Indo-Caribbean Heritage - Achievers in Canada

From East to West, a Canadian journalist Through and Through

"There have been so many," replies Ian Hanomansing, anchor of CBC television's national dinnertime newscast "Canada Now," when I ask him about the most memorable moments of his career. After a few moments' consideration, he is able to single out three: the 1998 Nagano Olympics, the 1997 Hong Kong handover, and the L.A. riots of 1992. "We drove from the airport right into the heart of South Central LA at about 11 PM and right into the heart of a full-fledged riot. The next few hours are still firmly etched into my mind as we saw buildings on fire, open looting, and police trying to restore even a semblance of order."

It's surprising that Ian can even pick out of the numerous events of his long and successful career. As a reporter for the CBC, he was also on location covering the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill, Vancouver's post-Stanley Cup riot of 1994, the Heaven's Gate Suicides in 1997, and Philippine's Centennial in 1998.

But Ian's own story began a lot earlier than these events, in the town of Sackville, New Brunswick. Although born in Trinidad, it was in this place out east that he spent his formative years becoming fascinated with radio. "When it got dark, I often tuned in to WCBS and WINS in New York and WHDH in Boston. Although the world of broadcasting seemed far away from the small town I was living in, I did dream about one day working in radio."

His dream came true as he was graduating high school, when by chance he had mentioned his aspirations to a local newspaper reporter. The reporter then introduced him to the manager of a radio station in Nova Scotia, which led to a summer job filled with reading newscasts, working as a DJ, and reporting. From that initial experience, he continued to work in the media industry while completing a Bachelor of Arts degree at Mount Allison University and a Law degree from Dalhousie University. "I sometimes wonder where I'd be today if I had not received that break. It is quite likely I'd be a frustrated lawyer somewhere dreaming about a career in broadcasting."

In 1986 he joined CBC television in Halifax, and two years later moved to Vancouver to become a television news reporter for the CBC BC bureau. He has resided there ever since, making a name for himself as an award-winning reporter and hosting CBC Newsworld's Pacific Rim Report from 1995-1999. In October 2001 he became the anchor of Canada Now, spending every weekday since helping to shape the newscast and broadcasting several different live editions of the program to coincide with each dinnertime in every Canadian time zone. "Five editions with fourteen different co-anchors in cities across the country....Each show at least a little different than the other."

With such national exposure, Ian is one Indo-Caribbean who is a very prominent ambassador of CBC to the Canadian public. But he doesn't define himself by his race, nor does he feel that the nation defines him by it. "I find that people see me, for the most part, as a CBC journalist who happens to have grown up in New Brunswick and happens to be of South Asian descent and happens have a variety of other traits. I will often be asked what my ethnic background is, but in a polite curious way which, I imagine, is not much different than the kinds of questions my colleagues Joe Schlesinger or Sasa Petricic might get."

And what does he think of the increased South Asian/Indo-Caribbean presence in Canada's news industry? "I think the best thing about [it] is that it is happening without it being an issue. I have always felt strongly that if organizations make an effort to hire the best people, it will lead to a diverse staff. For example, there was a time when law schools were concerned about the low numbers of women students and wondered how they could change that. When I graduated from law school, I think more than half of my class was comprised of women and certainly almost all of the top ten students were women. When I see new reporters such as Hanson Hossein on Canada Now, I see a smart young reporter who happens to be of what [some people would term] Indo-Caribbean descent."

From his fifteen plus years at CBC, Ian has many positive things to say about its news department. "I work for a network that has a long standing dedication to top notch news coverage because news is important, not because news might mean more revenue. As someone who has a major [role] every day in shaping our newscast, I can tell you that we are driven by journalistic standards, not pandering to the biggest possible audience. Our programs get stronger ratings than the commercial media might have you believe. Each night the National attracts a million or more viewers. Canada Now gets hundreds of thousands of viewers each evening, with some audiences reach into the six and seven hundred thousands. While those numbers are gratifying, we remain first and foremost a newscast of journalism, not entertainment. For many Canadians, we are a trusted source of news. For many more, our work becomes a benchmark for the coverage of our competitors."

His pride in "Canada's Own" extends to Canada itself. After listing off the many notable Canadian television journalists who have left for prominent positions in the American news industry, I ask him whether he's ever felt the lure of the south. "It is nice to be 'wined and dined'," he answers, "but I have always made it clear that I had no intention of leaving Vancouver specifically and Canada generally. I have been fortunate to have a very good life both on and off the air and have seen no reason to change that."

Ian's decision to stay here could also relate to what he thinks of the American news industry in general. "At the local level, U.S. television news in many major cities is filled with helicopter shots of police chases, live reports on crimes and natural disasters, very good looking anchors, sportscasters, affable meteorologists and not a lot else. You can watch a lot of six o'clock news in the US and not learn who the governor is, or what is happening in the world beyond the latest update on US troops or Mariah Carey. On the network level though, the United States has many thoughtful and intelligent journalists."

