March 2018 – Page 21 – Guyana Times International

Guyanese designer featured at Buckingham Palace for London fashion week

March 3, 2018 TIMES INT'L

Shasha Designs participated in the first ever Commonwealth Fashion Exchange programme, which saw designers and artisans from 52 commonwealth countries producing a fashion ‘look’ using principles of sustainable excellence. The design was unveiled at a special reception at Buckingham Palace for London Fashion Week on February 19, 2018. The design then moves to a public exhibition at Australia House, and other locations in London where the exhibition will be open to the public, it then moves to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Summit, April 2018. Later in the year, the…

The legacy of terror

March 3, 2018 TIMES INT'L

By Ravi Dev There are increasing signs that we are fast descending into a repeat of the widespread terror unleashed on the populace during the Burnham dictatorship. Maybe it is part of the project to continue his “legacy”, so we should continue to examine that legacy. The terror in Burnham’s state was generated essentially from two sources. First, there was the physical violence meted out by organised bands of thugs and the rapes and murders of the ‘kick down the door’ bandits. Secondly, there was the psychic violence emanating from…

Republic Day…

March 3, 2018 TIMES INT'L

…spite and bile Your Eyewitness isn’t surprised any longer at how far these AFC windbags can sink. The moment they accepted the PNC’s degutting of the Cummingsburg Accord when Nagamootoo was made into a glorified “gossip monger” rather than a power sharing Prime Minister like in France, you knew they were castrated. Which meant they then had to dance to “do wha’ yuh want wid me!!” But that only goes for the AFC relations with the PNC. To their erstwhile supporters who’ve now deserted them like folks jumping off the…

Meet the Maraikobai community

March 3, 2018 TIMES INT'L

The Maraikobai community is located some 95 miles up the Mahaicony River and is home to 1000 residents. The area is accessible both by river and land; logging and small scale agriculture are the primary economic activities here. In an effort to promote domestic tourism and to increase the opportunity of experiencing indigenous culture and history, Rainforest Tours has coordinated the Maraikobai Safari which is now in its second year. According to the Safari Coordinator Frank Singh the Maraikobai off road village safari kicked off on February 23rd and will…

A cornucopia of festival flavors

March 3, 2018 TIMES INT'L

Families across the country are in preparation mode for the highly anticipated Phagwah/ Holi 2018 festivities. While the occasion is marked by many traditions, this celebration also includes the preparation, and consumption, of traditional foods including; sweet rice, pera, polourie and much more. There are many well established eateries in Guyana which make these delectable goodies for sale and they are quite popular around this time. This would be ideal if you are on the go. However, there are many traditionalists, like myself, who count the days leading up to…

Guyana’s Mandirs….a glimpse through history

March 3, 2018 TIMES INT'L

Our East Indian ancestors came to British Guiana in 1838, bringing with them their culture, customs and religions. Consequently, our ancestors built mandirs and mosques to fulfil congregational worship. Located in Ankerville, Corentyne, Berbice, deep in the canfields, is an ancient mandir (only the top is visible). The Ankerville residents explained that this mandir was built by the first batch of East Indians who came to Guyana. One villager recalled her grandparents told her the British took care of the mandir, cleaning the surroundings and lime-washing the lingam (representation of…

Celebrating HOLI

March 3, 2018 TIMES INT'L

Holi is a community’s exuberant expression of joy to welcome the warmth of spring. In a refl ection of nature’s abundance, Hindus celebrate with bursts of colour, camaraderie and shared abandon. It begins on Purnima, full moon day, in the Hindu month of Phalguni (February/March) and lasts for as long as 16 days. How does the festival start? Many communities create a central bonfire on the night before Holi, starting with kindling and logs and adding organic debris as they clean up their property. The fire symbolizes the torching of…

Guyana to benefit from hosting 1st Inter-American Tourism Congress

March 3, 2018March 3, 2018 TIMES INT'L

Guyana is expected to benefit significantly from the hosting of the 24th Inter-American Committee on Tourism (CITUR) Congress of Ministers and high-level officials of tourism next month. This is according to Business and Tourism Development Minister Dominic Gaskin, who underscored the importance of the event and the benefits to be realised from staging it in Guyana. Minister Gaskin was speaking at the launching of the Congress in January. He maintained that the Congress would raise the country’s tourism and business profiles and would also contribute to Guyana’s economic growth in…

Heath-London tipped to lead new GuySuCo board

March 3, 2018 TIMES INT'L

By Samuel Sukhnandan Government has given its nod to the appointment of a new Board of Directors for the troubled and debt burdened Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) after booting Economist Clive Thomas from its chairmanship and replacing him with newcomer and head of the Special Purpose Unit (SPU) of the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited’s (NICIL), Colvin Heath-London . A source close to Guyana Times International said Wednesday that the decision was taken by Cabinet recently and the names of the other new Board members could be released soon.…

Thousands take to streets to celebrate Guyana’s 48th Republic Anniversary

March 3, 2018 TIMES INT'L

By Lakhram Bhagirat Music trucks blasting sweet soca music and revellers gyrating their well-oiled hips is just one representation of the weaving of varying threads of cultures into the fabric that pays homage to Guyana’s diversity, as thousands of Guyanese took to the streets of Georgetown to celebrate the country’s 48th republic anniversary. The streets of the city came alive as a sea of vibrantly coloured and glittering roisters snaked their way through, rejuvenating the cauldron of harmony known as Mashramani. The representation of various threads of the Guyanese fabric…