Morning of Yesterday by Harrichand Itwaru. an Other Eye publication. Toronto. 1999. pp. 195.

With remembrance of the horrific Wismar Massacre

Review by Janet Alamelu Naidu

Morning of Yesterday is a brilliant literary creation by Arnold Harrichand Itwaru, one of Canada's few first-rate writers of Guyanese heritage. Toronto's multi-talented author, poet, artist and professor Itwaru is also one of the finest thinkers of the wider Caribbean experience because he challenges certain myths and perceptions of Caribbean identity as a whole.

Itwaru's fiction is born out of a necessity and yearning to reveal the many facets of Guyana's Indian experience, spanning colonial influence and indoctrination as traced in religion, culture, race, color and class. All of which bear a significant burden of resistance; struggle towards survival and transformation of a people whose tumultuous journey spirited the Indian Ocean not so long ago.

Out of his rising and vivid imagination, Itwaru dramatizes a collection of seven stories in this, his third (of his thirteen books) of fiction which contributes to the thinking, values and beliefs of the Guyanese Indian people. His capacity for bringing the ordinary experiences with nuanced meaning in common speech towers with courage and compassion. No other Caribbean writer has dared to employ such striking technique and craftsmanship in his use of language. While his expressions scrutinize motives, reveal interactions that appear innocent, they boldly get down to the truth about the survival and transformation of the experiences of Indians inside and outside Guyana.

The book contains seven lyrical stories which are prefaced with excerpts of Itwaru's poetry, forming a theme of Guyanese Indian experience. Taken from part of the first story, Shakti, the first insight begins with:

"Certain things refuse burial no matter how hard you try. Certain things cannot be buried, must not be buried, must never be forgotten." This captivates the reader for a wider vision of the suffering and devastation that many Indians have endured in the sixties and seventies.

"Evil lived in the menace of shadows in bright daylight, in the sudden gloom of night, in the footpaths and dams of enchanted moonlight, and in the eyes and actions of certain people." The female character, Shakti, victimized by political massacre, rape and further abuse, never forgets her painful escape from Guyana when she "packed her paltry life in her new suitcase," and left for another land. She was silenced by cruelty, and by "the burning horror which killed her parents."

A woman who experiences abuse is often further victimized in her new state of vulnerability and loss of self-esteem. Shakti relives an experience that is too memorable to disappear in the consciousness of the Guyanese diaspora. We may know of someone – self, relative, friend, neighbor – whose silence may serve to heal past wounds, but whose nightmares never end. Many of these victims have moved far away, but are still haunted by a certain humiliation of painful memories. This story is very revealing of the injustices done to innocent victims in an environment wrought with the double humiliation of female abuse and police inaction.

In the narrative, religion plays a very strong role in the confusion one feels about religious indoctrination as in the story Matins where, to quote, "So much of my life has been mourning, so much. Lord. But i have not been comforted.... I see you walking on the waters of heaven, and i am afraid. Lord." Similarly, as in the story Ball we meet Krishna and are reminded about further damage to a human spirit as he is beaten by loved ones to be educated and molded into something new, different and perceived as better. He is thrown into a state of confusion in his plea: "Gentle Jesus meek an mile... look upon dis lickle chile, an if I die befo I wake…"

We are reminded of the conversion of Indians into Christianity in the story Papa. We meet Dr. Parker, the Pastor and Christian missionary, and Mr. Karran, the Mahant and devout Hindu. The subtle form of mind-bending indoctrination can be seen when Dr. Parker appeals to Mr. Karran to believe in the virtue of the Christian God: "We are all conceived and born in sin and must seek the mercy of the Lord in whose forgiveness lies our salvation." But Mr. Karran represents one of many Indians who did not require a "following" or "group" to demonstrate his religious faith. He resists: "Maybe you conceive an born in sin – not me. Me conceive an bom in love. Dr. Parka, not sin. Love."

The succeeding four lyrical stories take the form of certain ordeals and resistance in religious indoctrination; of dreams still being sought in the "rooms" of Canada, of racial tension, perception and treatment in the story Ram. We are again reminded again of further indoctrination as Ram's thoughts pervade against "a hollow, almost empty, and at times painful feeling inside...." Many Indian immigrants will identify with Ram, but most significantly, Ram knows the consequences of the 'racial and color barrier' and the ugliness of labels.

In the closing story, Flight, we meet a nervous and uncertain Ali on board the airplane bound for "the great Abroad... Canada" and the tempo of a newcomer's edge. With a certain taste of politeness, Ali swiftly begins the process of adaptation, of becoming, of seeming "So Canadian, so modem sounding."

The stories build upon the interplay of imagery and dramatic expressions to make a very powerful collection of writing. All demonstrate characterization and themes of resistance, survival and transformation of Indians in Guyana and the diaspora. Written in clear and concise language, the book is easy to read and understand; yet one must pay close attention to the symbols and allegorical reflections in each story to grasp the significance of its maturity. In Morning of Yesterday, Itwaru's writing shows a great stride in the freedom of literary expression.

Janet Naidu writes on cultural and social issues. Her collection of poems Winged Heart reflects love, power and ancestral memories. She was born and grew up in Covent Garden, East Bank Demerara, Guyana, and has been living in Canada for over 25 years.