Lastly, since Ian has obviously succeeded in his profession on such a large scale, I inquire as to what he thinks any good journalist needs to rise to the top. "It is important to have curiosity about the world around you - from your neighborhood to across the ocean - and to be able to think creatively. You'll need to be able to handle intense pressure to compete, to perform, and to meet an immovable deadline...There are no extensions in the news business. You also have to have highly developed inter-personal skills to deal both with people inside your own newsroom as well as people out in the field. Finally, you have to be self-reliant. You will constantly find yourself in changing circumstances for which there is no textbook. Having said all of that, I can tell you that almost 23 years after I first signed on at that radio station in Nova Scotia, I love my job. I can't imagine doing anything else."

KEN HUSSAIN: ACADEMY AWARD WINNER

By Ram Jagessar (1997)

Worldwide audiences viewing blockbuster movies like The Thin Red Lines, Six Days Seven Nights and Lost in Space did not see the name Ken Husain in the credits or even know of his work in making the films they were enjoying.

But Ken's expertise in developing post production audio and video editing controllers for the film and television industries has brought him the highest possible honour in his field- an award from the Academy of Motion Picture Sciences.

This week he travels to Los Angeles to receive his academy award in the technical field of producing equipment for audio and video editing. Ken and colleagues Bob Predovich, John Scott and Cam Shearer of the Toronto based Soundmaster Group will be honoured for designing and implementing the ION ATOM, a machine that controls other editing equipment.

The ION ATOM has become the industry standard, used by major players like Universal Studios, Fox, Disney, and Sony. Ken is one of the people who designed and built the $25,000 US machine right here in Canada, and have made it the leading edge technology in its field. That's why the Academy is giving him one of its highly sought technical achievement plaques (the golden Oscar statuettes go mostly to actors, producers, directors and designers).

It's a long road from West Demerara in Guyana to Los Angeles, USA, and when Ken receives his award on Saturday he'll be in new territory as the first Caribbean person to do so. Jamaican born actor Sidney Poitier has received an Oscar and as far as we know that is the end of the list.

Ken confessed to "feeling heavenly" at the news that he has reached the peak, the milestone event in his career. "It's going to be hard to top this, " said Ken, who is just 40 years old, the parent of eight year old Nadia and three year old Sophia with his wife Pam.

He never dreamed of any such thing while working as a custom officer and with the construction company Taylor Woodrow in Guyana, before moving to Canada in 1985. It was the electronics course at De Vry Institute in Toronto, which landed him a job two years later at the Soundmaster Group.

He developed his abilities in hardware design on an earlier machine called the Synchro, which is still in use all over the US and Canada and hit the jackpot with the ION ATOM, released in 1995. Ken is now a principal at Soundmaster, and the road is open wide for further innovation and excellence.

Dev Bansraj Ramkissoon: A living legend

Imagine at 10 year of age, competing with adults in a singing competition and being declared the winner by Hemant Kumar, one of the most accomplished Indian singers of all times.

Legends are built on stories like this. That was the start of a very successful journey in the world of Indian music and culture. At the age of 17, Dev Bansraj Ramkissoon was awarded a scholarship from the Indian Council for Cultural Relations. He studied in New Delhi, India where he graduated with a Masters degree in music and has won numerous awards.

Today he is a professor of music and runs a successful Academy of Indian Music, SAAZ-O-AWAAZ in Brampton, Ontario. He has over 150 students of all ages from all parts of the world.

Not only does Dev love the art form, he also takes pleasure in sharing it with others in the hope that they too will further the culture in the western world.

Dev is a professional and advocates proper voice and music training. He teaches and sings Classical, Gazal, Kowali, Bhajans and Film songs and play the sitar, harmonium, dholak, flute and other instruments. Dev's performances in India, U.K., Canada, USA, Surinam, Venezuela Barbados, Guayana and Trinidad makes him a truly international star.

Dev's family is an integral part of his career. His two teenage children are also musicians and performers. They accompany him on tours and concerts.His wife assists in the administration of the academy. I asked Dev, what do you think of an Indo-Canadian Centre for Arts and Culture? He had thought for a while then replied, "that will truly be a dream come true. It is well worth working towards."

By Ram Jagessar

Evans Morgan: Politician

By Frank Balbirsingh

While Cheddi Jagan, Bhadase Maraj and Basdeo Panday are well known is Indo-Caribbean politicians, scarcely anyone nowadays remembers the name of Evans Morgan, an Indo-Vincentian who won a seat in the Legislative Council of St. Vincent in 1951. At first, one may think that this oversight is yet another example of the snobbish dismissiveness so readily and rudely applied by fellow West Indians to "small island'' places like St. Vincent; except that genuine mystery appears to surround Evans Morgan who served only two years and two months of his four-year term as an elected member

of the Legislative Council of St. Vincent before resigning his seat and emigrating to England in 1953.

Morgan's grandparents were immigrants from India, but he and his parents were born in St. Vincent. He attended a Seventh Day Adventist elementary school in his home island before going to high school in Trinidad, and returning to St. Vincent where he was appointed Assistant Principal of an elementary school. He was nineteen years old as the time. As if this was not precocious enough, merely two years later, he stood as a candidate in St. Vincent's first election under universal adult suffrage. Not only did he win a seat but, by his account, he polled more than 2000 votes while the three other candidates in his constituency polled respectively 35, 14, and 3 votes. Nothing could be more decisive.

