Sunday Magazine - October 14, 2018

October 14, 2018

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2 Sunday Times Magazine

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OCTOBER 14, 2018

Feature

…miniaturising sugar: Guyana’s historically largest agricultural enterprise

I

ronically, just over a week ago, as “Agriculture Month” was launched, the nation had to grapple with the fact that all a mother could do was cry when her children woke in the middle of the night asking for some food. We heard that she would give them a cup of water because that is all she can afford to do, but she is just one of thousands of persons so affected and the common cause – the closure of several sugar estates without a contingency plan.

When the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU-AFC) coalition came into power in 2015 after promising sugar workers better conditions, it established a multimillion-dollar Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the state of the industry. The report of the CoI was presented to the Government only to be shelved along with several other reports.

In May of 2017, Agriculture Minister Noel

Holder presented the White Paper on the future of the sugar industry and according to many, it was and still remains a gloomy future. The White Paper outlined a number of initiatives to “save the sugar industry” and among those initiatives was the closure of several estates over a period of time.

However, the Government never rolled out a contingency plan to cushion the effects of the closures and the results have been borderline disastrous.

Last year, 1851 workers were sacked from the Skeldon Sugar Estate, 1181 from the Rose Hall Estate, 1480 from the East Demerara Sugar Estate and 251 from the Wales Sugar Estate in addition to the hundreds terminated in 2016. The closure of the four estates and the displacement of the workers have had catastrophic impacts on the entire country, since many of the redundant workers are yet to be gainfully employed

and their loss of purchasing power cascades in the economy.

The Government has been conducting some training with the sugar workers, but that training is very limited and still does not guarantee them a source of steady income. Some of those workers have received their severance packages, but there are some still waiting and fighting to get what remains of theirs.

Many of the workers have taken up odd jobs, working as labourers in stores for salaries way below what they are accustomed to. They work as security guards and as is the case of several of them from the Wales Estates, they are battling for their salaries from Sentinel Security Service. These men and women have no other choice than to work in whatever fields they can gain employment, since many of them do not have high school certificates nor are they literate.

Cane cutting

The reality of the lack of employment opportunities does not seem to be settling in with the officials since we often hear speeches about efforts to cushion the effect and provide more jobs, but see very little action.

The White Paper identified that the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) would offer the closed estates for sale while three estates would remain operational since that would be more feasible.

“The process will result in improving the relationship with some cane cutters, estate staff and about 1710

Ex sugar workers protesting for their severance pay

private cane farmers. These adjustments mean that GuySuCo would be scaleddown into a more efficient entity that focuses on producing sugar to satisfy the domestic and foreign markets that provide preferential access to our sugar. This entails taking advantage of the opportunity to merge better performing lands to operate factories more efficiently,” Minister Holder said during his presentation in Parliament last year.

To handle the sale of the

estates, the Government created the Special Purpose Unit (SPU) which evaluated the viability of the closed estates and recommended that the estates remain operational in order to increase sale value. To accomplish this, the SPU negotiated a $30 billion bond facility with Republic Bank Limited.

But since the announcement of the bond, concerns have been raised about Government’s vision for the industry and the genuineness of its actions thus far, since that very $30 billion could have gone into restructuring the industry while keeping all of the estates open and GuySuCo’s workforce employed and engaged.

The SPU is now in full control of the Wales, Skeldon, Rose Hall, and Enmore Estates.

Notwithstanding GuySuCo’s financial woes, some 14 companies hailing from as far as Canada and as near as Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana have expressed interest in purchasing the three sugar estates up for sale. A meeting with these investors and officials from the SPU was held on September 25, 2018. According to the Unit, they would have met with the executives to discuss taxes and permits, and the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) is expecting that they would be able to sell the Rose Hall, Skeldon and East Demerara Estates by next year.

The Unit is also accusing GuySuCo of misappropriating the monies released to it for the enhancement of its operations. The $30 billion syndicated bond with

an interest rate of 4.75 per cent was intended to capitalise GuySuCo’s remaining estates. It subsequently emerged that part of the bond was used by GuySuCo to repay interest on another debt.

Despite this fiasco, GuySuCo claims it is well on its way towards achieving the modest targets set for second crop production. Yet, according to the Corporation, the Albion, Blairmont and Uitvlugt Estates have achieved or exceeded weekly production targets less than half of the weeks they were in operation. The target per estate for the second crop is as follows: Uitvlugt – 10,780, Albion – 38,160 and Blairmont – 19,105 tonnes of sugar.

As the sugar industry continues to deteriorate, the people continue to suffer.

Wales and Berbice continue to grapple with the reality of the closures. Families there are very worried about where the next meal will come from and are living on measly earnings.

There are retrenched workers protesting for the remainder of their severance packages as promised. There are families that continue to worry about the next meal, about where the next dollar will come from, about what will happen if disaster strikes. There are businesses that have to lay off workers because the sugar workers are not spending as they used to. The demand for goods is low while the supply is high. There are farmers who suffer losses because their cash crops spoil all because people cannot afford to buy food.

Enmore Estate

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OCTOBER 14, 2018

Sunday Times Magazine

3

Feature

Roger Carry among some of his plants

By Lakhram Bhagirat

T

he agriculture sector is dubbed as one of the most important sectors in any economy, given its ability to provide nourishment to us humans, yet the struggles of farmers are quite often downplayed.

This is because many of us do not see the farmer rising before the crack of dawn or fighting to ensure that the crops are well-irrigated or even coming up with the right methods to eradicate pests and maximise yields.

Since ancient times, humans have been planting and rearing what they eat and to date, this is a necessity in order to ensure our survival. Guyana has bountiful and fertile lands, and many people are taking advantage of that. One of those persons is 46-year-old Roger Carryl.

Carryl grew up in a farming household in the village of Stanleytown, West Bank Demerara (WBD). Sugar cane is traditionally cultivated in the area, since the Wales Estate is located nearby. He remembers growing up in the village and going into the cane fields with his parents as they tend to the cane during the beginning and end of crops. He

remembers playing in the trenches and ever so often, striking a few fishes.

Those are the memories of his childhood and he holds them dear. When Carryl grew up, he decided that he too wanted to become a farmer and he began planting sugar cane at La Retraite, WBD. As the years went by, he acquired 25 acres of land and continued planting, taking his cane to the Wales Estate to be processed into sugar.

With the earnings from his sugar cane farm, Carryl was able to start his family and build a house where he now lives with his wife and four children.

“Growing up we had some cattle and so on, and you could develop yourself.

From the cane money you could build a house and so, and that is what I do. But ever since they closed down Wales, things become really bad because we nah got no plan in place,” he said.

For Carryl, cash crop farming was the next avenue that was guaranteed to provide an income for him.

He said he was literally forced by the circumstances to enter the cash crop arena because of the extreme lengths he had to go to, to ensure that his sugar cane

Roger’s cabbage patch

reached the Uitvlugt Estate.

He explains that to transport one ton of cane from his farm to Uitvlugt cost $3000 and he would have to pay the harvester $2000 per ton.

It requires 16 tonnes of cane to produce one ton of sugar for which he would be paid about $67,000. When added up, the expenses far outweighed the earnings, making sugar cane farming not feasible for him anymore.

“Before them man close the estate, the Government never come and sit down with we and let we get the dialogue on the way forward. Until now them never had a meeting with we farmers and we suffering here, but we got to survive and that is why plenty of them man ah convert them crop,” Carryl said.

