work hard. Together, they are typical Village People. For easy reference while reading, the ladies appear here in alphabetical order. Allow me to introduce you to … Asha Mother of Vishnu, Sharmila and Kamini, wife of Rooplall the dragline operator, Asha lost her mother at an early age and was brought up by a sharp-tongued aunt. She is also the beloved daughter-in-law of Kaloutie who firmly rejects the prevalent idea that all daughters-in-law should go through a fair bit of hardship. Asha makes delicious aloo roti and enjoys seeing the Indian movies that she and her friend Bibi read about in Filmfare magazine. Bhagwattie Singh Wife of Mohan, who owns the prosperous local business Singh’s Dry Goods and General Store, and mother of a modern girl, Anjanie, who refuses to allow her parents (or other helpful friends and relatives) to choose a husband for her. Anjanie’s wedding is currently her main preoccupation as it will be a huge event. Bhagwattie is also a closet user of skin-lightening cream and her blood pressure can rise when she does not get her own way. Bhougie Famous for her curry and sada roti, she always cooks enough for anybody who might drop in. She knows all the little tricks to make her curry extra tasty, such as using the right curry powder and grinding the onion and garlic thoroughly on her masala brick. Her curry is always nice and hot, with several wiri wiri peppers. She does not believe in ballafiah (which fancy people call Scotch Bonnet) because it does not have the right flavour. Bibi Bibi’s main claim to fame is that she is the mother of badderashun lil bai Ashraf. She is a great fan of Indian movies and whenever the car with the loudspeaker passes to advertise a new one, she immediately starts to plan a visit. She loves to dress up on a Saturday afternoon and go to matinees at the Majestic Cinema with her bosom friend and fellow pitcha-cack, Asha. The two of them rarely miss a show and Sangam is next on their list. Claudette Mother of Nigel and Mavis, wife of master cane-cutter Cedric. She works part-time as a typist at the sugar estate and runs her home very well. She expects her children to help with chores at home and she often grumbles that they do not do enough. She doesn’t seem to notice that Mavis is very helpful despite her heavy workload at high school and that she often ends up doing Nigel’s chores too, while he saunters off to play with his badderashun pals. Devika Phoowah Sister of Mohan Singh of Singh’s Dry Goods and General Store. As Anjanie’s phoowah, she plays a very important role during the wedding, with many specific tasks. Among other things, she leads the mattikore procession, parches the paddy for lawah and accompanies Anjanie under the maaro during the wedding ceremony. In the traditional way, she will be well-rewarded with gifts for all these efforts in her special position as phoowah. 10 Meet the ladies… Dularie Mother of Rajendra (popularly known as Shorty) and Vashti, she is the youngest daughter of Jasoda and sister of well-meaning but carefree hire-car driver Balli. Dularie is generally good-tempered, but can ‘get on’ when her children and their friends’ safety is threatened. She is now an expert at grating coconuts with a kokornie grater, but when she first started out, the coconut often had a pinkish tinge as she grated her fingers along with the nuts. Enid Granfada Edgar’s niece who was roped in to help look after Basil when Evangeline went to study abroad. The disappearance of her mortar and pestle causes some commotion and people have all kinds of theories about their disappearance. Suspicion falls on the badderashun lil bais, and there are also whispers that Enid’s husband Cyril has given them as a gift to his outside woman. It has yet to be proved that Cyril actually has an outside woman. Ethel Ethel lives next door to Enid. She knows how hard it is to pound provisions in the sweltering heat, but she perseveres because she likes to get her work done early enough to leave her with a useful amount of spare time. She is always well-informed about happenings in Kiskadee Village as she enjoys gossiping with anybody who is willing. Ethel usually manages to collect and spread a great deal of village news and gossip without even realising it. 11 Meet the ladies… Onward, Upward – But Goat Buss Rope! Indranie pulled her large karahi from the kitchen cupboard, taking care not to tear the newspaper that lined the shelf. She rested the karahi on top of the kerosene stove and shook a golden shower of fragrant sugar from a brown paper bag into it. Then she punched open a few tins of Ideal evaporated milk and emptied them over the sugar. When she made pera she never used the watered down, bluish substance that Gobin sold as ‘fresh cows’ milk’. Instead, she used rich evaporated milk, which made the luscious, creamy pera for which she was justly famous in Kiskadee Village and the surrounding area.