According to Morgan, his party won seats in all eight constituencies on the island, but dissension set in after the election, when four of the elected members refused to attend the swearing in ceremony at Government House, on the pretext that their attendance would mean they were bought over by the British administrator (governor). Morgan himself, together with George Hamilton Charles the party leader, and two other elected members attended the swearing in ceremony and were immediately viewed with suspicion as having sold out to the British.

The fact is that Morgan's party was not a genuine political party for it did not have a common political ideology. His party was called The Eighth Army of Liberation which consisted of members of a trade union- the United Workers, Peasants and Rate Payers Union (UWPRU) founded by George Hamilton Charles in January 1951. Charles and others, including Ebenezer

Joshua, had formed the Eighth Army of Liberation with the purpose of contesting the election in 1951. They won, and soon after the election the Eighth Army split in two, one called the “little four” with Charles, Herman Clive Tannis and Evans Morgan, and the other known as the “big four” consisting of Ebenezer Joshua, Julian Baynes, Rudolph Baynes and Sam Slater; and whether it was true or not, the big four led by Joshua believed that the “little four” had sold out to the planter class and the colonial office.

According to Morgan, the worst effect of division within the party was that it became impossible for all members to agree on bills and motions that were being considered in parliament. When this difficulty was added to the fact of a power of veto held by the administrator (governor) over all legislation, it quickly emerged that the elected government could not function effectively.

Morgan claims that it was this legislative stalemate that disillusioned him, and induced him to abandon politics and seek his fortune in England. It was a fateful decision, one for which he has no regrets.

In England Morgan studied at the Regent Street Polytechnic, then at London University, where he gained a M.Sc. degree in economics. He was offered employment by the oil company Shell, and in 1959 went to Trinidad to work for the company. Shell then offered him a scholarship which he used to go to England and qualify as a chartered accountant. He again worked for Shell in Trinidad until 1968 when he immigrated to Canada; but in 1971 the government of St. Vincent, led by Milton Cato, offered him the position of Deputy Accountant General which he accepted in the hope that he would replace the Accountant General who was soon to retire. When this promotion failed to materialize he returned to Canada in 1974, and served the Ontario government as an accountant/economist for 24 years.

In 1993 he won an award as top civil servant in Ontario, but in 1996 he took early retirement and now works as chief internal auditor for the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Ontario.

Even if Evans Morgan did not achieve the political fame of leaders such as Cheddi Jagan, Bhadase Maraj and Basdeo Panday, his story is memorable both for its intrinsic human interest and for the light it sheds on the post-colonial inheritance of West Indians. For one thing, when he ran for election in 1951, Morgan states that he encountered no racial discrimination or hostility from a constituency that was 95% African. Yet when he returned to St. Vincent in 1971 and failed to get the promotion he expected, he suspected that race had become a factor.

However accurate that might be, Morgan’s story sheds light on the feudalistic, planter-dominated social economic structure of colonial St. Vincent in the 1950s when, as a fledgling youth of twenty-one, he plunged into a political career that was to prove so sadly abortive.

Here, in his own words is his description of St. Vincent when he was elected in 1951: “St. Vincent in those days was owned by 17 men, and these men - mostly white, owned 95% of the arable land in a country where agriculture was the chief source of revenue. Our chief crop was arrowroot with some cotton and sugar. But unemployment was rife; ordinary people without housing simply squatted on open land; the education system was archaic; and the so called internal self-government was not genuine

because the governor could veto all bills. For someone with such passionate views to voluntarily end his political career after only two years in office seems totally contradictory. And who is to say how good a politician St. Vincent and the Caribbean may have lost when Morgan resigned in 1953!

Today Morgan speaks ruefully of West Indian politicians. “They all want to lead,” he says, ”they don’t want to follow.” This was one reason, he claims, why the West Indian federation fell apart in the early 1960’s. But when one recalls the tragic division in the People's Progressive Party engineered in Guyana in 1955, mainly by Forbes Burnham who wanted to be “leader or nothing,” Evans Morgan- the man who would be a politician- may have a point after all.

Al- Hajj Dr Unus Omarali (1927-2005) - an appreciation

By Manshad Mohamed

A major icon of the Indo Caribbean community in Toronto has passed away.

Dr Unus Omarali died on April 6, 2005. He was ailing for some time since he closed his medical office some 10 years ago.

For over 20 years, Dr Omarali occupied the same building on Danforth Ave and Greenwood in the east end of Toronto. He had a huge clientele which also included walk-ins. Dr. Omarali graduated from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland on July 1,1955.

He was a rotating intern at the Beth El Hospital in Brooklyn, New York, from 1955 to 1956. In 1957, he went to England and attained Diplomas in Ear, Nose, Throat (ENT) studies and in larynxology and otology. That same year he married Phirosa. and set up his practice in Don Miguel Rd, San Juan in north Trinidad. He left T&T for Canada in 1965.

Dr. Omarali set up a practice at 2372 Lakeshore Blvd in Mimico in May of 1972. He moved to 1172 Danforth until he retired.

Dr. Omarali developed a reputation as a champion of the downtrodden and needy. His clientele was mixed, comprising people from Albania, Mauritus, India, Pakistan, the Middle East and the Caribbean. He spent many hours counselling travellers to Mecca who were on their way to perform the Holy Pilgrimage of Hajj.

