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ANI Photo: Indian Army camel mounted division  On January 26, 1950, India declared itself a sovereign, democratic and republic state, with the ­adoption of the Constitution, which gave the citizens of India the power to govern themselves by choosing their own Government. It has been 73 years since, the world’s largest democracy has evolved, gone through its trials and tribulations, and managed to overcome them all.  Republic ­– a word that is right now, and especially in the Caribbean, generating a lot of buzz. Closer to home, after Barbados became a republic in November 2021, the push for Jamaica to remove the Queen of England as the head of the state has picked up momentum.  “Living in one of the most vibrant democracies on the planet, Jamaicans will relate to this special day of the world’s largest democracy even more,” said Rungsung Masakui, high commissioner of India to Jamaica. “It is not a mere coincidence that India and Jamaica share such a warm relationship despi...

Odantapuribs - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0: Temple No.- 3 at Archaeological Site of Nalanda Mahavihara This is perhaps one of the oldest hubs of learning and knowledge known to mankind – with the distinction of being “one of the first great universities in recorded history” and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Nalanda University, an hour’s drive from Patna, the capital of Bihar, according to historical accounts, was a centre of learning where scholars from far and wide came to enhance their knowledge. The long and illustrious life of the university lasted for 800 years – from the fifth to the 12th century CE. It is said that in the seventh century CE, the university accommodated more than 10,000 students and had 2,000 teachers. The university was considered an architectural marvel and had eight separate compounds with many classrooms. Built from red bricks, the university compound also had numerous lakes and parks. In the seventh century CE, Chinese monk Xuanzang gave a first-hand account of ...

Photo: Barba. SAS-I NAH --   Excavating an 18th Century wreck in the Caribbean Fables have been told and written accounts given about this enigmatic city, whose tales spread far and wide. Frequented by pirates – from the one-eyed to the wooden-leg ones (yes, we are taking some inspiration from Pirates of the Caribbean), sailors, wanderers, navy officers – Port Royal etched a name for itself.  The notorious Wickedest City, drowning in rum, loot, and debauchery, was engulfed by the sea – a powerful earthquake at around 11.40 a.m. on June 7, 1692. It is said that Three violent shocks, followed by a giant tidal wave, ripped the ground and within minutes, two-thirds of Port Royal sank under the rising waves. Fast-forward to 2022, Mexican archaeologist Roberto Junco, along with colleagues from Japan, Canada, and the Netherlands, among others, are on a mission.  “We are helping the Jamaican Government through the Jamaican National Heritage Trust (JNHT) to prepare the dossier for...

There is a mystic and time-warped aura around the ceramics of Jag Mehta. One is intrigued by the simplicity of the style, form, shapes, and the rustic finish. The earthiness of the end product that Mehta creates transcends and is reminiscent of mankind’s early romance with pottery, creating functional and decorative terracotta art. Pottery made at Matticookware Studio, Pahari, Rajasthan, India. February/ March 2020 Call it a coincidence or the strong influences of his land of birth, Lahore, Pakistan, and living in the port city of Karachi, home to the Indus Valley Civilization, Mehta’s ceramics transport one to the pottery of that bygone era. Or as Mehta says, his works are born out of the fact that he is self-taught and not having any formal training in ceramics and the intricacies of its processes. “I have no formal education of ceramics and I know very little about glazes,” said Mehta, who has used his creativity to produce simple, yet awe-inspiring pieces. “I use oxides and undergl...

Mao Hosaka, JICA volunteer in Environmental Education at Manchester 4-H Club hands out sticky notes and coloured markers to students of Morgan's Forest Primary School in Clarendon, their task was to write things they are thankful for. Mao Hosaka has perhaps done it all – from delving into the uber megapixels of animation in Tokyo, finding eternal bliss meditating in a temple in Thailand, to kicking up a storm as she brushed up her Muay Thai (Thai boxing) skills, learning Bahasa (the official language of Indonesia), and climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. “Even though the work experience didn’t last long, it made me realise that this kind of life in a big city was not for me,” she said. “Since then I started looking for something that I’m passionate about, something I’m happy doing as a part of my life.” In her quest for finding purpose and meaning, Hosaka travelled to Zimbabwe and also volunteered in a wildlife conservation programme in South Africa. Now a Japan International Co...

Ampofo Mensah Jr (right) with some of the staff and students of Lower Buxton Primary School, St Ann. One is often told – “You don’t look Indian,” to which the 1.2-billion dollar question is: “How do Indians look?”…What, one might ask, is the context of this statement? It stems from the fact that some notions are just that, notions and pre-conceived – for the celebration of a country’s unity lies in her diversity across the board. Trick question number two… “How do Americans look?”… Ampofo Mensah Jr was left to ponder this when his family moved from Ghana to the United States and settled in the Big Apple. “It was a revelation for me,” Mensah said. “I faced struggles with the paradigm of my immigrant family seeking to adjust to living in the US from Ghana, West Africa.” Mensah was getting a brush of the ‘big, bad world’ out there, but then again, his parents decided that they were going to go all out to encourage him and his siblings to focus on their goals, of acquiring ed...

Elanor Nelson (in the middle), Peace Corps volunteer at the Newstead Primary School, St Mary, with some students who helped her create a pavement from soda bottle caps. Eleanor Nelson need not hoot any whistle to marshal her little troops; from marching around the community, collecting PET bottles, making art from bottle caps, to lugging suitcase loads of books as her check-in baggage, teaching music, promoting literacy - she and the students of Newstead Primary School rally to get the job done. She takes multi-tasking several notches up. Nelson is so much potency, vibrancy, and diversity packaged in a single human being - and her energy levels are on a constant crescendo. Since this Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV) literacy adviser came to this hamlet in St Mary of lush greenery and milky rivers in May 2017, she has striving, with the help of the students of Newstead Primary School, to do just that: keep the environment pristine. She went around the community to collect plasti...

Members of the 90th group of Peace Corps Volunteers in Jamaica | Photos Courtesy: Peace Corps Jamaica "How one shapes their life is always very interesting to me," says Paul Sully, country director of Peace Corps Jamaica. It is a simple yet deep-rooted statement because every one of us has as story to tell, a chapter to write, possibilities to explore, journeys to undertake - the list, and for some, the bucket list, goes on. The pertinent question here is, does volunteerism get a place in the nine yards of life? 'Perhaps', 'maybe', 'possibly', and 'I don't know' could be the plausible responses. Sully, though, who has spent majority of his life and career, as the head of an organisation that has been serving Jamaica since 1962, believes that the definition of a volunteer has to be rewritten and that perceptions need to change. "We know from our experiences that service reflects and shares values of caring, creates bonds, and...

Digital display of Mother, oil on canvas painting by Natalya Gudovich, at Palettes of Harmony - a showcase of Russian art at ArtBeats 5 at Legacy Suite, Jamaica Pegasus Hotel. “The essence of this poem…,” said Aleksei Sazanov, head of consular section, Embassy of the Russian Federation in Jamaica, “ … is that love is unconditional …” Sazanov was giving context and translation of ‘Wait for Me’, a poem by Konstantin Simonov about a soldier who is going to war and is telling his love to wait for him. His words seemingly summed up the evening of November 25 at Legacy Suite, The Jamaica Pegasus hotel – for love flowed in many forms. Russia – a country which is dotted with famous landmarks – from St Petersburg to Moscow, from the ballet to the opera, there is rich art history embedded in her DNA. It was the night of ‘Palettes of Harmony’ – a first-of-its-kind event showcasing Russian fine art – a collaboration between the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Jamaica with Osmosis ...