Farewell to the Flesh: Journey in Peace, Asami Nagakiya

OBOKURI-EEUMI
By Ikue Asazaki

Arayashikiku no dei
Harasaku baku no dei
Hare fushigyurasa nejyuku
Surajifushiro yondo
Hare fushigyurasa nejyuku
Fushigyurasa nejyuku
Surajifusero yondo

In search of new lands, I build a new house
I thatch the house with reed stalks, gathered neatly in bundles
I thatch the house with reed stalks, gathered neatly in bundles

Kirishigaki ku no dei
Kuganeya be tatei tei
Hare momo tobyuru wakya
Ya uriba yuwa o yondo
Hare momo to byuru wakya
Momo to byuru wakya
Ya uriba yuwa o yondo

At the stone wall, let us celebrate the golden house, that was built by a hundred carpenters.
At the stone wall, let us celebrate the golden house, that was built by a hundred carpenters.
Let us celebrate the golden house, that was built by a hundred carpenters.

Hateigachi ya naryuri
Tobibani ya neranu
Hare utou katabani
Ya karachitabore
Hitotsu aru bani ya
Kanasha se ni kusuitei –
Hare wanu ya okuyama
Nu kazuradasuki –

The eighth month is fast approaching, and yet I have nothing to wear
I want to dress up, so brother, will you lend me just one sleeve?
I wish to dress my children and loved ones… in the one kimono that I own
As for me, I will wear vines… that I plucked deep in the mountains.

Ojyuugoya no teiki ya
Kami gyurasa teryuri
Hare kana ga jyo ni tataba kumo tei taborei

The light of the full moon shines down,
Illuminating the world with its divine light
When my lover sneaks in to visit me,
I wish that the clouds would hide that light just a little.

Lyrics and translation source.

You may argue that it is the right of any individual or group to protest and to give voice to discontent and outrage but in this matter, I find that the timing of all protests is distressingly inappropriate. Some agree that there is some merit in the Mayor's admonition and that the merit will not be diminished by the obvious lack of skill and sensitivity in its articulation, and the shouting down by the ensuing outrage. Consider that he was also exercising his right to protest against what he perceives to be unacceptable behaviour and that his greatest fault was his recklessly poor timing which implied unfortunate conclusions about an innocent victim. We've had all the time in the world to march and moan about our own perennial troubles but these days we should have been using our voices only to sing consolation and love to Asami's soul as it makes its passage into the otherworld.

Asami's death should not be used as anyone's platform.

Yes, we are all hurting but at this moment in time, I feel that the greatest hurt has been suffered by Asami and her grieving family members far away in Japan who are left now to make sense of the senseless and who have been condemned to await the cold comfort of reclaiming the lifeless body of their loved one. 

Unless you are among those who loved her and are making the pilgrimage to say a prayer or pay your respects at the memorial where her body was found; unless you are seeking justice for her and assisting the police with their investigation, get off the streets and go home. The Carnival is well and truly OVER.

Dennis De Souza, Have I Told You Lately...

I Just Fall In Love Again. | Uploaded by edward spencer

Guyana-born international musician, Dennis De Souza dies.
Written by Denis Scott Chabrol
Demerara Waves | Saturday, 07 April 2012 22:38

"Renowned international musician Guyanese pianist, Dennis De Souza died on Saturday in Canada, ending a battle with Parkinson’s Disease, according to his son, Dennis Jr.

He was 77, two days ago.

His burial is tentatively scheduled for next Friday.

De Souza, who hailed from Mahaica, East Coast Demerara died at 8:18 AM in his sleep at the Credit Valley Hospital, Toronto where he had been a patient for the past two weeks.

The veteran musician, who last performed publicly 18 months ago, was suffering from Parkinson ’s disease and in recent weeks pneumonia.

Nearby his hospital bed were his two sons and one sister. The musician’s wife died two years ago.

“It was kind of a long process before he actually passed away,” Dennis Jr. told Demerara Waves Online News (wwww.demwaves.com). He thanked friends and others who called and sent email during his father’s illness and passing.

Indo Caribbean World reported some time back that Dennis started playing the piano at the tender age of 9. "I finished a 3-year course in seven months and then went to a piano teacher, Mr Herman Faria. I loved to play popular music by Pat Boone, Jim Reeves, Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby, Dick Hayes and whatever I heard on the radio," he told Indo Caribbean World.

