HOW did the lost worlds of the young and the aged happen in our Guyana? There was a time when loneliness did not completely overcome the old and the very young. Of course, they shared opposite realms but were occupied in their separate spaces. Occupied and attracted to opposing shared interests based on the impulses of lives lived and the curiosities of lives to live. There were urban and provincial experiences, separated by different creeds, customs and impulses, but the loneliness was not overwhelming for those who had stumbled.

I can remember institutions still around that contributed to this, like the police band – I’m not sure about the choir – that would reach persons in homes, including a few abandoned by relatives. They would be treated to renditions of appropriate music in the Botanical Gardens and other selected venues, which used to be announced on radio. The Woodside Choir is still here, but its usefulness and relevance are ignored.

In the context of those musical institutions, there were and still are, would-be young musicians who would attend, young musicians who were interested in the classics, concerts and Jazz idioms. They also were interested in the application of instruments. This was done to address the diverse moods upon which this country had evolved. My brethren Camo Williams epitomises that age today.

All of the nations of the Americas have benefitted from home television systems and services. But most of them still have working cinemas. In Guyana, cinemas were sadly ignored, and these institutions perished before returning decades later. Back then, the Saturday Matinee for children was much more than watching children’s movies. It was bonding and arguments towards evaluating movie and character content followed into the school recreation gaff. The traditional cinemas of Georgetown were also where grassroots drama groups exhibited their talents long before the National Cultural Centre was built. The Cinema atmosphere was also an institution that initiated dozens of grassroots businesses.

The schools, not only those nick-named ‘bourgeoise schools’, all had formal and informal choirs, producing mostly in-house voice talents. The Monday morning ‘Assembly period’ included our singing of our National songs, including a stanza of the Anthem, followed by updates on school programmes and business, sometimes with relevant skits. These early experiences initiated the conditioning that a memory archive existed to reflect and retreat towards a more stable and balanced existence even for those who went wrong as young adults.

The evidence is in black and white, as by 1974, The Guyana National Festival of Arts (GUYFESTA), following CARIFESTA, began across Guyana. Remarkably, the Republican group (prisons) made impressive contributions. What the Title of this article implies is an absence of community activity and participation that revolves around our interpretations of self and mirrors further development on the stages that now exist for exploration and improvement, with involvement of sections tied across age groups. To quote the ‘Aims and objectives of GUYFESTA’: “to develop an awareness of the past, and the potential of our creative arts to strengthen the growth of the Guyanese nationality.”

We all experience the nostalgia of music, of a line from a well-known movie, even wisecracks from the courts between bad men and judges. It helps to diminish the loneliness from overwhelming the soul. Some children act out their loneliness with the isolation of hostility. We owe it to them to create the venues of participation that they can identify with and feel comfortable communicating with, and we must listen to what they have to tell us and quietly work in their and Guyana’s interests. The same goes for the elderly. None of them should take their own lives in the future.