He said that he only recently began converting his sugar cane farm into a cash crop farm, but could only afford to do five acres to date.

He would have expended over $2 million for the conversion, which included pur-

chasing new equipment and preparing his land.

“I had to grade down the land and plough and chip the place. I had to get mould and then buss the dam and put pipe to drain the land properly.

All now I want t o

get a bulldozer and bulldoze the rest of the cane and plant rice, but money nah deh, bai. Nobody nah even come and say let we help you or this is how you can do it. NARI [National Agricultural Research & Extension Institute] peo-

ple and them just don’t care and then them ah talk about green economy and grow you food.”

Apart from the lack of financial and technical assistance,

Lettuce flourishing

Carryl said that they have to deal with animals damaging crops as well as the human factor. He explained that since he plants in the backdam persons would usually raid the farm in the night

resulting in major losses and damage to the crops.

“To build a lil house there now is too much money.

When was cane you didn’t have no problem. When you plant the cash crop, people thief it and then it also got the weather and so on.

It hard to take care of the cash crop in this weather too,” he added.

C a r r y l plants lettuce, tomatoes, cabbage, celery, parsley, pepper, ochro, bora, and plantains in his former sugar cane fields. He has also converted the yard space at his home into a farm as well. He said that he enjoys farming and wishes people would appreciate the efforts of farmers, since they are the ones responsible for all the food. (Photos

by Adam Baksh)

4

Sunday Times Magazine

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OCTOBER 14, 2018

Feature

Auntie Netty in her natural element

By Lakhram Bhagirat

W

hile growing up I would always hear my grandmother, who was a vendor at the Bourda Market in Georgetown, talking about the bargains at the Parika Market, East Bank Essequibo. She would boast about the freshness of the produce, as well as the great bargains one would receive. I mean that alone was enough to grasp the attention of everyone she spoke to.

She, in my mind, was the unpaid spokesperson for the vendors operating at the Parika Market. I remember my first visit to the Market.

I was about 14 years old and I was amazed by the bountifulness of the produce as well as the vibrant colours.

With just over 4000 residents, Parika is a small community but a budding port since it serves as a gateway

to Regions One, Two, and Seven. There is never a quiet day at Parika as it is always bustling with people from all over the world. If they are not there to get the fresh produce, they are coming from the Essequibo Coast or Bartica or some island in the mighty Essequibo River to transact business or do shopping.

It is always bargain galore at Parika Market and when I visited there on Thursday, I was overwhelmed by how little I would have to spend to get so much. However, it is not only the bargains that attract people to Parika but it is the spirit of the persons who operate there. You can never visit Parika and say that you would have had a bad experience or encounter with a vendor. They are truly the best set of people I have encountered in my travels around our beautiful

Guyana.

Those familiar with the “Screaming Ladies Snackette” in the Stabroek Market would know what I mean when I say that the people of Parika have the sweetest tongues to make you want to shop more. You can always expect a top-up on your vegetables or provisions.

According to the Regional Democratic Council, there are over 700 persons who own and operate stalls within the Parika and Hydronie Markets. That number excludes those who would set up shop on the shoulders of the road – they would often provide some of the best deals.

The busiest days for the vendors are Sundays and Fridays. Sunday Market at Parika is embedded in the rituals of thousands of West Siders as they would leave their homes as early

as 05:00h to get to the market in order to capitalise on the best deals. You can find almost everything at the market, from your daily groceries to haberdasheries, construction materials and even exotic animals.

Parrots and macaws are the stars whenever it is mating season. You can get a stylish

DeSouza – used to vend ground provisions, but after he died that became tedious and she moved to fruits.

She would wake up early in the morning and travel to Georgetown to pick up her foreign fruits. Sometimes she would also buy some local ones there as well and then travel back to Parika to

business was little more better, but it still good, man,” she tells me.

Her neighbour Angela who vends vegetables and ground provisions tells me that she has been at the market for over 30 years.

She said as of recent there has been an increase in competition because the wholeAngela serving a customer

frock for as low as $500 from some vendors at the market and a shimmery pair of sandals to accessorise it starting at $350. I mean an entire outfit for under $1000.

Now, isn’t that a sweet bargain?

When I visited the market on Thursday, I caught up with a few of the vendors. Almost everyone who is a regular knows Auntie Netty. She has been selling fruits in the same spot for over 20 years. Prior to selling fruits, she – along with her husband, Gilbert As fresh as it gets- plantains being offloaded from a boat

vend. She spends an average of 10 hours per day vending and at the age of 64 it is a feat not many can speak of.

She has no intentions of retiring soon since she feels that her active lifestyle is the reason she is not overcome with sickness.

“Business don’t be bright every day, but you got to make do. Sometimes it up, sometimes it down, but I am able to save some money and feed myself so that is all that matters. I see this place change up so much, but it was better before because

salers would utilise the Hydronie Market for retailing as well and that affects the smaller man.

“We busy day here is Monday and Tuesday. Most days, it does be slow but that is how business is man,” she said.

The people at Parika remain resilient despite their challenges. So, if you have not had a chance to visit and interact with the people, I urge you to do so as soon as possible. Ciao. (Photos by Adam Baksh)

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OCTOBER 14, 2018

Sunday Times Magazine 5

Feature

By Lakhram Bhagirat

I

f someone told Jason Lampley a few years ago, that he would give up his love for graphic designing and marketing to enter into the uncertain world of baking, then he would have definitely laughed at them. Now here he is, in a world where he is still trying to find his footing but is destined to leave his mark on the taste buds of every Guyanese and even those far afield.

Jason, along with his business partners Alan Ferreira and Roger Welch, recently opened Kupkakeinator Café located at Sheriff Street, Subryanville.

The name itself is one that would send English teachers into a frenzy, but rolls off the tongue perfectly and cements the business as a unique one. Jason says his former boss and marketing veteran, Alex Graham, was the one who came up with the name drawing inspiration from the movie “Cat in the Hat”.

The 34-year-old remembers how it all started in his small kitchen about four years ago. He said that a friend introduced him to baking and he quickly developed a liking for it, but never envisioned that he would make it his main source of income. At that time he was comfortable with being a graphics designer and building a career in marketing but his newfound hobby was too intense to ignore.

He would spend hours in his kitchen trying recipes and making his friends his guinea pigs. One of his close friends took the initiative of making a poster advertising cupcakes in his office and that resulted in his entry into the commercial baking

world. “ H e decided to create a flier and post it on

The Kupkake-inators, Jason (second left); Alan (centre) and Roger (right), with Nigel Hughes and Public Telecommunications Minister Cathy Hughes

his work place and sent me it and you have a sale and that I have to bake cupcakes to sell. I told him that I never made anything to sell to anyone and I did it and it was very successful. From then almost every week the Ministry of Health, particularly the Accounts Department, would order cupcakes and the business then took off from there,” he told me.

Jason said that they would have transitioned from just cupcakes to actual cakes and remembers visiting a friend in Trinidad who bakes cheesecakes on the side. With no formal training in baking, Jason’s friend took him under her wing and taught him the art of making cheesecakes. With her recipes as the base, over the years, Jason would have improved and modified them to suit the Guyanese palette.

Guess what? The cheesecakes at Kupkake-inator are to die for. They are light, fluffy and oh so satisfying.

Jason experiments with t h e flavours, but my fa-

Classic grilled chicken salad

vourite is and remains the cream liqueur flavoured ones.

“She never imagined I would caught on so well.