At age 20, he was booked to sail to England via Trinidad to study music composition. But Dennis had another interest also - cricket. "I fell in love with T&T and the ship sailed without me. I played cricket with Harvard and with Queen’s Park C.C. I was in the company of Willie Rodriguez, Ben Kanhai, Sonny Ramadhin, the Davis Brothers and Joey Carew," the musical stalwart disclosed.

One night after "a big victory," Dennis and his cricketing pals went to the Penthouse in Port of Spain to celebrate. "The resident band leader, Choy Aming, invited me to play the piano with his band. Because of the constant encores, people would not let me leave until 5:00 a.m.", he recalled.

This was still happening in T&T in a 2001-2003 stint at the Hilton Hotel where Dennis has just completed a 3-year contract.

So far, Dennis has played music on 15 albums (33 1/3 r.p.m). Only recently, he has worked on CDs, the last one, "Encounters," yet to be released by Denis Davids.

Dennis has also done recordings for CHFI in Toronto and Columbia Records. (USA).

Dennis prefers to play live music "as the crowd interaction gives me the strength that I need. I pick up on the feel of the audience."

Music to Dennis, is an international language which he says we can understand without the use of a dictionary.

He remembers his many tours abroad when he visited and played in 27 cities in Germany, the U.K, USA, France Switzerland, South America and most of the islands of the Caribbean archipelago.

"Yet, I have not done enough. I want to do a lot more compositions, the last being Pakarima," Dennis declared." SOURCE

De Souza dead at 77. …Trinis remember an icon, great person.
Trinidad Guardian online | Monday, April 9, 2012

"...Trini Tribute
Meanwhile, some of T&T’s musical stalwarts and icons within the entertainment industry remembered De Souza as a great person and a Trinidad icon. Gerald Agostini, popular radio presenter, who in his earlier days hosted a programme on Radio 100 called the Saturday Special, where he only played local music said in the early 1980’s and 90’s, De Souza’s CD was the best on the market.

Agostini said De Souza did a lot of popular cover tunes using different genres of music like latin and calypso. “He was very popular and was well known within the industry at the time. We were all friends. We made a lot of records,” Agostini recalled.

Mervyn Telfer said what he remembered best about De Souza was his personality. “He had a knack for imposing his personality on his music and connecting with his audience.” Telfer, who has been in show business for 60 years and a Trinidad Radio announcer in 1950’s described De Souza as a fabulous human being, a dedicated family man and the best pianist ever passed through the Caribbean.

Even though Telfer was caught off guard by the news, he quickly took a run down memory lane when De Souza was one of the featured acts at the restaurant at Holiday Inn now called Crowne Plaza hotel. “It was wonderful to go there to dine and dance to De Souza’s music. He could have played everything – ballads, pop, classical and romantic music,” Telfer said.

During his time in Trinidad, Tefler said he married a Trinidadian by the name of Angela Camps. After which, he went off to Canada, where he lived and recently died. Tefler said his deepest sympathy goes out to the De Souza’s family." SOURCE

 
Of My Hands | The Goretti Group With Dennis De Souza Trio | Uploaded by soulos45
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A Note From The Gull

Dennis, you gave generously of your hands and heart and mind and you will not be forgotten. Thanks for all your music. Esteja em paz.

"Patria est communis omnium parens" - Our native land is the common parent of us all. Keep it beautiful, make it even more so.

Blessed is all of creation
Blessed be my beautiful people
Blessed be the day of our awakening
Blessed is my country
Blessed are her patient hills.

Mweh ka allay!
Guanaguanare

Last Night Google Told Me That My Friend Had Died.

Last night I sat in front of my computer screen and cried like a child. So ended weeks of concern about the silence of an online friend who has kept me company for a long while via my blog and his blog, "Hopscotch" but more so through our e-mail correspondence.

I knew nothing more about Louis Sellier apart from the facts that he was a fellow Trinidadian living in Seattle, Washington. He was from the same generation as my parents and had a similar background. Even though he no longer lived in T&T, he still cared enough to follow the news and to voice his concerns via his many letters which were published by the newspapers back home. He was a husband, a father, a retired person whose mind was more alert and curious than most, a gentle soul who found me through my blog and for some reason stayed close.

