Wayne Mangalsingh

Of Days Gone By Wayne Mangalsingh

Set during the chaotic times of '68 to '70 in a rustic village on the Island, The Beginning, tells the story of the struggles two young boys and their families faced during this twilight period of the Island's history.
It tells of that time when salt butter was bought by the ounces and wrapped neatly in small squares of brown paper; when smoked herring could be bought singly by the tail and a pot of salt fish was akin to blasphemy.
Here, where life was simple, and there were only two seasons on the Island, the cows were tied out in the pastures on mornings and the sugar cane crops were harvested before the rains came each year.
It was all too good to be true. There were those within the lot, opportunistic killers, hell-bent on using the wind of change sweeping through the Island seeking betterment for their gain. This coming together, the awakening of the Island's social and political conscience was seen as a market for their illegal drugs. A market each wanted to control.
It started off with one murder over a quantity of drugs that had gone missing, then quickly spiralled into chaos and mayhem, fuelled by a web of lies, deceit, and greed. Caught in the middle of all this were Joshua and Kamal. Perhaps it was fate, or perhaps it was the series of events that led them to form an alliance of sorts to protect themselves and those they loved.
The story is told through the eyes of the characters and takes us back to that time, to that bygone era of countryside humour and Caribbean folklore, when Soucouyants and Douens roamed the narrow unlit roadways and plantations. When there were more La Diablesse about than cars in the villages.