There are times she came and helped me with sales and so. Most of the recipes are hers and I would have modified over the years and came up with my own flavour and the cheesecakes here are the best sellers and it is my favourite thing to bake,” he said.

Roger, over the years of their friendship, would have encouraged Jason to expand his business as his client list grew, but he was sceptical since it was a path he had not planned. Sometimes the hassle of balancing his fulltime graphic designing job and his orders were so much that he would go to work late most days.

He tells me that there were days when it became so stressful that he wanted to throw in the proverbial towel and at one point he announced that his “ovens were closed”. It was a disappointing time for his clients, but they understood and after two months they begun asking him to do an order ever so often which resulted in him reopening his ovens.

Back to the i d e a of the café, Jason e x -

plains t h a t Roger c o n tinued to encourage him and when a location was found for the business, he helped finance some of the equipment and aided in acquiring the

space. The Kupkake-inator Café officially opened its doors in September and is now a staple in people’s lives.

Every item available in the café is made from scratch with the finest ingredients available. For Jason and his team, quality always surpasses quantity.

“Response has been great and over the years, I have built up a lot of clients and good customers who supported me and were excited for the café and it was overwhelming. Opening day, we were sold out and it is just a start. Our prices make us different, because you can get something made from scratch at a really affordable price.”

Jason’s other business partner, Alan is just 20 years old but a true master of the kitchen. He is the one that decides what comes out of the kitchen into the display case as well as how it is presented. He, like Jason, has no formal culinary training, but comes from a family of bakers.

He says from a young age he always was intrigued with creating things and would YouTube simple recipes and execute them. As time progressed so did the difficulty of the recipes. He did a stint at the Marriott as a cook and would have learnt various techniques and now incorporates them in his work at Kupkakeinator.

“Working with a chef I learned the tips and tricks of the trade there. I like people critiquing my work and I am a bit of a perfectionist,” he said.

Kupkake-inator not only serves sweet treats but also classic breakfast, salads and sandwiches. But when you visit you cannot leave without a slice of cheesecake.

Trust me when I say it is inexpensive, satisfying and totally worth the few extra ounces you’ll put on when you’re finished. But hey you only live once, right?

The famous Cheesecake

6 Sunday Times Magazine

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OCTOBER 14, 2018

Feature

W

orld Food Day is celebrated every year around the world on 16 October in honor of the date of the founding of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in 1945. The day is celebrated widely by many other organisations concerned with food security, including the World Food Programme and the International Fund for Agricultural Development.

This year, World Food Day is being observed under the theme, “Actions are our future- a #zeroHunger world by 2030.”

The Zero Hunger Challenge was launched by former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Kimoon in 2012. The Zero Hunger vision reflects five elements from within the Sustainable Development Goals, which taken together, can end hunger, eliminate all forms of malnutrition, and build inclusive and sustainable food systems.

SDG 2 targets ending hunger since, according to the United Nations, our soils, freshwater, oceans, forests and biodiversity are being rapidly degraded. Climate change is putting even more pressure on the resources we depend on, increasing risks associated with disasters, such as droughts and floods.

Many rural women and men can no longer make ends meet on their land, forcing them to migrate to cities in search of opportunities. Poor food security is also causing millions of children to be stunted, or too short for the ages, due to severe malnutrition.

A profound change of the global food and agriculture system is needed if we are to nourish the 815 million people who are hungry today and the additional 2 billion people expected to be undernourished by 2050. Investments in agriculture are crucial to increasing the capacity for agricultural productivity and sustainable food production systems are necessary to help alleviate the perils of hunger.

It is time to rethink how we grow, share and consume our food. If done right, agri-

culture, forestry and fisheries can provide nutritious food for all and generate decent incomes, while supporting people-centered rural development and protecting the environment.

Hunger Facts and Figures

• Globally, one in nine people in the world today (815 million) are undernourished • The majority of the world’s hungry people live in developing countries, where 12.9 per cent of the population is undernourished.

• Asia is the continent with the hungriest people – two thirds of the total. The percentage in southern Asia has fallen in recent years but in western Asia it has increased slightly.

• Southern Asia faces the greatest hunger burden, with about 281 million undernourished people. In subSaharan Africa, projections for the 2014-2016 period indicate a rate of undernourishment of almost 23 per cent.

• Poor nutrition causes nearly half (45 per cent) of deaths in children under five – 3.1 million children each year.

• One in four of the world’s children suffer stunted growth. In developing countries, the proportion can rise to one in three.

• 66 million primary school-age children attend classes hungry across the developing world, with 23 million in Africa alone.

Food security

• Agriculture is the single largest employer in the world, providing livelihoods for 40 per cent of today’s global population. It is the largest source of income and jobs for poor rural households.

• 500 million small farms worldwide, most still rainfed, provide up to 80 per cent of food consumed in a large part of the developing world. Investing in smallholder women and men is an important way to increase food security and nutrition for the poorest, as well as food production for local and global markets.

• Since the 1900s, some 75 per cent of crop diversity has been lost from farmers’ fields. Better use of agricultural biodiversity can contribute to more nutritious diets, enhanced livelihoods for farming communities and more resilient and sustainable farming systems.

• If women farmers had the same access to resources as men, the number of hungry in the world could be reduced by up to 150 million.

• 4 billion people have no access to electricity worldwide – most of whom live in rural areas of the developing world. Energy poverty in many regions is a fundamental barrier to reducing hunger and ensuring that the world can produce enough food to meet future demand.

(UN)

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OCTOBER 14 , 2018

Sunday Times Magazine 7

Literary Corner

Our Journey Through The World

The Indian Caribbean: Migration and Identity in the Diaspora A Review by Ryhaan Shah

Professor Lomarsh Roopnarine

E

ver since our Indian foreparents stepped aboard the ships that sailed across the kala pani and brought us to the New World, we have become world travellers. The most recent publication from Dr Lomarsh Roopnarine, Professor of Caribbean and Latin American history at Jackson State University, Mississippi, USA, follows our journeys since that initial embarkation which brought us from the known to the unknown with all the opportunities and advantages as well as the setbacks that came with colonialism and plantation life.

The main thrust of the study is to continue the story of our migration which has taken many forms: from the very first desertions from sugar plantations which were internal migrations “based on the desire for freedom and the power to dictate one’s own time” to our current journeyings to North American cities such as New York and Toronto where, in a sense, we are still seeking that freedom.

Roopnarine places our current journeys within the historical context of the indentureship period and adds to the theory of the push and pull factors that spurred the initial migration the idea that “Indians also migrated because of an expansion of world capitalism and the program of imperialism and colonialism.” While slave emancipation created a labour shortage in the Caribbean there was a parallel labour surplus in India because peasants had been displaced from their lands and Roopnarine posits that the British colonials saw the benefits of channelling the labour from one area to the other: “For the capitalist class, indentured labour was mobile labour.”

His research investigates the reasons and conditions that spurred internal migrations within Guyana, Surinam and Trinidad, as well as intraregional migrations from mainly Guyana to other Caribbean states, and Indian migration from the Caribbean to Europe and North America. Included in the

study are the return of indentured laborers to India, the influx of NRIs to the Caribbean, and the settlement of smaller numbers of Indians on islands such as St Croix, St Lucia and the US

of migration that are familiar to us and have shaped the d e m o graphics of various

Professor Lomarsh Roopnarine

Virgin Islands.

