TRIBUTE TO A LITERARY ICON- VS NAIPAUL
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Twin islands of the southern Caribbean
Trinidad and Tobago boast verdant mountains, sun and sand
With exotic flora and fauna, a rich biodiversity
And alluring beaches lined with coconut trees.
The land of steelpan, calypso and limbo
And Carnival, the world’s greatest show
A melting pot of various cultures and ethnicities
Trinidad and Tobago carved its own identity.
August 31, 1962, gave birth to this new nation
Signifying the culmination of rule by the Queen of England
Trinidad and Tobago gained its independence
And began its journey of self-governance.
As the country commemorates its sixty second anniversary with patriotic celebrations
It is fitting to pay homage to its great icon
Sir Vidiadhar Surujprasad Naipaul
A gifted son of the soil.
His early life experiences set the tone for his career
He studied in Britain and became a writer extraordinaire
He was an expert in fiction, nonfiction, irony and satire
A maestro in the sphere of literature.
From the river Ganges to the plains of Caroni
It elucidated his ancestry
A descendant of indentured labourers, the East Indians
Contracted to work on Trinidad’s sugarcane plantations.
A man of sheer brilliance and prowess
A travel writer, essayist and novelist
A graduate of the University College, Oxford
The recipient of several prestigious awards.
Naipaul authored more than thirty novels spanning decades
Earning him esteemed accolades-
The Nobel Prize for Literature, two thousand and one
Trinity Cross, the highest award of his homeland.
In Buckingham Palace, London, it is understood
Vidiadhar Surujprasad Naipaul accepted the knighthood
With his golden pen, he wrote the pages of his destiny
Fulfilling his dreams, undoubtedly.
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