Chutney and Calypso competitions achieved high success
THE Chutney Competition for Mashramani celebrations was lagging  for a number of years but managed to secure a high level of success this year, Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr. Frank Anthony said Saturday evening.
Delivering the feature address at the prize-giving ceremony, where winners were rewarded, he said a lot of people were complaining that there was not enough talent in Guyana and that the chutney contest should be suspended.
Nevertheless, Anthony said his ministry persisted and “we can proudly say that we have recorded a high level of success because some of the music that has been prepared here has entered into Trinidad’s competition.”
In fact, he said 2011 was the first that a chutney song won the ‘Road March’ competition in a “tremendous and historic” win.
Fiona Singh copped the ‘Chutney Monarch’ crown while ‘De Professor’ took the ‘Adult Calypso Monarch’ category and Mahendra Ramkellawan was crowned ‘Road March King.’
Anthony told the gathering at Umana Yana, in Kingston, Georgetown, that Mash was celebrated in a “very vibrant and dynamic way” and many improvements were made, pointing to the quality of calypsos rendered in the adult competition, as an example.
He said, for archival purposes and in order to leave a legacy, this year’s 10 best calypsos will be recorded on a compact disc (CD) by month end.
Anthony, describing Guyana’s celebration of its 41st Republic Anniversary as “tremendous”, congratulated the winners, especially those in the float parade.
Commenting on the ‘Health Song’ rivalry, he said the competitors shifted from a narrow focus on HIV to a broader one on health.
He mentioned that Republic Bank has helped with the improvement of steelpan music in Guyana as it has been in partnership with the ministry for the last three years, with the result being tremendous growth in the competition.
About  the Children’s Float Parade, Anthony said the floats were very beautiful and creative and some 70 schools participated in one of the largest parades he has seen.
This year also saw  participation in Georgetown by newcomers from Linden, the deaf, Rusal Bauxite Company and various churches among others and there were parades in Regions Six (East Berbice/Corentyne), Ten (Upper Demerara/Upper Berbice), Seven (Cuyuni/Mazaruni) and Eight (Potaro/Siparuni).
Anthony also reported that Suriname’s Culture Minister and Permanent Secretary witnessed the Guyana Mash and even engaged this country’s officials in meetings to determine how the two countries can further collaborate.
The Guyana ministry was also able to put on an exhibition at the National Museum, as well as a literary fair in Main Street Avenue, to celebrate the writers in society and, according to Anthony, there has already been talk of making this new feature a standard one.
This year’s ‘Mash’ started out with many of the traditional events but the minister pointed out that the Culture Ministry introduced new aspects and the public’s response was appreciative.
Consequently, he said the ministry will continue with the new features next year and encouraged the submission of  any new ideas to be incorporated.