Because much of this movement is recent and ongoing, there is little recorded data from archival and secondary sources so Roopnarine relied “on the voices of migrants and other people” even though these are not always accurate because people “reveal lived experiences normally not found in written sources”.

This gives the study an immediacy and accessibility since it deals with patterns

Caribbean countries. The movement from plantations to settlements then to urban areas, for instance, is the pattern of many of our own family history and accounts for the large Indian family businesses headquartered in the city of Georgetown: Gafoors, Kissoons, Muneshwer’s, Toolsie Persaud, Beharry’s.

“The rural-urban movement was based on economic success and individual aspirations …. although they

had to compete with other ethnic groups which resulted in ethnic tensions,” Roopnarine writes.

Whereas he himself, a migrant to the US, refers to the ethnic tensions and impoverishment that resulted from the introduction of cooperative socialism, and mentions “Forbes Burnham’s racial politics”, he does not fully explore or interrogate this major factor of racialised politics which spurred the migration of Indians out of Guyana.

There are references to the varying degrees of ethnic tensions that exist in Guyana, Surinam and Trinidad, but the eruptions of open racial hostility and violence in Guyana from the 1960s onward are not included and the internal migration of thousands of Indians who fled as refugees from the Wismar/McKenzie area in May 1964 is overlooked.

Indians fled the arson, rape, assault and murder that occurred over three days and resettled in various villages along the country’s East Coast of Demerara. This experience of Indians being victims of what is today known as ethnic cleansing was never replicated elsewhere in the Caribbean and the threat of that violence continues to spur Indian migration out of Guyana.

Serious academic study that would provide historical, economic, social and political analysis of this violence would be a vital component of any dialogue and discourse initiated with a view to resolving this issue and could themselves become the bases for meaningful discussions.

Ever since leaving India, we have continued to travel and to seek a permanence in the New World not only in the physical sense of having a home with the peace and stability the word connotes but also in a cultural and psychological sense as we continue to honour our heritage from India within the context of Western education, values, and lifestyles.

Roopnarine captures the restlessness that

Notice to Readers

comes with such displacement and with the unsettled idea of who we are as a Caribbean people, an identity that is still in flux. He explores the concepts of creolization, coolitude and coolieology as various pathways to identity formation. Some Indians have assimilated into Caribbean or American culture; some are douglarised; and some maintain much of the cultural and religious norms of their foreparents, which are not viewed as being contrary to Western values and behaviours.

He writes: “Caribbean Indians have been shaped

by Indian subcontinent customs such as the Hindu re-

ligion, music, folklore, and Bollywood films. Caribbean Indians have developed an in-between status. They are not like Indians in India nor are they like Caribbean Creoles.

Instead, they have merged India and the Caribbean to produce a distinct and dynamic local entity.”

That first Indian footfall on May 5, 1838 at Plantation Highbury on the banks of the Berbice River had the romance of a beginning for all time. The story of our journey through the world is still being written and Roopnarine’s book is an important chapter in that story.

I walk along the river Luxuriant with life— A plump otter, A brilliant kingfisher, A doe, legs splayed to drink.

Flat-topped boulders nestle the lapping current— Children sunning their soft white legs, Parents setting out sandwiches.

Brown water gushes from daily rain Smoothing foamy rapids into ripples As rafters pass by lazily No need for oars.

We rejoice at the fullness, The excess, The rich water and leaping fish, The hunting eagle, The ambling bear.

All is right with it; All is easy.

Across the world another river, Dry, torpid; Its bleached boulders With ancient carvings From desperate times Of drought and fear.

They warn of troubles When rain is scarce, When seared crops fail And hunger begins.

Children clamber over Dead moss and Trace the chiseled words: If you see me, Weep.

By Patricia Thrushart

If you have a poem and/or short story you would like to publish on our Literary Corner page, please email to timessundaymag@gmail.com. Kindly include your correct name and a contact number in your email. If you have any questions, please call 223-7230 or 223-7231.

8 Sunday Times Magazine

OCTOBER 14 , 2018

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Feature

Sunset on the Linden/Soesdyke Highway

S

unrise and sunset has the ability to transport us from our worldly problems to a place where we become one with the rising or setting sun. The time we take to appreciate the beauty and magnificence of the sun is by far time well spent.

While describing the joys of looking at the setting sun John Sexton once said, "It is light that reveals, light that obscures, light that communicates. It is light I "listen" to. The light late in the day has a distinct quality, as it fades toward the darkness of evening. After sunset there is a gentle leaving of the light, the air begins to still, and a quiet descends. I see magic

in the quiet light of dusk. I feel quiet, yet intense energy in the natural elements of our habitat. A sense of magic prevails. A sense of mystery. It is a time for contemplation, for listening - a time for making photographs.�

In Guyana we are exposed to a number of avenues to view either the rising sun or the setting sun and photographer Subhash Haimraj capitalizes on this. His shots of the sunrise and sunset are so intricately composed that even the minor details are not missed.

So let us take a journey through his lens and enjoy both the sunrise and sunset simultaneously.

Bird flies into the sunset at Hague Backdam, West Coast Demerara.

Sunset at Perseverance Backdam, Essequibo Coast Sunset at Crane, West Coast Demerara

Demerara Sunset -Journey to Vreed en Hoop Stelling from Stabroek.

Sunrise on the Essequibo

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OCTOBER 14, 2018

Sunday Times Magazine 9

Health

Overview A migraine can cause severe throbbing pain or a pulsing sensation, usually on just one side of the head.

It's often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and extreme sensitivity to light and sound.

Migraine attacks can cause significant pain for hours to days and can be so severe that the pain is disabling. Warning symptoms known as aura may occur before or with the headache. These can include flashes of light, blind spots, or tingling on one side of the face or in your arm or leg.

Medications can help prevent some migraines and make them less painful.

Talk to your doctor about different migraine treatment options if you can't find relief. The right medicines, combined with self-help remedies and lifestyle changes, may help.

Symptoms Migraines often begin in childhood, adolescence or early adulthood.

Migraines may progress through four stages: prodrome, aura, headache and post-drome, though you may not experience all stages.

Attack A migraine usually lasts from four to 72 hours if untreated. The frequency with which headaches occur varies from person to person. Migraines may be rare, or strike several times a month.

During a migraine, you may experience: • Pain on one side or both sides of your head • Pain that feels throbbing or pulsing • Sensitivity to light, sounds, and sometimes smells and touch • Nausea and vomiting • Blurred vision • Lightheadedness, sometimes followed by fainting When to see a doctor Migraines are often undiagnosed and untreated. If you regularly experience signs and symptoms of migraine attacks, keep a record of your attacks and how you treated them.

Then make an appointment with your doctor to discuss your headaches.

See your doctor immediately or go to the emergency room if you have any of the following signs and symptoms, which may indicate a more serious medical problem: • An abrupt, severe headache like a thunderclap • Headache with fever, stiff neck, mental confusion, seizures, double vision, weakness, numbness or trouble speaking • Headache after a head injury, especially if the headache gets worse • A chronic headache that is worse after coughing, exertion, straining or a sudden movement

• New headache pain if you're older than 50 Causes Though migraine causes aren't understood, genetics and environmental factors appear to play a role. Migraines may be caused by changes in the brainstem and its interactions with the trigeminal nerve, a major pain pathway.

Migraine triggers A number of factors may trigger migraines, including hormonal changes in women, foods and additives, drinks, stress among other things.