Together with Phirosa, he he performed Hajj in 1974. He administered inoculations and helped non speaking English people fill out their travel documents, etc. In this office as well, he performed many Muslim marriages as he was a licensed Marriage Officer. On many occasions, he also served as a marriage Counsellor.

He was also an outspoken community activist and rallied to the cause of many refugees who were seeking asylum in Canada from various parts of the globe.

Dr Omarali was a member of the Doctors' Lions Club of Toronto. He was a Member of the Executive of the Ontario Society for Studies in Indo Caribbean Culture (OSSICC) and received an award in 1996 for outstanding service to the community. The OSSICC group was founded by Dr. Frank Birbal-singh and was based at York University where Dr. Birbalsingh was a Professor of English. Sometimes, the meeting place for this and many other groups was in the waiting room of Dr. Omarali’s office on the Danforth. Here also was the first set of meetings of the Naparima Alumni Assocation of Canada.

Another thriving group that had its genesis in the same waiting room on the Danforth is the Trinidad and Tobago Fifty Plus and Seniors Association of Canada, founded by Rasheed Sultan Khan with much help from Dr. Omarali.

Dr Omarali was born in San Fernando, Trinidad. His grand parents were Haji Imam Ali and Hajin Najiban who had migrated from Uttar Pradesh, India. His parents were Omar Eniath Ali and Hajin Afrose Omar Ali.

Dr. Unus Omarali attended Grant School (elementary) and Naparima College (secondary). He had a fondness for the Canadian Mission as it was then called.

Dr. Omarali’s family in Toronto is comprised of his wife Phirosa, a retired School Teacher, sons Haidar, a Financial Advisor and Dr. Iqbal (formerly of the Mayo clinic in Minnesota) now in San Francisco, and their sister Zenobia, a school teacher and their spouses Shaheen,Tasneen and Nabil respectively.He also leaves to mourn his loss, brothers Luqman and Abdul and sisters Abeda, Sabera, Sherida and Una, their children and grandchildren.

One of Dr Omarali's closest friends over the years was Dr. Joe Salek of the Danforth Medical Pharmacy.

Dr. Salek had this to say of Dr. Omarali: "He was a humanitarian, a man who never closed his doors on any person who needed him. He was a great human being with a big heart and someone who would go the extra mile to help people. During his practice, he was unhurried and would take time to listen to his patients and would quite easily develop a bond with them.It was tragic for many people when he closed his office. I believe that you cannot find too many physicians with his passion for his work, his dedication, sincerity and sense of responsibility.In Iran, we have a saying that it is possible for a human being to be able to reach the front door of God. If this is true, Dr Unus Omarali was one of those.”

Representatives of the Imdadul Mosque, Haroon Sheriff and Ousman Khan saluted Dr. Omarali for "dedication of services to humanity,” at a ceremony which was held at the DiMarco Funeral Home where Imam Hosein Ackburally officiated.

Br. Ramzan of the Taric Mosque described Dr. Omarali as "a pioneer in the propogation of Islam in Toronto."
Br. Fyzul Ali did a profound eulogy that spoke of the deceased as a role model in many walks of life. After the Jannazah (last rites) at the Taric Mosque Dr. Unus Omarali was laid to rest in the York cemetery on April 8, 2005 with thousands of people in attendance.
Innah-Lillahi-Wa Inna-Ilahi-Raji-Un - From Allah We came and to Him we must return. May he Rest in Peace.

