A Moment with Tomato Boy Business Magnate Bally Maharaj

Tomato Boy the nickname given by his recently deceased wife might be an apt description for this nation builder who holds the National Chaconia Gold Medal.

Popularly described as a Business Magnate, Bally Maharaj’s legacy is as much what he did as a grassroots entrepreneur from a tomato farmer and district corner shop and as a community leader who has focussed his attention on development of his hometown, Arima, the Royal Borough, and by extension the nation.

I joined the Acting Indian High Commissioner, His Excellency Raju Sharma and close friend Dolores Juteram, Past President of the Rotary Club of St Augustine, in a signal Hats off to Tomato Boy!

The eclectic mix of friends, well-wishers and speakers at the launch of his biography, Th Life and Lessons of Bally Maharaj – From Tomato Boy To Business Magnate is testimony to his easy reach across the multiethnic, multicultural community of his hometown Arima, which boasts of vibrant populations of First Peoples and descendants of the subsequent streams of migrants from Europe, Africa, Asia-Pacific – India and China, Syria, Lebanon and other parts of the Middle East.

The warm ceremony included an assemblage of the diverse communities from an invocation by Indigeneous Chief, Ricardo Bharath to cultural performances that represented the ethno-cultural mix with district educators, business people, politicians, family and friends.

As he openly grieved the passing of his wife while celebrating the heritage of his ancestors, tracing and retracing footprints from India to Trinidad, the publication of his life-efforts will remain one of the indelible moments in the memory of the Royal Borough.

His impact on a wide sphere of activities as cricket and sports, social and community infrastructure, the supermarket association and food sector.

Media Magnet

Dolores, who insisted that I accompany her to the literary event, was tickled when Maharaj shared the nightly news video of the event showing him autographing a copy of the book for me (see at the opening and in the video at 0.6 to 0.8 and 1.10 to 1.16. Media magnet if not magnate!

I continue to encourage you to tell your stories to counter the negative narratives of nationhood that defy the public representations that pervade political interpretations of our society.

Your life and lessons, as Bally Maharaj’s are valuable to understanding how we navigate the meandering landscapes of diversity. People like Bally Maharaj are quintessential of the metal and mettle from which generations have sprung.

To find out more about the Royal Borough, the villages, districts, lifestyles order LiTTscapes,.

Request a LiTTribute to celebrate your place in our national socio-cultural landscape.

Book a customised heritage or educational tour for your industry, clients, friends or family.

Sponsor a Community

Or let’s talk about capturing your own story and memories for posterity. Make Contact here or through social media.

About Dr Kris Rampersad

• 
  Strengthening North-South Innovation on Culture, Creativity, Ethical AI: EU EIT selects Dr Kris Rampersad to Independent Experts pool
  As European Institute of Innovation and Technology ?selectes Dr Kris Rampersad to pool of Independent Expert on Culture & Creativity, Dr Kris Rampersad reflects on The Unfinished Agenda for North-South engagement towards advancing inclusive innovation and an Intelligence Ecosystem for creative knowledge economies
• 
  Our AuthenTHiNK Rights Policy: Interconnecting Human and Non-Human Intelligence
  We envision a world in which knowledge, culture, education, communication, heritage, innovation, and sustainable development serve as pathways to human dignity, social justice, inclusion, peace, and shared prosperity find out more about AutheTHiNK Intel Policy and Practice
• 
  Caribbean cultural intelligence enters Salzburg Global to change finance structures In The News
  Dr Kris Rampersad, global development strategist, multimedia content innovator and interdisciplinary knowledge systems pioneer, has been inducted into the network of Salzburg Global, joining its distinguished international canon of Fellows and changemaker.. Find out more and how this is changing the notion of arrivals an civilisations
• 
  Of Geeze and Gladiators: Defensive Induction into Distinguished Salzburg Global Network
  Arriving at the idyllic palace immortalised by The Sound of Music for induction into the distinguished Salzburg Global network turns into a confrontation of civilisations, empire and archipelago caught between geese and gladiators, culture, memory, knowledge sovereignty, migration, identity inside unfinished conversations shaping our world. Sneak peek Prologue to the Salzburg Showdown of EPIC Landscapes and Mindscapes of World Heritage and History. Happy Arrival Day! Beneath the postcard beauty of Austrians iconic Schloss Leopoldskron, deeper currents stir.
• 
  Killer Performance Illusion: KPI Kulture Jam pon the Rules Based Order
  Lime Stage Hijacks, Copy Righting the National Pasttime Liming, Deflation of the Dollar Wine left without sense nor five cents, in the Licencing Traffic Jam, this is not light festival reading, but brutal political post morten. It doing what I set out to do, to shine the spotlight on Rules-Based Order in practice under the merciless sunkissed sky, resuscitate academia through a pop-culture creative roasting and join Machel in turning mas into masterpiece in my MultiMedia MicroEpic. In this segment, Demokrissy dives headlong into the KPI Kulture Performance Illusion that transforms knowledge production industry into a high-speed marketplace spectacle for show: circling around visibility, velocity, virility and virality. Through Ministerial high pulpits, morphing metrics, AI subjugation, archival horror storms, and digital afterlives, to the pounding dholak dhamaroo and roasting dhamadhol still tuning she rose rosary jamettry into Cosmic Rotational Reordering the Rules Based Order And what roasting for the rest of us? Read on