A culture of recidivism is a drag on all societies, communities and families. Even in the classroom, there is recidivism. If these repeat offenders are removed from the environment there would be much room for improvement and progress.
Repeated offenders sometimes come in the shape of opportunists. They boldly step forward to take charge with the cloak of nobility and good intention. I think opportunists always figure that they are smart and the rest of the world are fools.
One positive way of dealing with recidivism and opportunism is to present these individuals with gifts of blue soaps. Folk healing promotes the belief that there is something called blight, a kind of weight attached to the spirit of the individual. By having a bath with blue soap, this blight can be cut, thus freeing the individual from his/her negative mindset.
I grew up as a boy using blue soap to have my baths. I did not know that there were scented soaps for baths until it was brought to my attention by my sisters. Nevertheless, I continued to use the blue soap and if today I am still going strong in this rapacious social environment, I say thanks to blue soap.
Asafoetida or hing is usually pinned to babies to ward off evil. Renowned singer Jairaj Singh of Mandingo Road, Princes Town proudly revealed to me that he always carries in his pocket a piece of hing to ward of evil eyes. Jai reveals that he still uses blue soap to bathe himself and his dogs and to keep shine on the rims of his car.
While these folk healing practices are still with us, legitimacy must be given to them. I was happy to learn that Angelo Ram, a businessman in central Trinidad, has plans to open a spa in an elite mall in the northwest of the country. This spa would be using blue soap and other local leaves and roots such as karaila and hog plum leaves, saffron, and other healing articles.
Angelo Ram sees this spa as a social service and wishes to offer free baths to all politicians including the Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition, and the Speaker of the House. He said that he is working with healers from Tobago and other Caribbean countries including Guyana to come up with a special ‘menu’ for politicians and business executives from both the public and private sectors.
While I commend Angelo Ram for his vision, I would not be able to afford the fees he would be charging for his services. I would happily continue with my blue soap and karaila leaves. These simple cures have helped me and I am going to continue to share with readers the efficacy of these plants.
I am curious to know what soap a leader like Basdeo Panday used. He had a distinguished career as a politician and when the opportunity presented itself to him to serve as Prime Minister he did an excellent job.
So if you find an individual is greedy and opportunistic you need not get angry with him. Such an individual is under the influence of blight or what Hindus would call a grah and you can render service to such an individual by giving him/her a block of blue soap.
By Dool H. Singh