Pioneer broadcaster Jai Ojah-Maharaj makes the Canadian Connection

I came to Canada on September 16, 1972, but I didn't really have to come here. I am from a family of 12, my father was the late Karoo Ojah-Maharaj and my uncle the late Doon Pundit, who was responsible for the creation of a lot of the Hindu schools in Trinidad and Tobago and the Hindu temple in Arima. Doon Pundit created the temple in Chacachacare, which was run by him and my father.
    My father was a founding member of the People's National Movement with the late Dr. Eric Williams and he was a personal adviser to Dr Williams. He was consulted by Dr Williams on several occasions. I remember a policeman coming to our home in Las Lomas Number 2 and delivering a message to my father that the PM wants him at his residence the next day Sunday. The meeting was held to discuss the possibility of having Eid and Divali as public holidays in Trinidad and Tobago.
    I am very proud of my father and proud of my family. The fact is that Divali is a public holiday and Indian people are on equal footing in TT and even higher because of the strides we have made.
    My father used to censor films with the manager of 610 Radio Jimmy Bain and he knew of my intention to come to Canada to study broadcasting. I worked at Piarco as an assistant air traffic controller. The aerodrome superintendent Joe Maharaj and I were very good friends. He said, why you want to go to Canada? I can get you in the aviation school just like that. He didn't want to give me the recommendation to leave.
    My father said, why you want to go to Canada? I can get you into 610 Radio because Jimmy is the chairman of the board. I said no, I want to be trained properly. So when I returned to Trinidad (I still planned to go back) I could go back there on my own footing, and not have to be assisted by people.
    So I came to Canada in 1972 and found a job three months later at the Royal Alexander Theatre. I saw an ad in the newspaper for a clerk and went and met a Russian controller named Boris Sperber. He said just write me a name. So I wrote my name. He liked my handwriting and he said you have the job.
    They sent me to work in the subscription office of the Royal Alexandra Threatre. The Theatre had just been bought my Ed Murvish of Honest Ed's and that's where I bought my first winter coat. My brother from England sent me 10 pounds in the mail.
    The next year they send me to the box office. Coming from Trinidad , you had an accent. They gave me this opportunity to communicate with mainstream Canadians. I used my opportunity to talk to them every day, practising my speech. I became the assistant box office manager.
     It was funny, but when you are working there is a strong Jewish white audience you are playing to. I must give compliments to Ed Mirvish. Many a time you would have to make decisions. People would come up with the wrong ticket, the wrong date and you have to take the decision you cannot see the show today. Oh, I want to see the manager, they would say. They don't want to speak to a little brown boy. But Ed Mirvish said Jai, I hired you to for a job and you make the decision. Don't involve me in that and that was very good of him. You don't get that everywhere.
    I had more than one unique experience working in the box office at the Royal Alexander Theatre. You have to let everyone in through the front door. Debbie Reynolds came up one wintry day in January with a fur coat all hiding her face and sunglasses. She said to me, can you let me in? I said I don't know who you are. She said you sure you don't know who I am? I said I don't know who you are but I need to know. She said I am Debbie Reynolds. Well I learned a lot from the Royal Alex and Mr Ed Mirvish.
    My boss was an Englishman named Brian James. He was in love with the Caribbean and Caribbean food. Had a special interest in me. I told him I need to get into radio. I went to the National Institute for Broadcasting and heard what they had to say. I didn't like it. Then I realized that Carl Redhead, the famous broadcaster from Trinidad from 610 Radio, was operations manager at CHIN Radio. I went and saw him and Carl advised me (he was on the advisory board at Humber College) to go to school at Humber College which at that time had a three year radio program.
   The first year I applied I didn't get through. I applied to Seneca and didn't get through. I tried at Ryerson and didn't get through, so I went and did my Grade 13. I went back to Humber and met the coordinator of the course, Phil Stone. He said to me, you know you have an accent. I said yes, I know I have an accent. He said you'll never get a job in Canada, you know. I said leave that up to me. Can I qualify to get into your radio course? He said you will get in, but just bear in mind you will not get a job on Canadian radio.
   In the seventies Canadian radio was really, really white. In CHUM and CFTR and in most cases they brought broadcasters from the United States. All the big boys you were hearing came from the United States. It was a difficult medium to get into. Over 150 persons applied to get into Humber College and sixty persons got in. I was the only coloured person who got into the course, the only brown one. But I did integrate well with the white kids because I knew more about rock music than they did so I could teach them about rock music.
    After the first year at Humber an internship came up at CHIN radio and they called me to ask me if I wanted to go to CHIN radio. I said I don't care where I go but I thought it would be wise to go there because at the time Carl Redhead and Jimmy Wong, another good broadcaster from Trinidad and Tobago, were working there. So I went there for my internship and started working there on weekends as a technical operator.
    That was way back in 1977. They had me working with JC McDonald on the Jay McD show, “the most frequently frequented frequency”. I developed a good relationship with him. But I was not allowed to go on the Humber school radio station. They felt I didn't fit in so I said, okay, how about if I do my own Caribbean program? And they said maybe that's an idea. Something new. So I created my own Caribbean program on the Humber College Radio. I had to create a niche for myself and that's how it started.
    So when I went to CHIN it was a natural thing, being evolved now with JC McDonald and Carl Redhead. One day suddenly JC couldn't get in to the station. There was some problem at his home. I'm operating in the evening and Jimmy Wong calls me. “Jai, you have to go on the air now.”
    This is a fresh, green operator who is only hosting his program at Humber College. And I don't know how many thousands of people would be listening to JC McD, which was the only Caribbean program at the time. I didn't have the key for his cupboard so I had to break open his cupboard and get the records and I went on the air at CHIN radio. That went on for a few months and unfortunately JC and CHIN radio had to part ways.
    I got fired at Chin Radio. One December 26, all of the operators said we quit because we wanted more pay. So Johnny Lombardy said okay you quit and we were all out of a job. But when the problems came up with CHIN radio Carl and Jimmy kept in contact with me and said we want you to come back. They took me back and I got a slight raise in pay. I think it was because of my Caribbean connection. But it wasn't easy at first. Because here is an Indian guy hosting basically a Caribbean program where the music is basically black. I had to prove to the audience that I know enough about calypso like anybody else.
    What I had to do as well and what I intended to do, was present the show in a very professional manner. I felt people should not turn off the music or the radio when they had Canadian friends at home. I felt that if you presented it in a professional manner that when you had guests at home you should say here is our music. And I hope I have achieved that to a great degree.
       It was very very knowlegeable. I can say I got the best of knowledge and the best training. Then I took the other step. I had to change the show. The show was a music show every night. I said the show has to be different from everybody. I changed it and I made it more community oriented.
    Then I took a bold step and I thought let's start playing some chutney music. And I did get a lot of flak for playing chutney music on CHIN radio. I used to get calls left right and center, what the hell you playing that coolie music here for? And I said it is not coolie music. It is music out of Trinidad and Tobago It is music out of Guyana, it is Caribbean music so why are you complaining? And I said do you know who you speaking to? I am an Indian, I am a Trinidadian and that is music of Trinidad, so why can't you accept it? I'm going to ask you if you feel you don't want to hear it turn off your radio. I persisted and we continued with chutney music. Today chutney is an industry by itself.
    I had the pleasure in the seventies or early eighties when they had the first tassa and Indian band competition and I was invited to go down and emcee that show in Skinner Park. The winner of the Tassa competition got a trip to Toronto. They called me to arrange that, and the winner of that competition was the Sylvan Bharath Tassa group. They came to Canada and I am very proud to say I was the first person to introduce tassa in the Caribana celebrations, the Caribana parade . They played in places like the Phoenix Club, Reflections, Ontario Place and today tassa music is heard everywhere.
       My first winter coat was from the army surplus supply on Queen and Bathurst, a long green coat for about $15. When I bought my first house in the eighties things were so bad I had to cash in my beer bottles to get some pocket change. That's the kind of struggle we had. You go to Kentucky Friend Chicken and you ask for pepper and they give you salt and pepper, black pepper. We had nothing like Ram for bringing in real pepper. It was not an easy task. We had to put up with a lot. We tolerated a lot because we had to integrate and today the children don't have to do what we did because they are born Canadians. They have rights and they deserve what they have now, so we must always give them support and remain strong with them.
   Today I can say the Caribbean Connection is one of the pattern shows in this community. We continue to serve the community and we'll always put the community first. I feel the information we are giving out is worthy and there is lots of competition but competition is good for us. Fitzroy Gordon was granted a license for a 24 hour Caribbean radio station. Pretty soon we'll have a Caribbean station 24 hours a day and I look forward to playing a significant role there. And I can guarantee you Caribbean, but most of all, Indian culture will play a great role in that station.
    It was a good experience, and it was a difficult experience getting into radio. When I was getting in to Omni Television cfmt I was given a call by Farouk Mohammed of Trinidad and Tobago who conceptualized South Asian Newsweek and Omni Television. When I went there they had a job for me but I had no television experience. So I said I don't have the television experience but I would like to take the opportunity and learn it. It was a learning experience for me but we proved to them the show could be done professionally. Congratulations must be given to Farouk Mohammed.
    I had just started the show in September and two weeks after they called me at home. Jai, can you be at Queen's Park to interview then Premier Bob Rae? So I went and interviewed Bob Rae. I just had two basic questions and then it was ad lib. The interview ran for 18 minutes and normally in television they will take two or three minutes of it. They ran the whole 18 minutes in two parts. One day at the cafeteria in Omni Television Leslie Soles came to me and said very good interview. and that's how they knew I had the ability to interview and I proved to them that I can do the job. I remember going to Trinidad for the 150th anniversary of Indian Arrival Day and getting an interview with Basdeo Panday.
    I think that our Indian members of community have the ability to do, and do much more . When you look at people like Ian Hanoomansingh and Harold Hosein and others and even when Monica Deol was here we looked at all of them. We the older generation suffered and today it is better for the younger generation to get into the media. We are still paying the dues. It was not an easy task to get into radio then but it's much easier now. I suffered but hopefully it will pay off for me down the road. I want to thank everybody for supporting the show and supporting me.