Risk factors Several factors make you more prone to having migraines, including: • Family history. If you have a family member with migraines, then you have a good chance of developing them too.

• Age. Migraines can begin at any age, though the first often occurs during adolescence. Migraines tend to peak during your 30s, and gradually become less severe and less frequent in the following decades.

• Sex. Women are three times more likely to have migraines.

Headaches tend to affect boys more than girls during childhood, but by the time of puberty and beyond, more girls are affected.

• Hormonal changes. If you

are a woman who has migraines, you may find that your headaches begin just before or shortly after onset of menstruation.

They may also change during pregnancy or menopause. Migraines generally improve after menopause.

Some women report that migraine attacks begin during pregnancy, or their attacks worsen. For many, the attacks improved or didn't occur during later stages in the pregnancy. Migraines often return during the postpartum period.

Prevention Until recently, experts recommended avoiding common migraine triggers. Some triggers can't be avoided, and avoidance isn't always effective. But some of these lifestyle changes and coping strategies may help you reduce the number and severity of your migraines: • Transcutaneous supraorbital nerve stimulation (t-SNS). This device (Cefaly), similar to a headband with attached electrodes, was recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration as a preventive therapy for migraines. In research, those that used the device experienced fewer migraines.

• Learn to cope. Recent research shows that a strategy called learning to cope (LTC) may help prevent migraines.

In this practice, you are gradually exposed to headache triggers to help desensitize you to them. LTC may also be combined with cognitive behavioral therapy. More research is needed to better understand the effectiveness of LTC. • Create a consistent daily schedule. Establish a daily routine with regular sleep patterns and regular meals. In addition, try to control stress.

• Exercise regularly. Regular aerobic exercise reduces tension and can help prevent migraines. If your doctor agrees, choose any aerobic exercise you enjoy, including walking, swimming and cycling. Warm up slowly, however, because sudden, intense exercise can cause headaches. Regular exercise can also help you lose weight or maintain a healthy body weight, and obesity is thought to be a factor in migraines.

• Reduce the effects of estrogen.

If you are a woman who has migraines and estrogen seems to trigger or make your headaches worse, you may want to avoid or reduce the medications you take that contain estrogen.

These medications include birth control pills and hormone replacement therapy. Talk with your doctor about the appropriate alternatives or dosages for you. (Mayo Clinic)

10 Sunday Times Magazine

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Feature

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any conventional beauty products contain hidden (or not so hidden) harmful ingredients and many are also super expensive. Here are some DIY beauty products and tricks that will get you addicted.

But the extra work/time/money you say? It doesn’t take as much time as you’d think, and it certainly costs much less. Many of the ingredients you probably already have in your own kitchen, and you can make most of these products at a fraction of the cost of store-bought.

Sugar Scrub ½ cup granulated sugar, either white or brown ½ cup oil (olive oil and coconut oil work great) essential oils of your preference (optional) 1 small wide-mouth glass mason jar How to Make It Mix all ingredients and store in an airtight container, such as a mason jar.

Use 1 tablespoon as needed in the shower. Scrub skin with the mixture and rinse will. It will leave your skin feeling like silk.

Goodbye dry skin!

• • • •

HOMEMADE VANILLA LIP BALM 1 tablespoon shea butter 2 tablespoons organic coconut oil 1 tablespoon sweet almond oil 1 1/2 tablespoons beeswax 1/2 teaspoon therapeutic grade vanilla essential oil pipettes 15-16 .15 oz lip balm tubes or containers DIRECTIONS: Melt the shea butter, coconut oil, sweet almond oil, and beeswax over a double boiler. Whisk together. Then use a pipette to divide the liquid amongst the tubes, filling them. Stir what’s left in the bowl every so often while transferring to prevent separation. Let the balm set with the caps off for 12 hours.

• • • • • • •

Coffee Mud Mask • 4 tbsps. bentonite clay • 2 tbsps. coffee grounds • 2- 5 tbsps. apple cider vinegar (can be substituted for water) Directions In a small bowl add clay, coffee grounds and mix until incorporated, add 1-2 tbsps. apple cider vinegar to mixture and mix, if the mixture is to thick and more vinegar until it thins out. Smear over face in a circular motion and let it set for 5-10 minutes or until the mask hardens. Rinse mud from face and add a light layer of lotion to face, to prevent drying.

Coconut Oil Honey Hair Mask parts • 2 coconut oil, melted • 2 parts honey part • 1 apple cider vinegar Directions Mix together and pour into a microwaveable jar.

The hair mask will naturally separate in the jar, Re-melt and stir before each application.

Avocado Hair Mask 1 fresh avocado ¼ cup coconut oil 2 tablespoons honey Directions Mash avocado with for until smooth. Mix in melted coconut oil. Drizzle in honey and stir until well combined. Thoroughly apply to hair and scalp. Leave on for at least 30 minutes before shampooing.

• • •

HOMEMADE COCONUT CITRUS SOAP 1/3 of a block of shea butter soap base.

1 tablespoon of citrus zest.

A few drops of orange essential oil.

1-2 tablespoons of shredded coconut.

Plastic containers.

Directions Melt the soap base in a microwave safe container in the microwave in 30 second intervals. When it’s completely melted, add the zest, essential oil and coconut.

Mix together well and pour into a container. After pouring the soap into the mold, sprinkle more zest or coconut on top if desired.

• • • • •

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Sunday Times Magazine 11

Home & Cooking

Ingredients • 2 cups rotisserie chicken meat, cut into small pieces • 1 cups green grapes, halved • 1/3 cup slivered almonds • 1 scallion, finely chopped • Lightly toasted slices of bread Honey Garlic Dressing • 1/3 cup mayonnaise • ½ tsp crushed garlic • 2 tsp honey • ¼ tsp black pepper • ¼ tsp salt Directions Makes 4 sandwiches To make the salad, place the chicken, grapes, almonds, scallion and dressing in a bowl. Gently mix to combine. Divide into 4 and place between toasted bread to make sandwiches.

To make the dressing mix mayonnaise, garlic, honey, black pepper and salt in a small bowl until well combined. (Jehann Can Cook)

W

e all know being in a comfortable, inviting atmosphere plays a huge role on our overall mood and productivity, but did you know that a well-designed office space can make an impact in the success of your business?

The most productive offices balance the comforts of home with a professional business

image. Aka a stylish setting full of color, life and inspiration leads to a happy, healthy work environment for your team members to thrive in. Your office should embody your company’s values in a way that makes everyone at work feel great. You don’t want people walking into the office with a bad first impression because the office design needs a facelift.

Hang large works of art Art can make your workspace look a lot more interesting and thoughtful. Keep it simple with black and white wall hangings or go bold with vibrant, eye-catching works that brighten your day every time you walk past them.

Ingredients

Mix 12 oz shrimp with: 1 tsp crushed garlic ½ tsp crushed ginger ½ tsp red pepper flakes 1 tbsp soy sauce 5 cups cooked Minute Brown Rice (cold) 1 cup frozen peas and carrots 2 eggs, beaten ¾ cup pineapple chunks 1 onion, finely chopped 2 tsp crushed ginger ¾ tsp red pepper flakes 2 tbsp soy sauce ½ tsp salt 3 scallion, finely chopped 3 tsp canola oil

Directions

Mix shrimp with garlic, ginger, red pepper flakes and 1 tbsp soy sauce In a large pot or wok over high heat, add 1 tsp oil and scramble eggs. Remove from pot and set aside. Add another teaspoon of oil to the pot then add seasoned shrimp and stir fry for 3 minutes. Remove from the pot and place in a bowl.

