Dear Editor,

In reply to Dave Martins’ letter of January 28, 2012, I would like to say that if heaping praise on Rahul Bhattacharya and his book, The Sly Company of People who Care, in his column (August 14, 2011) was meant to convey gratitude to the writer for showing us what needs to be fixed then he fell very short of his intention.

To use Mr Martins’ words, the “enthralling book” “will utterly captivate readers.” “His [Bhattacharya’s] characters speak and behave Guyanese,” gushes Martins. Given the context of praise, even our “warts and all” and our “inclination to rage and violence” are presented as nothing less than elements of our “vibrant way of being.” Nor does Mr Martins say anything about any of it needing to be fixed.

In fact, says Mr Martins, “… his [Bhattacharya’s] characters display attitudes and mores that are so clearly us.” The attitudes and mores on display are mainly those of foul-mouthed drunks, of men who speak casually of raping girls, and of a young woman who sells herself for a cell phone.

I concede fully to Martins and Bhattacharya that Guyanese culture is, indeed, mostly filth and swill, and I say that as we approach again that annual celebration, that mother lode of all our vulgarities, Mashramani.

Mr Martins is so correct when he says that I would have liked to have Guyana depicted as decent and not decadent. It is my fault entirely for wanting to live in a country where the decencies far outweigh the ills. That remains the preserve of the civilized countries to which we continue to flee. There, obscene language, rape, prostitution, and drunkenness, as in drunk driving, are criminal offences. They are not, in any way, indulged.

Mr Martins’ letter strikes a positive note when he states that everyone including artists – like himself? – should do their part to remedy the situation. It has been six months since he wrote that column. Perhaps, he will be happy to share with us all that he has done since to fix things.

Yours faithfully,
Ryhaan Shah