The Exemplary Pandita Jasodra Prasad

                                    By Janet A. Naidu

You would not guess it from looking at her, but Pandita Jasodra Prasad carries with her a record of more than 60 years of service to Hindus in Guyana and Canada. She also has the distinction since 1986 of being the first Indo-Caribbean woman to become a Hindu priest in Canada.
   Today you can find her providing religious services as a Pandita at the Vedic Cultural Centre or in private homes, serving as a dedicated volunteer in supporting patients at the Hospital near where she lives in Toronto. She makes care-giving part of her daily routine, consistently giving personal attention to others in need of consolation or encouragement.
   It started when she was a young girl in Uitvlugt on West Coast Demerara, where she was born on April 14, 1933. Her father   Komal Persaud, worked in the nearby sugar factory, curing sugar at the laboratory, and her mother Rukmin Ramchitar, originally from Windsor Forest, helped bring up the children, Jasodra and sister Sumintra.
   Her father Komal was a Hindu with a thirst for knowledge of the Vedic principles, and a follower of the teachings of the Arya Samaj, a Hindu reform movement founded in India. He passed this interest on to Jasodra as a child, and also taught her that the highest goal was a life of service to others.
   Around this time, Arya Samaj missionaries from India were spreading the word in Guyana, and after Professor Baskarananda built the Arya Samaj movement in the late thirties and early forties, he had Komal as a