Next add remaining oil; when oil is hot add onion, garlic and ginger and stir fry for 1 minute.

Add frozen peas, carrots and pineapple and stir fry for an additional minute. Add rice, soy sauce, red pepper flakes and mix well. Stir fry for 2 minutes, then add shrimp, cooked egg, scallion and salt and cook for an additional minute. Remove from heat and serve warm. (Jehann Can Cook)

Add unique furniture There are so many options for swagged out couches, chairs, tables and the like these days. From animal print ottoman chairs to architectural chaise lounges, you will find some furniture that speaks to your brand, guaranteed.

Don’t forget about office aromas Having nice smells in your office makes for a pleasant workday.

Invest in some air fresheners and make sure that the air circulation in your building is up to par. If you’re careful, you can also light some candles to keep your workspace smelling great.

Break up spaces with dividers Open office environments offer more than a modern workspace look. Breaking down walls increases communication and collaboration among team members, giving the entire workspace an overall synergetic feel. This way, team members feel more apt to jump into conversations because the atmosphere is welcoming and informal.

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Puzzles

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ACROSS

101 Store up "-- luego!"

102 Big carnival city Music with a beat

103 Extinct birds Clemens' pen name 104 radiances Aquarium fish

105 Monkeys et al.

Spicy stews

106 Kind of coffee The blahs

107 Use a grater Deck out

108 Shish -Where the blissful walk (2 wds.)

109 Advertising ploy Sonnet stanza

111 Glacier breakaways Iffy attempts

113 Tuned in Harness parts

115 Bear's advice Large swallows

119 Arm of the Mediterranean Garden-pond fish

121 Very reluctant More frosty

123 Gaelic people Peel and Samms

125 Admission -Relieving

126 Lop off Yin complement

127 Veldt grazer Fairy-tale heavies

129 Wouldn't hurt -- -Down the hatch 131 Key Rapper -- Elliott

133 Part of Hawaii Storrs coll.

134 Ill-fated lover Cook eggs or steal

135 Che's compadre Split to join

136 Filter out Imperial realms 137 Dormant Lena Dunham's show 138 Overshadow Bristles

139 Crawls with Lobster-house need

140 Wood turner's machine Wet thoroughly

Neighborhoods DOWN Carried, as by the wind

1 Students play it Salt or smoke

2 Bauxite giant Flared, as a skirt

3 Mild protest (hyph.)

Amusing

4 Familiar digit A singing Jackson

5 -- spumante Cold weather wear 6 Motifs Previous to

7 Newly minted doc More than offensive

8 Pitfall, maybe Enticed

9 Chicago pro Like a walrus

10 Belgian river Bug repellent 11 Runways Turnpike exit

12 Holly item Filleted

13 Pop up

52 Classified info (2 wds.)

14 007's Fleming 53 Doglike scavenger

15 Big Board

54 Decrees

16 Dishes the dirt 55 Expire

17 Not prudent

56 Land

18 Special effort

58 Richie Valens tune

19 Kind of bank

59 Salad veggie

20 Time divs.

60 Sturdy wool

31 Murmured softly

62 Bites down

33 More than snacks

63 Engine knocks

35 Love in a gondola

64 Snapshot taker 37 Pretense 67 "Aqua Velva --"

39 Sales pitches

68 Surf makers

41 Came closer

69 Type of jacket 44 Tenet

71 Buckles

46 Not written

73 Milan's La - 48 Washer fuzz

74 Fiesta cheers 49 Inched

76 Terra- - 50 Mary Tyler or Demi

77 "Peter Pan" role

51 Blender button

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KATHLEEN SAXE

WORD GAME TODAY'S WORD -- WHIMSICAL WHIMSICAL: HWIM-zihkul: Erratic in behavior or degree of unpredictability.)

Average mark 28 words Time limit 40 minutes Can you find 38 or more words in WHIMSICAL?

Wail wash wham whim wish hail mach mail mash

mica milch sail salmi scam schwa sham shawl shim

silica slam slaw slim swam swami swim calm cash

chasm chili cilia claim clam clash claw alms laic

RULES OF THE GAME: 1. Words must be of four or more letters. 2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed. 3. Additional words made by adding a “d” or an “s” may not be used. For example, if “bake” is used, “baked” or “bakes” are not allowed, but “bake” and “baking” are admissible. 4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit words are not allowed.

Tour -Whetted Extreme coverup Peeved Forms droplets Savory smell Tells all Furniture mover Sawyer or Keaton Coup plotters Groan causers Sediment Provides at interest Slender candle Term papers Overindulge, plus They follow ships Mouths, slangily "Easy Rider" star Like bad gravy

79 80 81 82 83 85 86 87 89 90 91 94 95 97 99 100 101 103 104 105

Oscar nominee 106 Turn down a page (hyph.)

Hot dog topping 107 Oklahoman Calf-roping event 108 -- Abdul-Jabbar Loses some

109 Joyous outburst Asks for ID

110 Song-and-dance show Fridge maker

112 Burro alternative Physician of antiquity

114 Dorian Gray's creator Watchdog warnings

116 D-sharp alias Defer (2 wds.)

117 Hanger-on Horseshoe Falls locale

118 Mythical river of forgetfulness Fujiyama neighbor 120 Techie Bubbly drink

122 Ax handle Had been 124 Grade Corn holders

126 Slide on the snow Winter warmer 128 Weather system Rathskeller fare 130 Old exclamation Derisive remarks 132 Freighter's place Black mark In front (2 wds.)

See Solution on Pg 14 Daytime dramas

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Sunday Times Magazine 13

Tech Microsoft is now a top five PC maker in the US thanks to Surface

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emember when Huawei and LG put three cameras on the back of their phones? How young and foolish we all were, not knowing that wonders like Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy A9 — with its four total cameras — would soon come into our lives.

Rumors have been circling that Samsung will release the A9 with four rear lenses for a while, but Wednesday marks the first time that we’ve actually seen renders of the impressive array, courtesy of Evan Blass.

As Blass’ photo shows, the A9 will feature four lenses: an 8-megapixel, 120-degree

M wide angle lens; a 10-megapixel telephoto lens with 2x optical zoom; a 24-megapixel main lens; and a 5-megapixel “depth camera.”

Other leaks have indicated that the A9 will also feature a 6.38-inch display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 processor, and a 3,720mAh battery, which are all perfectly fine, midrange specs for a midrange Android device.

Samsung is obviously hoping that the quad camera is going to be the big draw here, but we’ll find out for sure when it officially announces the A9. (The Verge)

icrosoft has broken into the top five PC makers in the US for the first time. Market research firm Gartner revealed that Microsoft now holds 4.1 percent of the US PC market, edging out Acer for the fifth spot. It’s the first time Microsoft has entered the top five in the US, thanks to the company’s Surface devices.

While Microsoft has secured this top spot in the US, the company still has some work to do before that position is replicated worldwide. Both Acer and Asus

are jostling for the fifth spot worldwide, with Lenovo leading across the world.

Gartner and IDC both agree that Lenovo is the top PC maker, but the two research firms provide differing estimates for shipments overall.

Gartner says PC shipments increased by 0.1 percent in Q3 2018, while IDC says they declined by 0.9 percent.

