The
Honourable
Prime
Minister
of
Trinidad
&
Tobago,
Kamla
Persad-Bissessar
on float
New York: The
Honourable Prime Minister of Trinidad & Tobago,
Kamla Persad-Bissessar, was front and center as
Guest of Honor on the lead float for the India
Day Parade on Madison Avenue in New York.
And Steelpan, Tassa and carnival masqueraders
were a proud part of the parade pageantry.
Scheduled to be part of the cultural
showcase were Pantonic Steel Orchestra, Women In
Steel, the Young Generation Tassa Group and
carnival masqueraders from Antoine International.
Air
India
float at
the 30th
India
Day
Parade
on
Madison
Avenue,
New York
An at times slightly cloudy day was no match for
the sea of color which ruled the allocated
ten-block stretch from 38th through
28th Streets in New York City.
Multiple floats highlighting Indian culture,
associations, businesses, supporting
corporations and the like paraded southbound
against what would have been the regular flow of
traffic on Madison Avenue, as thousands on the
sidelines cheered them on along the route.
Band
from the
Passaic
County
Sheriff’s
department
practices
The floats had been in holding bays on 37th
and 38th Streets prior to the parade
while thousands of people milled around in
preparation for the event. Prime Minister
Kamla Persad-Bissessar could be seen standing
quietly atop the float while things were in
motion all around her. Nearby, a band from
the Passaic County Sheriff’s department could be
seen and heard putting the final touches as they
did a quick run-through of Trinidad & Tobago’s
national anthem.
Officials
at the
India
Day
Parade
2010
Parade officials had advised When Steel Talks
(WST) just before the floats moved off, that the
steel orchestras would be not too far behind the
Prime Minister. But Women In Steel, Young
Generation Tassa Group heating up the tempo, and
the Carnival masqueraders would eventually be seen
on the penultimate float of the long procession
which had begun two and a half hours earlier at
1:00 p.m.
Members
of
Antoine
International
await
their
turn to
join the
2010
India
Day
Parade
on
Madison
Avenue,
New York
There had been no sign of this complemental
Trinidad & Tobago contingent in the early
formation of the parade, so WST made their way
back up to the parade’s originations where, on
37th Street among the floats awaiting
their turn to join the celebration, was a float
with steelpans at the ready, along with some
members of the tassa group. Women In
Steel’s president Claudette Baptiste was
close-by, waiting with those from Antoine
International portraying carnival characters.
|
Women In Steel
await their turn to join the parade |
Women In Steel
Instruments at the ready |
Arranger
&
percussionist
Leon
“Foster”
with Pantonic’s
Sade
Constantine
It would turn out that parade organizers
appeared to be of the opinion that somehow two
stage side steel orchestras and one tassa group
would fit comfortably atop one small float.
That being naturally impossible, Women In Steel
who arrived first were directed to the float.
Reportedly when Pantonic Steel Orchestra turned
up, there was of course no place for them,
leaving their musicians to stand around unable
to perform with no float assigned to them.
It was a pity that there appeared not to be a
clear understanding that two stage side steel
orchestras required two floats.
The
Young
Generation
Tassa
Group
followed
by
masqueraders
from
Antoine
International
& Women
In Steel in
the 30th
India
Day
Parade,
Madison
Avenue,
New York
In the meantime, when the float bearing Trinidad
and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar
went by, amid the thousands and thousands of
waving Indian flags, a few Trinidad & Tobago
flags were seen thrust into the air determined
to be seen. Interestingly, Madame Prime
Minister - who wore a large sash in the colors
of the Trinidad and Tobago flag - was in actual
possession of only a very small flag of Trinidad
& Tobago which was hardly visible. One
enterprising Trinbagonian behind the barricades
separating the crowd from the parade,
determinedly made it her business to change
that.
The
Prime
Minister
holds
the
larger
flag of
Trinidad
& Tobago
aloft
This lady ensured that her
personal and reasonably-sized larger flag was
given to someone on the float, to get this much
better national representation into the hands of
the Prime Minister. After a few minutes,
this flag did indeed make its way to her, by
this time having been placed on a handy wooden
stick. And then - it was Trinidad & Tobago
pride displayed in a much more visible manner as
Madame Prime Minister waved it aloft. The
original owner of that flag - the lady on the
sidelines - could be seen looking
extremely pleased with this turn of events!
The
Honourable
Prime
Minister
of
Trinidad
&
Tobago,
Kamla
Persad-Bissessar
on float
with
Grand
Marshall
Bollywood actress
Preity
Zinta to
her
right
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s Indian
lineage dates back to the time when her fore
parents, who were among over one hundred
thousand indentured laborers, traveled from
India to Trinidad in the mid-nineteenth century.
For the India Day Parade, she was alongside the
event’s Grand Marshall, Indian Bollywood actress Preity
Zinta.
The
Federation
of
Indian
Associations
leads
off the
30th
India
Day
Parade
Organized by the Federation of Indian
Associations, New York’s India Day Parade is in
its 30th year as India celebrates the
anniversary of her independence from her old
colonial masters - Britain. August 15,
2010 marked India’s 63rd year of
Independence.
In
Pictures
|