strong supporter. Komal became the first President of the Arya Samaj in Uitvlugt, teaching Hindi in the school, writing letters for illiterate villagers and giving constant service.
   This was the atmosphere in which Jasodra grew up, learning from an early age to read the Vedic scruiptures, perform religious functions like the havan, sing bhajans and recite mantras even before she was a teenager. She continued after she was married at 16 to 21 year old Harry Prasad , Secretary of the Arya Samaj in Uitvlugt.
   Harry soon became a pandit whose home was described as a mandir and a school, as well as an ashram or institution of learning that inspired charity, morality and Sev Dharma (service).
   While bringing up four children Rudrasen Aditya, Priya Darshni, Indira Sarojini and Ugrasen Mahipal, Jasodra would often accompany her husband to many homes in the villages to do havan, or recital of mantras of the Vedas. She helped him build the Uitvlugt Arya Samaj Mandir.
   When the family moved to Georgetown in the 1960s, Jasodra and Pandit Harry made their home an informal school for training young aspiring pandits, and a printery for Arya Samaj education.
   When they immigrated to Canada in 1986, Jasodra and Harry continued their dedicated service to the Toronto Arya Samaj. After Pandit Harry passed away that same year, the Toronto Arya Samaj applied for Jasodra to become an official “Pandita”.
   She was accepted as a Hindu priest, and for the last 21 years has been unfailing in her service to members of the Toronto Arya Samaj as well as numerous other community members. Pandita Jasodra is a pioneer in her role as she is the first woman of Guyana to become an official Pandita.
   In 1993, Pandita Jasodra was recognized for her many years of outstanding service and commitment towards the propagation and dissemination of Vedic teachings and philosophy. She has continued to be one in service, regularly providing spiritual readings and social services, whether in pubic forums or in the homes of families. In 2005, the Vedic Cultural Center in Markham, Canada gave her a Recognition Award for her selfless service to the Arya Samaj Mission and the general community.
   Without doubt, Pandita Jasodra Prasad is a courageous woman who shows the perseverance to accomplish her goals regardless of the seemingly busy times of looking after her family and helping to organize events in her home, be it weekly havans or preparing for visiting swamis and missionaries. She displays a confident calmness and embodies a caring nature, a trait that was passed on to her from her parents, her late husband and other family members.
   Pandita Jasodra is well respected in the community in Toronto. In her quiet and unassuming way, when she is not volunteering at the hospital nearby or performing religious services in someone’s home or the community, she is also creating beautiful needlepoint art work, many composed of landscape in intricate details. More importantly, she is always ready to provide support to her family, her children and seven great grandchildren, friends and others in the community in need. She dedicates her life to the philosophy and culture of the Vedas.

Who’s that dashing horseman there? Its Aakash Maharaj

It’s our own Akaash Maharaj, Canada’s top tent pegger in the thousand year old military sport of using swords and lances to catch tent pegs while at full gallop on a war horse.
Akaash, who was born in Canada of Trinidad parents, has quietly risen to the top of the sport and is current Canadian chamption. He will be heading to Oman on March 2 to represent Canada against the top rated Indians, while promoting the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and trying to raise awareness of suffering children throughout the world.
It’s a surprising change for a man better known as Oxford academic and Liberal politician.

Starting just two years ago, Akaash has made it to the top tier of one of the world's most obscure and challenging sports, according to a story by Peter Cheney in the Globe and Mail.
Although it sounds like a camping competition, tent pegging is actually based on the ancient military skill of skewering opponents (both elephants and humans)
“I took up the sport in 2005 as a member of the Governor General's Horse Guards. In September 2006, two friends from the Horse Guards and I recklessly entered the US National Cavalry Competition in Kentucky.
“Against all rationality, I took a red and a blue ribbon in Mounted Sabre III and Military Field Jumping II, respectively.
“Following results of the US games, I was invited to represent Canada at the 2007 International Tent Pegging Championships, to be held in the Sultanate of Oman, 02-06 March.
“With tent pegging dominated by nations with cavalry cultures, I will likely be the only New World athlete at the championships, and I am conscious that I am a novice in an ancient sport. Nevertheless, I can imagine no higher athletic honour than to carry the maple leaf in competition, and I will embark for Oman parrying my deficit of skill with a surplus of enthusiastic abandon, “ he says.

Many believe tent pegging was invented in the ancient Indian Empire, where war elephants ruled the battlefield. Cavalry officers came up with a bold tactic to neutralize the elephants: By stabbing them in their sensitive feet, the officers could make the elephants fall, or rear up on their hind legs, spilling off the humans from their backs.
How the art of precision stabbing became known as "tent pegging" is a matter of debate. Some believe it's because Indian cavaliers rode into enemy encampments at night and collapsed the opposing army's tents by slashing the support ropes.
Tent pegging has been practised at least since the fourth century BC, but became a competitive international sport only in the 20th century. Tent peggers compete on an 800-metre course, and must smite a series of targets. There are three elements: Ground Target, Suspended Target and Quintain Charging, where competitors attack a bobbing mannequin. In Suspended Target, riders must skewer rings hanging at approximately the height of a man's eye. In Ground Target, they stab small foam bull's-eyes set on the earth.
There are serious risks, as you might expect with a sport that consists of riding a horse while carrying deadly cutting instruments. The swords and lances are razor-sharp: "They're designed to inflict wounds that don't heal," Mr. Maharaj notes.
The lance event presents its own fiendish challenge. Stabbing a ground target with a pointed steel rod nearly three metres long calls for perfect control -- the slightest bounce or miscalculation can result in the lance jabbing into the earth and stopping the rider dead as the horse gallops on, in a catastrophe that looks like pole-vaulting from horseback.
India is the world's reigning superpower of tent pegging, with a cadre of professional riders who dominate the international scene. The Indian pros that Mr. Maharaj will face next month in Oman enjoy benefits that a Canadian tent pegger can only dream of: They practise the sport full time, as members of elite Indian Army cavalry regiments. They also get corporate sponsorship -- many ride with the logos of firms such as Rolex on banners attached to their saddles.
Akaash pays for his own equipment and horses. Instead of sponsorships, he has given the side of his horse over to UNICEF, and serves as a spokesman in the agency's fight against child labour.
He will have one special touch in the championship. His equerry, or horse assistant, will be Hal Jackman, former lieutenant governor of Ontario.
He is not deterred by his lack of experience and sponsorship. "I don't have as many resources," he says. "But that doesn't mean I can't do well. I'm going to give it my very best."
Military cavaliers have practiced tent pegging for more than two-and-a-half millennia, and it is one of only ten disciplines officially recognised by the FEI, the global governing body for Olympic and international equestrianism. In March, I will represent Canada at the International Tent Pegging Championships.
The most broadly accepted account of tent pegging's birth is as battle drill in the Indian Empire. The sport prepared horse cavaliers to charge and fell war elephants through finely placed lance strikes to the ponderous beasts' vulnerable feet.
The mainstay of tent pegging remains lancing ground targets. However, the sport also includes: ring jousting (threading a blade through suspended rings); lemon sticking (slicing suspended targets); quintain tilting (charging swivelling mannequins); Parthian (mounted) archery; and cavalry revolver. All events are conducted at a full gallop.
Akaash , has dedicated his team’s naming rights to UNICEF . This is the first time a Canadian is competing at this event.