As always, these estimates differ due to key differences between how Gartner and IDC count PCs. IDC’s data includes Chromebooks and excludes Windows tablets and devic-

es with a detachable keyboard like the Surface Pro. Gartner counts Windowsbased tablets as PCs and excludes Chromebooks or any non-Windows-based tablets.

The PC market still appears to be leveling out after six years of decline, and following signs earlier this year that it could grow again in 2018. There has been an increasing consolidation towards top PC makers like Lenovo, HP, and Dell recently, with Apple, Acer, and Asus all losing share of the market to others.

It’s clear now that Microsoft is taking a small slice of that market share in the US, just as the company seeks to widen the appeal of Surface with a new Surface Pro 6, Surface Laptop 2, Surface Studio 2, and Surface Headphones.

The market share figures come just weeks before Microsoft is due to report its Q1 2019 financial earnings.

Surface revenue jumped 25 percent to $1.1 billion in the most recent quarter, making Surface a billion dollar business for Microsoft. (The Verge)

Sony is finally letting PlayStation users change their PSN names

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napchat, which has struggled to keep its daily active users, is trying to entice teens to spend more time on the app with the release of new original shows.

On Wednesday, the ephemeral-messaging app unveiled a list of 12 exclusive scripted shows and docuseries that will make their debut this fall.

As video grows more popular, social media sites such as Snapchat and Facebook are offering people another reason to stick around. But they're also competing with Amazon, Netflix and Hulu.

Partnering on the shows with publishers such as Bunim/Murray Productions, the Duplass Brothers' DBP Donut and Brad Weston's Makeready, Snapchat has a fall

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lineup that includes coming-of-age dramas, horror, romantic comedy and other genres.

One reality show called Endless Summer that premieres on Wednesday features social media stars Summer Mckeen and Dylan Jordan as they navigate their love life in Laguna Beach, California. Another show, Class of Lies, is about two college roommates and best friends who try to figure out why their best friend vanished without a trace.

These shows, which typically run for 5 minutes, will air a new episode daily.

Snapchat also said it's introducing new augmented reality features so users can interact with a show's characters or react to scenes. (CNET)

hatsApp has reportedly fixed a bug that could've given hackers control of a user's app through video calls.

The maker of the chat app released a fix for the iOS version on Oct. 3 and updated the Android version on Sept. 28.

Hackers could've seized a user's WhatsApp when he or she answered an incoming video call, according to CNET sister site ZDNet. A security researcher at Google's Project Zero reportedly discovered the flaw in August. The "memory corruption bug" affected WhatsApp's use of Real-Time Transport Protocol for video calls, ZDNet said. RTP is the technology used to transmit audio and video over IP networks. Web users weren't affected. (CNET)

t’s been years in the making, but Sony is finally letting PlayStation users change their PSN IDs. The long-awaited feature is launching in beta soon for members of the PlayStation Preview Program, with a full rollout for all users planned for 2019.

The feature is simple: it will finally make it possible for you to fix the mistakes of a colorful youth by choosing PSN IDs like “xXx_360noskopeSlayerz_ xXx” in favor of more normal names (or vice versa, if that’s how you roll) without losing your entire account and friends list.

Users who decide to change their IDs will have the option to display their old username alongside their new one, so friends can still recognize who they are.

But if you do decide to display the old one, for some reason, you won’t be able to

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toggle that off.

According to Sony, during the preview program test, users will be able to change their PSN ID as many times as they want.

The first change is free; after that, each swap will cost $9.99 (or $4.99 for PlayStation Plus members).

Sony warns that the name-swapping feature is compatible with all PS4 games that were released

oogle didn’t mention its Pixel Buds at its annual hardware event, but it did announce a new pair of USB-C headphones. The company also didn’t mention these, but it did update its product page. The earbuds will cost $30 and are available to buy now. They’re only available in white.

The earbuds feature the same fit mechanism as the Pixel Buds. They include fabric loops that can be adjusted to fit in each ear. The earbuds also include a button that can be activated to access the Google Assistant, hear notifications, or try real-time Google Translate translations. (The Verge)

after April 1st, 2018, and “a large majority of the mostplayed PS4 games” from before that date. However, the company is warning that not all games for the PS4, PS3, and PS Vita will work, and there may be some issues.

The beta will run for November 2018, and the full rollout of the feature to all PS4 owners is planned for early 2019. (The Verge)

14 Sunday Times Magazine

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Bollywood/Hollywood

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llegations against Alok Nath are piling up.

After Vinta Nanda and Sandhya Mridul, actor Deepika Amin has come forward with her tale of harassment at the hands of the said actor.

Taking to Twitter, Deepika wrote how during an outdoor shoot of a telefilm, early in her career, Alok tried to barge into her room. She wrote: “Everyone in the industry knows that #AlokNath is an obnoxious drunkard who harasses women. Years ago on a telefilm outdoor shoot he tried to barge into my room. He slobbered over women, drunk and created a scene. The unit

rallied around me and made sure I was safe. #metoo.”

She added that her unit then protected her from him and hence she felt safe.

Deepika further wrote on Facebook that she was quite young at that time but remembers “vividly how horrible he was”. She goes on to elaborate how she again worked with him recently in the film Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety but he was sober on the sets.

She wrote: “Everyone in the industry knows that #AlokNath is an obnoxious drunkard who harasses women. Years ago on a telefilm outdoor shoot he tried to barge into my room. He slob-

bered over women, drunk and created a scene. The unit rallied around me and made sure I was safe. I was quite young but I still remember vividly how horrible he was. But recently on the shoot of Sonu Ke Titu ki Sweety he was quiet and subdued . Maybe he has changed? Maybe because the director Luv Ranjan made it clear he wouldn’t tolerate bad behaviour. But after reading Vinta Nanda’s heartbreaking account I felt I had to support her. BELIEVE WOMEN . They have everything to lose by speaking out. #IbelieveyouVintaNanda #metoo #Timesup.”

Deepika wrote this as she shared Vinta’s Facebook post.

“On October 8, writer-director Vinta Nanda, known for her TV series Tara, wrote a long post detailing how she was raped 19 years ago by Alok while she was on her way back from a party. On Wednesday, actor Sandhya shared her story from her early days as an actor when she was attacked by a drunk Alok while on an outdoor shoot.”

of borderline personality disorder, DBT is a method often used to help treat several personality disorders and mental illnesses, including depression, eating disorders, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and substance abuse, according to Psychology Today.

DBT focuses on teaching patients mindfulness, healthy communication and behavioral patterns, emotional regulation and how to better respond to negative events.

It’s not the first time the troubled singer, who announced a social media sabbatical in late September, has sought help.

In February 2018, Gomez completed two weeks in rehab for depression and anxiety, marking her third time in treatment for her issues, after which sources told Page Six she was avoiding alcohol.

Her sobriety wasn’t permanent, however: She revealed in the October issue of Elle, “As far as my personal life, someone sees me having a glass of wine? I could give two s—ts. I’m not trying to hide. That’s my life.”

Gomez first sought treatment at Arizona’s Dawn of the Meadows facility in early 2014. Two years later, she checked into a Tennessee treatment center to focus on her mental health. She previously claimed that she suffers from depression and anxiety stemming from her ongoing battle with lupus.

(Page Six)

Amitabh Bachchan says the best actor in the family is daughter Shweta Nanda

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hanning Tatum has reportedly moved on from Jenna Dewan with singer Jessie J. The actor and British pop star have been seeing each other for a few months, according to Us Weekly.

