Copybook tributes to TT’s icons

The Motivator. is Wahtuse’s third. stint at writing. The. first was released in. 1992 when he was. at BWIA (now CAL. Airlines), when he. did a technical book. based on his experience. as a technical. instructor. That. book, he said, was. used by BWIA in. its engineering and. mechanics training. department.

Wahtuse’s second. book, I Sentence you. to Hell, was never. released in Trinidad. but the purely science. fiction horror book. written in 2002 is. doing well in sales on. Amazon, he said.

At tomorrow’s. launch guests will see. the Motivator Exercise. copybook and. what it stands for.

Wahtuse explained:. “The Motivator. Exercise book was. conceived as a result. of my concern for the. achievements of our. icons past and present. being forgotten. with the passing of. time.”. He said men and. women who through. their ingenuity, prowess. and outstanding. abilities, have all contributed. in making. this country what it is. today, but lamented. that they are all but. forgotten.

“We have become. a people who simply. take the things we. now enjoy for granted,”. he said. He cited. sportsmen such as. the late Rodney Wilkes,. Lennox Kilgore,. Mc Donald Bailey. and others who made. their contributions. on the world stage. and paved the way. for TT to enjoy the. prestige it does today,. and in particular, Sir. Learie Constantine. and the contribution. he made as a cricketer. and statesman. in the United Kingdom. in the mid-40s.

He noted too, “Dr. Rudranath Capildeo. and his contribution. to science and of. course, the revered. Dr Eustace Eric. Williams, one of the. greatest of minds.”. He also recognised. the younger, talented. and gifted people. who have etched. their names indelibly. into history by their. outstanding achievements.

“The Motivator. salutes these. icons of which there. are hundreds on the. front of its covers.

On the back cover a. short biographical. description is given. of these persons.

The bottom line, our. classroom student. and society are constantly. reminded of these great people.”. Wahtuse explained. the significance of the. hand reaching out. for the carrot on the. book’s cover. He said it. is the motivating factor to. everyone to try and achieve. or emulate the accomplishments. of our icons past and present.

Also displayed on the front. covers is TT’s rich heritage for. which he said, we all must be. very thankful. Those include. images of flora and fauna, oil,. the Pitch Lake, fruit and. vegetables, culture, pan. –the only musical instrument. invented in the. 20th century– amazing. pan tuners such as Tony. Williams and Bertie Marshal,. and many others pan. virtuosos.

Displayed on the inside of the. front cover is the standard tables. which have served this nation. for over a 100 years, and on the. inside of the back cover is what. Wahtuse views as the working. part of the Motivator Exercise. Book.

“It has information such. as civics which our school. population needs to know,. math, English grammar, and. other languages, science at the. primary, secondary and tertiary. level, information which the. student needs to have enforced. in their minds. This information. will be changing from time to. time with the countless issues. of the exercise book,” Wahtuse. said.

He said he saw the need for. this section as memories of his. struggling to remember things. he had learnt under examination. conditions, for instance trying. to remember the formula for. the conversion from Fahrenheit. to Celsius and things like that.

“That section is designed as a. constant reminder to everyone.”. The back cover gives a biographical. detail of what is on. the front cover. “My hope for. the Motivator Exercise Book is. that it would be used universally, for all of the Caribbean,. South and North America,. Europe and beyond. In. every diaspora. Children of. West Indian heritage living. in England need to know. of their heritage, likewise. their classmates should. know of each other, this is. an inducement to good. understanding and mutual. respect.

“It is my hope that with. the information gathered. over the years, the Motivator. will produce its first. volume of the Motivator. Encyclopedia.”. Wahtuse range of steel. percussion instruments. will be on display at the. launch including Wahtuse’s. Guinness World Record Jomoline. and his most recent. invention The Foundation. pan. Wahtuse, now 83,. was awarded the Guinness. World Record for the largest. pan in the world, the. Jomoline in 2011, after. constructing the instrument. 34 years prior. to attaining that recognition.

It measures. 104 cm (3 feet 4 inches). wide and 84 cm (2 feet 9. inches) tall.

A former BWIA aircraft. engineer, the prolific inventor. has also developed. the Manetone (a pan with. a detachable face), the. Venturi electronic pan, the. xylopan, and a collapsible. pan stand.

At the launch pan music. will be supplied by the Positive. Movement of Malabar.

Asked about the number. of people, places and things. available to be placed on. the copybooks Wahtuse. said the books would be. coming out in issues that. would be changed as the. sales are moving.

“My covers are to motivate. people,” he ended.

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