(Indo-Canadian Times March 2007)

Ram and Ruby Maharaj: Roti pioneers in Canada

Today Trinidad style roti can be found in major supermarkets, in dozens of roti shops, and in restaurants all over Canada and United States. It is an appreciated and accepted food by many North Americans who are not connected to the Caribbean.
   But it wasn't always that way. The pioneers of this multimillion-dollar food industry live right here in Toronto, still operating their business with the same name Ram's Roti Shop that they started with in the year 1967. In this the 40th anniversary of that event, Ram and Ruby Maharaj deserve to be recognized for their contribution.
   Back in the year 1967 when other Caribbean people mostly from Trinidad were preparing to start Caribana for Canada's Centennial, new immigrants Ram and Ruby were thrown into the roti business by accident. The couple and their five children had migrated from Trinidad in 1964 and were doing well. Ram, a former Texaco worker, had found a job with DuPont Oil and had bought his own house within a year. Ruby was working part-time in a roti shop called Rotisera, which had been started by three Trinidad teachers.
   The teachers were not very good at running a roti shop, and within three months the business collapsed. Ram was called in to help, and he assumed the bank loan and lease on the building at 490 Dupont Street.
    Ruby ran the shop in the day and Ram helped out after work. So started the first permanent roti shop in Canada and the United States.
   Toronto's first Caribana took place less than three months later, and the organizers placed a banner in front of Ram's Roti shop.

When the Caribana celebration took place on the Toronto islands Ram and Ruby sold over 2000 rotis that day. There was no turning back after that.    In a short while, Ram's Roti Shop became a kind of community center for West Indians in Toronto. Trinidadians, Guyanese and even young men from India would come for a taste of home or a familiar and affordable meal.
   Many of the customers were young bachelors who could not cook, or who were not allowed to cook Indian food in their rented rooms or small apartments. In those days, landlords did not look kindly on tenants cooking spicy Indian curries in their buildings. There was an Indian restaurant called India House, but its prices were beyond the reach of young men working for low wages.
   Instead they would go down to 490 Dupont and content themselves with a potato roti at $2.50 or a chicken roti at $3.50.
     Then, as now, a roti was much more satisfying than a hot dog or a hamburger.
   Ram would play Indian music records, and he remembers the young Indians listening to Lata Mangeskar and Mukesh and crying out of nostalgia and loneliness. West Indians driving up to Toronto from New York would make a beeline to Ram's Roti Shop, because there was nothing like this where they lived.
   Flyers and announcements about community events and music shows would be posted up at the shop. Visiting artistes like the Tradewinds band, calypsonians and prominent West Indians could be found at 490 Dupont soaking up the local news and trying out a taste of home.
   For several years Rams' Roti Shop was the only business in town if you wanted to taste a roti in Toronto. Gradually others opened up, Ali's started selling Trinidad style doubles and roti, and the Caribbean Indian roti industry started to take shape. After many years of patiently persuading white Canadians and other immigrants to try a dhalpouri roti, Ram and Ruby began to see gradual acceptance from mainstream Canadians.
   The New Yorkers soon realized that they needed their own roti shops, and started putting them up in Queens and other parts of the city. In Canada, roti shops began to spring up in cities outside of Toronto, in Montreal, Vancouver and many other places. Today roti shops can be found in Massachusetts and in Texas and in Los Angeles and other American cities. An Internet search for roti shops Canada and United States yields over 700 hits. Roti shops can even be found in Europe and the Middle East.
   The thread for this powerfuly growing industry traces back to the doors at 490 Dupont Street in Toronto, the year 1967, and Ram and Ruby Maharaj. They are true pioneers who can be found at their shop at 130 Westmore in Mississauga still doing what they have done for 40 years now, which in Ram's words is, "making sure Trinidad style roti has a place in every North American kitchen."

Last Updated ( Saturday, 14 July 2007 )

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