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Raffique Shah called it right

by Les Slater

In the aftermath of the 2014 Carnival celebration, a number of areas of discontent have prompted negative comment. This only further underscored that we’ve been in the throes of what I have chosen to call an across-the-board “dumbing down” of our cultural values. Trinidad and Tobago’s greatest resource, contrary to what some may believe, is its extraordinarily rich culture. Any ill-advised trend toward weakening that unique cultural foundation is one whopper of a no-brainer... Les Slater
Raffique Shah
Raffique Shah

Global -  When Steel Talks deserves commendation for first, thinking to engage a straight shooter and obviously genuine lover of the pan culture like Raffique Shah in a conversation about pan, and then eliciting from him some of the most candid, no-holds-barred observations on the subject – the kind the pan idiom very much needs but unfortunately, largely doesn’t get.

Anyone familiar with Shah’s style of pulling no punches wouldn’t be surprised by utterances from him like the (not inconsequential) number of persons in attendance at any given Panorama who have no interest in pan music; or that the attitude of most of the population of Trinidad and Tobago toward pan as a cultural entity  is basically one of indifference. Quite correctly, Shah suggests that Trinidad and Tobago needs first to address this gaping deficit in the acceptance of pan as an art form among its own people before setting sights on conquest of the world.

That kind of honest appraisal of where pan stands today in the place that gave it birth, is rare. And it brings attention to bear on the myth of “all aboard for we ting” that Trinidadians – stakeholders and average Joes alike – have, many years running, misguidedly assumed to be accurate. The great symbol of national pride that the pan, this stupendously ingenious creation, always should be, is for lots of us merely  “ole talk”. One can’t rightly claim a cause and effect relationship between this too halting general embrace of pan and the denigrating remarks about pan from the likes of a Sat Maharaj  in Trinidad.  But when naked contempt for the art form is shown by an unapologetically polarizing figure like Maharaj and ignites not the uproar of condemnation it deserves, bur maybe some mild rebuke, we know there’s something seriously amiss.

Phase II Pan Groove
Panorama Champions Phase II Pan Groove

The trajectory of pan in Trinidad and Tobago didn’t exactly telegraph there being, for this prolonged phase, some troublesome  bumps in the road. For sure, as is well known, the genesis was no walk in the park either. The preserve of hooligans, the steel band world was deemed. In time, after the initial period of block-and-tackle by the establishment, wiser heads would prevail, presaging, some hoped, an arc of uninterrupted ascendancy. There are those who would argue that pan in Trinidad and Tobago has indeed enjoyed such a ride. That assessment would miss the mark. Let’s not confuse the astounding strides made in instrument building and tuning, player  proficiency (most reassuringly among youngsters), a stunning accumulation of music produced over the years…let’s not confuse all of that with a comprehensive vision for what, since the start of the 1990s, Trinidad and Tobago has called its national instrument. Clearly, if so much of the citizenry “can’t be bothered”, as Shah says (and I agree) about what is or isn’t happening with the national instrument, this begs a question about engagement: has there been effort enough on the vision front to gain and sustain the people’s interest and sense of pride?

Absolutely not, would be my response. And as good a place as any to pinpoint the start of misdirection is, as I have long maintained, that “national instrument” proclamation that was evidently done with no informed understanding of what realistically should attend it. Arriving at a “national instrument” designation should imply a firm commitment on the part of the state to inspire the overall society’s respect for the pan as a model of native ingenuity that has commanded the world’s gaze. In support of which a multi-pronged approach to developing a new national consciousness about the pan should ensue. It goes without saying that there could be no new national consciousness if dramatic change in the practice of walking the old path proves too heavy a lift for the players involved.

A new national consciousness would require of the state much more than annually shelling out funds to the primary pan culture stakeholder for a Panorama competition and other events; or funding pan music education, after a fashion, at primary and secondary level and research at University of the West Indies and University of Trinidad and Tobago; or creating a token “paper tiger” post of pan development officer in the culture ministry, as was done years ago. In a new national consciousness the state would spearhead, and would involve all relevant parties in, a search for answers to why, for so much of the Trinidad and Tobago population, pan music has come to be regarded as a phenomenon worthy of notice only at one brief time of year. 

A new national consciousness would see the state manifesting concern for the gulf that has for too long existed in Trinidad and Tobago between the “conventional” music community and the pan fraternity, the latter too often relegated to pariah status as not quite the real thing. If Robert Greenidge could be permanently installed in Jimmy Buffett’s Coral Reefer band as a panist, if Rudy Smith could for years be leading a jazz quartet in Europe as a panist, ditto Andy Narell and others, what logical explanation could there be for a continuing “great divide” in, of all places, Trinidad and Tobago? It would seem, certainly, that presenting these acts to audiences in Trinidad and Tobago should be explored in any effort to begin changing that wrong-headed perception.  A new national consciousness should have as one of its goals the incorporation of a steelpan into every single musical aggregation in Trinidad and Tobago.

Inevitably, one obligation of a new national consciousness would be to examine if and how pan music could again be made an integral part of street revelry in Carnival in Trinidad and Tobago. The well-intentioned but impractical call of many traditionalists to “bring back pan on the road” remains little more than a pipe dream if it ignores the logistical and other issues that would preclude effective replication of what obtained five decades ago, absent fundamental transformation of the model.

In the aftermath of the 2014 Carnival celebration, a number of areas of discontent have prompted negative comment. This only further underscored that we’ve been in the throes of what I have chosen to call an across-the-board “dumbing down” of our cultural values. Trinidad and Tobago’s greatest resource, contrary to what some may believe, is its extraordinarily rich culture. Any ill-advised trend toward weakening that unique cultural foundation is one whopper of a no-brainer. One would hope that so disturbing a trend is soon brought to a halt. With respect to the pan, observations such as those from a valued commentator like Raffique Shah should be much appreciated. Awesome challenges remain.  There could be a huge price to pay for resting comfortably in the mistaken belief that all systems are go. It’s left to be seen how willing and ready are the state, Pan Trinbago and the society at large to take the leap of faith now required for the pan to assume (some might say resume) its esteemed place, appropriately so, in the national psyche.

Les Slater

Les Slater
Les Slater

Les Slater is a respected journalist & columnist...former Highlanders arranger...chairman, T & T Folk Arts Institute...

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