Lakshmi Persaud has passed away
It is with a heavy heart I read of the passing in England of celebrated writer Lakshmi Persaud (nee Seetaram) who taught for a period of time at Queen’s College when she lived in Guyana with her Berbician husband, Prof Bishnodat Persaud who pre-deceased (2016 at age 82) her. She also taught in Trinidad and Jamaica and spent time in Barbados where her son is a prominent economic advisor. She was admired for her writing skills and her articulation of views and positions on issues. Lakshmi had a large following of Guyanese and Caribbean literary enthusiasts in UK, Canada, USA, Guyana, and the Caribbean. Those she taught at Queen’s said she was an outstanding teacher. She and her husband loved interacting with Guyanese and other West Indians wherever they traveled.
In New York, the diaspora honours the memory of Dr. Lakshmi Persaud and her important contribution to the field of literature and specifically of Caribbean women’s writing. Whenever she (and or her husband) visited USA, they were hosted by Guyanese writers for lectures. It was an honour for me to meet her and Bishnodat in London, New York, and Trinidad on multiple occasions and their sharing personal experiences. What a lovely couple! They were very good to Guyanese and other groups at home and in the diaspora sharing their books and experiences and hosting several of us at different locations.
Lakshmi was born in Trinidad and studied in Trinidad and at Queens University, Belfast where she earned her doctorate. There she met Canje born Bishnodat (called Vishnu) who was doing a doctorate in Economics, and they later
got married.
Dr Lakshmi, who also did a postgraduate Diploma in Education at University of Reading, England, made immense contributions in the field of Indian Caribbean literature. Her novels were masterpieces depicting real life. She wrote with great feeling and warmth and her writings have helped to focus literature on IndoCaribbean people. She elevated the reach of Indian Caribbean literature to a wider circle in the UK, North America, and the Caribbean where she had large number of admirers. Her novels focused on the Indo-Caribbean experience and she revealed to me her first-hand experience of the marginalization of Indians in Guyana, Trinidad, Jamaica, and UK. headline was terse, “Budget and bill to extract more from Natural Resource Fund passed”. As infinitives go the one employed by SN takes the cake. It was “to extract…” In this exploration, the focus is less on usage and mostly what it says about where Guyanese are.
In ruminating about “to extract” from the NRF, for some reason dentistry came to mind. To extract is to remove, to pull out, to yank out a tooth. I like yank out, which is more mandibular; and the pointedly proper withdrawal because it is oil money. To extract can be two teeth in extremely decayed and painful situations, and depending on the fright level and tolerance of the patient. But “to extract” also gives the impression that some teeth, lots of them, still remain. Will somebody help a poor, dumb Guyanese by enlightening him about what is left after this budget rubberstamps the soon-to-be-surgically extracted millions from the jaws of the NRF? Put me out of my misery by giving some comfort that there is a cushion of considerable dimensions still remaining after the PPP Government gets going full blast in heady fulfillment of its mandate “to extract” from the NRF.
There is no hang-up with the usage of “to extract”, but it just seems so pale, so tepid, so anaemic given that there is haemorrhaging of the NRF, and under doctor’s supervision, with unambiguous legal authorization to boot.
Back in the day, there was that convention and standard of medicine called ‘bloodletting.’ As grim and gory as it was, I think it fits perfectly. Bloodletting is what is being administered to the NRF of Guyana. The medical logic leads to one conclusion only: the expectant Guyanese people are in for it, a torrid time.
The big trouble is that this small exercise wrapped up in “to extract” (or bloodletting) more from the NRF has not evoked so much as a peep, or a whimper, or any kind of outraged reaction from the great majority of Guyanese. Their trust fund is being primed for more raiding (now I have proceeded from medical practitioners to maritime pirates), and the citizenry thinks it most appropriate to exercise their right to remain silent. So, why the hell do I am even bother, when there is nothing in it for me?
Since this is the future and promise and destiny of Guyanese being drained and squandered (“national development priorities”), and they have nothing to say, I should take the hint. Lent is next week. Another sabbatical would be a boon to the PPP musketeers, my way of blessing the vaunted trio and companions.