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My initial visit to the Caribbean was made possible by the
Homi Bhabha Fellowships Council. A crucial follow-up visit was enabled by grants from the Indian Council for Social
Science Research and the University of Hyderabad faculty travel fund.
The Sephis Programme for South-South Research provided generous support for the research and travel; my warm thanks
to Ulbe Bosma and Ingrid Goedhart for all their friendly assistance.
Additional library work in the United States was supported by fellowships from the Chicago Humanities Institute at
the University of Chicago and the International Institute at the University of Michigan.
The final manuscript emerged out of a writing grant from the Prince Claus Fund, where Geerte Wachter and Els van der
Plaas offered timely support. The musical collaboration project discussed in the Afterword also benefited from the
Fund's innovative grantmaking policies. Rohini Nilekani of the Aarghyam Trust, Bangalore, provided additional financial
assistance for the music project.
The research and writing of the book would not have been possible without reprieves from my teaching and administrative
duties, first at the Department of English, University of Hyderabad, and then at the Centre for the Study of Culture
and Society, Bangalore. A semester at Yonsei University, Seoul, also gave me much-needed time for revisions.
I am indebted:
To Brinsley Samaroo for many lively discussions; to Rhoda Reddock, Kenneth Parmasad, Kusha Haraksingh, Merle Hodge,
Rawwida Baksh-Soodeen, and Cathy Shepherd for their stimulating conversations and keen interest in my work; to
Gordon Rohlehr for helping me understand the time-space of calypso; to Patricia Mohammed and Hubert Devonish for
sending me off to Trinidad in search of chutney-winers; to those Trinidadians who consented to be interviewed, and
whose words enrich my analyses.
Grateful thanks:
To the library staff of the West Indiana collection at the University of the West Indies, St.Augustine, and to the
staff at the Caribbean Association for Feminist Research and Action for their prompt and efficient assistance.
For offering their friendship and making me feel at home in the Caribbean, and for endless hours of fascinating
discussion, I offer my inadequate appreciation:
To Sheila Rampersad, whose own work on race and gender in Trinidad has been inspiring; to Christopher Cozier, whose
artistic practice has illuminated for me the trajectory of Caribbean nationalisms; to Sheila Samiel, who apart from
great conversation provided Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee in Port of Spain; to Kirk Meighoo, who was a rich source
of ideas, jokes, and contacts in my early forays; to Vasanti Boochoon, whose quiet presence and warm hospitality I
turned to time and again; to Carolyn Cooper, whose work on sexuality and Jamaican music has been pioneering; and
specially to Annie Paul, for all the innumerable occasions when she has been indispensable.
My gratitude:
To those who read drafts of the manuscript and provided affectionate but trenchant criticism: Seemanthini Niranjana,
Mary John, Rekha Pappu, Uma Maheshwari Bhrugubanda, Ritty Lukose, S.V.Srinivas, Nadi Edwards, Naresh Fernandes, and
Ding Naifei; and to Anveshi Research Centre for Women's Studies, in particular Susie Tharu, for space to try out my
initial ideas.
The musical collaboration and film project would not have been possible without the following:
Surabhi Sharma, who was willing to be drawn into my enthusiasms and script a film from my Caribbean dreams;
The Caribbean posse - R.V.Ramani, Suresh Rajamani, George Jose - who gamely traipsed through Jamaica and Trinidad with me;
Carla Foderingham and Romita Bocas of TIDCO, who provided invaluable assistance with the film production in Trinidad,
as did Sonjah and Jalani Niaah in Jamaica;
Remo Fernandes, whose enthusiasm for the Caribbean set me off on a new track. I would like to record here my continuing
appreciation for his brilliant music, and his brave negotiation of a difficult journey.
Warm thanks:
To Rikki Jai for his sparkling performative presence in my project, to Drupatee Ramgoonai for the gracious interviews,
to Ataklan for taking us through Laventille and introducing us to rapso; to Denise Belfon for showing us how to wine;
and to Mungal Patasar for his many insights into Trinidadian music. Also to Rishi Gayadeen and Kapil Gayadeen of
the Gayatones, and Kenny Phillips and Kasey Phillips of KMP Music Lab for helping me understand the setting of
contemporary music production in Trinidad.
For their continued and unqualified support of my work, and the forging of our common interest in re-theorising the
third world, my gratitude to Vivek Dhareshwar, David Scott, Mary John and Satish Deshpande; David in particular for
his provocations and all the liming opportunities over the years.
Ashish Rajadhyaksha compelled me to finish the writing, tolerating my obsessions with grace and good humour, and
commenting on multiple drafts of the manuscript. Travelling with him to Trinidad has given me fresh insights into
Caribbean cultural practice. From sorting out my software problems to turning music producer on the last journey,
he has contributed to the book, and the shaping of this website, in ways that words can scarcely acknowledge.
This website owes much to the skill and creativity of Prasun Banerjee, Samit Roy and Lawrence Liang.
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