He never once asked me who I was. Unlike the people of the "flesh" and "show" who demand among other things that modest Muslim women remove their niqabs or that anonymous writers reveal their identities, Louis was secure and wise enough to be more interested in reading the more telling signals that identify the spirits of the persons with whom he interacted. I listened to his spirit as carefully as he did to mine and we were easy and contented with what our intuitions revealed.

In our e-mail correspondence, Louis and I discussed life, nature, politics, his travels, Trinidad and Tobago and finally in January this year he honoured me by sending me an e-mail to share with me the sad news of the death of his wife. Although we had never discussed his personal life, I felt his sadness as if Elena had been my life partner and I posted this memorial in response. It made me happy that he seemed to appreciate it very much. We continued to correspond but there was a very subtle difference in Louis. He had become quieter. I did not press him. I let him know that I understood that he would need time to come to terms with the death of his partner of forty-six years and the mother of his two children and I assured him that I was here for him whenever he needed to discuss anything that was on his mind.

On March 7 he wrote his last letter to me and he mentioned that his wanderlust was returning but that it was tempered by the awareness that it would not be as much fun to travel without the good companionship that his wife had provided in the past. I replied to that letter and suggested that he should maybe find a group with which he could travel. He never responded...I waited and told myself that I should not press him for a reply. Then I began to worry. It was not like him to remain silent. Weeks after, I again wrote him a gentle message, really worried about him but also just as worried about being too intrusive:

This was my last letter:

From: Guanaguanare the laughing gull
Date: Tue, Apr 12, 2011 at 5:47 PM
Subject: Just checking...
To: lmsell@******.net

Louis,
I know that you must be very focused on making transitions and I don't want to intrude but sometimes I really, really stop what I am doing to just wonder about you. I'm just writing to let you know that I think about you and hope that you are well. I hope that you are on a trip around the world or soaking up the sun on a beautiful beach in Moorea or working on a gorgeous bonsai garden but don't you dare fall ill or leave this world without telling me !!! Wishing you life and peace and renewal with the Spring.
Hugs and blessings,
Guanaguanare

Unknown to me, my dear friend had already left this world.

Last night, desperate for any news, it occurred to me to search for him with Google. I entered his name within quotes and found among the results, on another Trinidadian's blog, "Sweetlime" the shocking news that he had died on March 16 "as a result of a tragic accident suffered during a trip to visit friends in Arizona."

Without ceremony, Google told me that my friend had died. In shock, I rushed automatically to communicate this news to another blogger and good friend of Louis in Malaysia who had been sharing his concerns with me about Louis' silence and then I wrote a message to his daughter who had supplied her e-mail with the news about her father's death.

Later I returned to the location where I had first seen the news. I stared at the screen, reading the words over and over, finding that I was comprehending less and less with each reading until just the immensity of the loss was all that registered and I began to weep with a sadness that was made much more bitter by the knowledge that it was a month ago that I should have cried. How could he have left without my knowing?

I never met Louis in person to hug him or see his smile. I just knew that he was a good person and he treasured kindness more than gold. It was enough that we were kind to each other, that we listened to each other. It was more than some people who work together in the same space share. It was more than some people who think that they know each other experience.

Thinking back on his quietness after the death of his wife, I am wondering if Louis was waiting, waiting patiently for Elena to send for him. I'm wondering if on March 16, only a couple of months after her death, he was not at all sad but extremely relieved to finally be freed to leave this world to join her.

Louis Sellier, my friend, thank you for your life and your trust and your friendship. I miss you and everything good and true that you represented.

Elena and Louis
No es un adiós, es un hasta luego...

16 April 2011 | 22:56
I am beginning to find the offerings that others have made in memory of the life of Louis Michael Sellier and I will continue to collect the links below as I find them:

Condolences. Catholic News | March 27, 2011.

Thanks to Louis and Skye. By Ric Hernandez | Sweetlime | March 29, 2011

A Final Letter to A Dear Friend. By Covert_Operations78 | Combat Loaded & Mission Ready! | Saturday April 16, 2011.

The Demise of Louis Michael Sellier of Seattle... By Pak Idrus | Pak Idrus's Post... | Sunday April 17, 2011.

Louis. By Pat | The English Cottage | Monday, April 18, 2011

You may also wish to visit this site to share memories of Louis with others.