In honour of Diwali
It is the victorious end of Ram’s exile from his kingdom in Ayodhya on the darkest night of the year when the people lit rows of diyas to guide and welcome him. Manoo-Rahming’s poem alludes to the capture and abduction of Ram’s wife Sita (Seeta) by Rawan. The King of Vultures battles Rawan in a heroic but vain attempt to save her. She is later rescued by Ram in the victory over the demon king. The poet casts the experience of indentured Indian women brought over to the Caribbean in the role of Sita and her protection by Jatayu, transferring the tale from the Ramayana and setting it in the Caribbean.
There is also reference to the Ramayana in “To India” by WW Persaud, who praises India for its great cultural and literary depth, exemplified by such tales as the rescue of Sita and the defeat of Rawan. Persaud highlights the chastity of Sita, who is exemplary as the faithful and ideal wife. This is a very interesting older poem in the development of Guyanese Indian poetry in the 1920s and 1930s British Guiana. This poetry was characterised by imitation of English verse, but it also illustrates the development of an Indian cultural consciousness in the colony.
The selection from Sasenarine Persaud does not represent his very deep explorations into Vedic philosophy and religion, but it ventures into his interest in Hindu mythology and ritual and is among his more worthwhile verses. “Visit VI” is interesting because of its treatment of a Guyanese tradition related to a Hindu wedding. The Dig Dutty or Maticoor (Maati-kore) is practiced on one of the nights before the actual marriage ceremony. It is a religious ritual in which women play the dominant roles and it is very interesting to see Persaud as a poet giving an account of one of these rites, very relevant to the marking of such a tradition as Diwali.
“Great-grandmother: Ma” by Jennifer Rahim, poet and fiction writer of Trinidad and Tobago, is closely related to indentureship. It is a tribute to Rahim’s great grandmother who arrived in Trinidad from India on a ship. It is of interest here because of its subtle interrogation of traditions, the change and the tragedy of the passage of generations with great sensitivity to the silent experience of these by heroines such as the poet’s ancestor.
All of these poems relate in various ways — not all celebratory, but all relevant, socially and historically — to the celebration of Diwali, a great festival, a powerful cultural tradition in the Caribbean.