Per the mag, Tatum, 38, who split from the “Step Up” actress in April, has been spotted at the 30-year-old “Domino” singer’s concerts in Seattle and Salt Lake City. She is currently on tour. And last week the two were spotted at a mini golf course, according to a social media user.

“Lol they were hella nice,” they wrote. “Jessie came down and I was shook and then when I went to get them to play, Channing turned around and I was like. We hugged and got a pic and then I got to hear

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elena Gomez is in treatment for mental health issues after being hospitalized twice in the last two weeks, TMZ reports.

The former Disney starlet, who underwent a kidney transplant in September 2017, was at her Studio City, Calif., home two weeks ago when sources tell the site she became “despondent and emotional” over a low white blood cell count, leading a family member to transport her to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

Gomez, 26, returned home days later, but was readmitted the following week because her white blood cell count didn’t improve, which reportedly sent her spiraling.

Sources claim Gomez demanded to be released from the hospital and had an “emotional breakdown,” even attempting to rip her IVs from her arm.

The “Wolves” singer, who suffers from the autoimmune disease lupus, currently is being treated in an East Coast psychiatric facility. Insiders revealed to People that Gomez had a “tough few weeks” and suffered a panic attack in the hospital.

Gomez reportedly is undergoing dialectical behavior therapy (DBT). Originally developed for treatment

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Jessie singing somebody to love with the radio at the end of the course.”

Additionally, an insider told People on Tuesday that their relationship is “very new.” Tatum and Dewan

were together for nearly 10 years and share 5-year-old daughter Everly.

Reps for both Tatum and Jessie J have not responded to request for comment. (Page

Six)

ollywood star Amitabh Bachchan says his daughter Shweta Bachchan Nanda is a great help to him when it comes to choosing the right scripts.

Amitabh addressed the media at the launch of Shweta’s debut novel Paradise Towers in Mumbai on Wednesday. He said Shweta is opinionated and a lot of times they both discuss about various issues across the world.

“She really is the best actor in the family. She is also very perceptive about observations and I do rely on her many a times as just a rest of the family on many incidents that may happen within the city, home, country and world. She has an opinion. Many times, we discuss the outcome of a film that I may have done or a film that she may have seen. I have to say that she is always been right.

“When she says the film is going to do well, it does well and when she says it’s not going to do well, it doesn’t. So many times, I have begun to share some of my scripts with her. I am afraid, I couldn’t do that earlier and I want an excuse for that but re-

cently though she has been extremely helpful and very perceptive in giving me ideas and thoughts on what I was working on,” Amitabh said.

When Shweta’s mother Jaya was asked to share what she felt about her daughter becoming an author, she said: “I knew she would do this. Since she was a child, I knew that she would someday write. It was a mother’s instinct. I think she is very inspired by Karan Johar’s screenplay writing because the way he does the detailing of his characters in films, is what Shweta has done in this book.

“I was actually quite surprised and I keep asking her if ‘this character resembles that person we knew,” and then she would say “No, no, not at all’.”

Set in an apartment building in Mumbai, unlike the new-fangled high-rises dotting the city, Paradise Towers revolves around the lives of the residents. If the demographic is carefully inclusive -- Bengalis, Gujaratis, NRIs, Muslims -- the characters faithfully conform to every cliche associated with the communities.

Crossword Solution

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ulia Roberts dipped her toe into the social media pond earlier this year by joining Instagram and she’s already seen the negativity that comes along with it.

While the 50-year-old actress has blocked anyone she doesn’t follow from commenting on her posts -- and she only follows 25 people -- that didn’t stop her from seeing the hate spewed online about her appearance.

“Something did happen recently on my niece Emma’s Instagram that I think taught me a lot about what it’s like being a young person in today’s society,” Roberts told

Oprah Winfrey in the new issue of Harper’s Bazaar.

Referring to niece and “American Horror Story” star Emma Roberts, Julia said, “ One weekend morning Emma slept over, and we got up and were having tea and playing cards and having this beautiful morning, and then a couple of days later she posted a picture of us.”

“And the number of people who felt absolutely required to talk about how terrible I looked in the picture -- that I’m not aging well, that I look like a man, why would she even post a picture like this when I look that terrible -- I

was amazed at how that made me feel,” she continued.

“I’m a 50-year-old woman and I know who I am, and still my feelings got hurt,” Roberts added. “I was sad that people couldn’t see the point of it, the sweetness of it, the absolute shining joy of that photo.

I thought, ‘What if I was 15?’”

While seeing those comments clearly wasn’t a wonderful experience, Roberts said she was “happy” it happened to her.

“I had this whole new glimpse into a way of living that I didn’t get at all,” she told Oprah. “You have to go through things to understand

them, and this was just a little paper cut of what can really go on with social media.”

Roberts added that she joined the social media app after her kids kept asking her about it. “Why don’t you do that? That’d be cool,” she said they’d ask.

“It’s definitely a balancing act, and it’s been tricky figuring out what to post because I am private, but I am also friendly,” she added.

Since joining the site, Roberts has racked up over 2 million followers and shared over 50 posts, giving fans a look inside both her personal and professional life.

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OCTOBER 14, 2018

Sunday Times Magazine 15

16 Sunday Times Magazine

guyanatimesgy.com

OCTOBER 14, 2018

Fun Times

Archie

ARIES (March 21April 19)

Don't give in to someone playing with your emotions.

Size up whatever situation you face, and be honest about what you will and will not do. A physical outlet will ease stress.

Initiate change. Your efTAURUS forts will pay off, and what (April 20- you accomplish will give May 20) you the control you need to achieve your goal. Celebrate with a loved one.

Rethink your plans.

GEMINI Consider your options and (MAY 28what you can do to obtain a June 20) position that will satisfy you mentally, emotionally and financially. It's up to you to make changes.

Get involved in something that intrigues you. A creative (June 21- project will open a door to July 22) new friendships and opportunities. Don't argue with a loved one. Offer romance, not discord.

CANCER

LEO

Make your strengths prominent instead of highlighting (July 23your shortcomings.

Be receptive Aug. 22) to others, but don't let anyone take advantage of you or talk you into something you cannot afford. Maintain good health.

Dilbert

Peanuts

VIRGO (Aug. 23Sept. 22)

Do something you've never done before. Getting out of the house and spending time with people who have something unique to offer will be uplifting. Walk away from emotional drama.

LIBRA (Sept. 23Oct. 23)

If you take on a cause that you feel passionate about, you will gain momentum, make new connections and find inner peace. Positive change will improve your personal life.

Don't let anger take the SCORPIO reins when discipline and (Oct. 24- hard work are what's reNov. 22) quired. Problems that surface due to changes being made at home or in your personal life should be handled cordially.

SAGITTARIUS Confusion will surface if (Nov. 23- you or someone close to you Dec. 21) isn't up-front about feelings, intentions or likes and dislikes. Clear the air so you can move forward.

Calvin and Hobbes

Your reputation will be CAPRICORN judged by the way you han(Dec. 22- dle uncertainty or changes Jan. 19) brought about by other people.

Be accepting, and have a carefully considered plan in hand.

Don't engage in events AQUARIUS or activities that are detri(Jan. 20- mental to your emotional or Feb. 19) physical health. Be aware of what others are doing, but don't feel you must participate.

A positive change is PISCES heading your way. A gift, (Feb. 20- winning or offer that is too Mar. 20) good to refuse will appear out of thin air. Love, money and opportunity will highlight your day. Romance is encouraged.