The National Cricket Stadium in St. George's, Grenada.— Photo from AP/File

WE drive down the road made memorable by the film ‘Island in the Sun.’ Harry Belafonte’s song strikes a nostalgic note transporting me to the 1950s when calypso and steel drums were all the rage. His words come floating by: Oh, island in the sun/ Willed to me by my father’s hand/ All my days I will sing in praise/ Of your forest, waters, your shining sand…

Grenada is the spice island of the Caribbean. You can drive up and down the streets the whole day and never know what awaits you around the corner. We’re in the capital called St George’s. Our guide Mr Mundu seems struck with verbal diarrhea. He just doesn’t stop talking while driving us from one end to the other of the pretty island. Grenada cricket stadium is a must-see item. Well, I’m not a cricket buff but it won’t hurt to take some pictures of the place where the 2007 World Cup happened.

So off we drive to the giant saucer-like stadium. We see a blue coaster ahead of us. Suddenly Harry Belafonte’s lyric still lingering in my head gets thrown out of the window. ‘Vivian Richards in the bus’ screams Mundu. So an exciting chase ensues with us tailgating the bus. I’ve got to take a picture of King Viv, I say. So off I ran with my camera and stopped Sir Vivian in his tracks. The third best batsman of the century according to Wisden, the bible of cricket, looked amused. Curtly Ambrose too paused to hear what I had to say. I’m from Imran Khan’s country, I proudly announced to everyone around. Viv smiled and posed for a photo. We talked a bit. Imran Khan nominated Viv Richards as the best ever batsman against ‘genuine fast bowling.’ The West Indian seniors are here playing their old rival England in Grenada Cricket Classics 2009, from October 7.

The Grenada Cricket Classics is an annual event featuring clashes between English and West Indies cricketing legends such as Allan Lamb, Derek Randall, John Emburey versus the legendary heroes of Caribbean cricket like Joel Garner, Curtly Ambrose, Richie Richardson and ‘The King’ Sir Viv Richards. ‘Make no mistake — old rivalries are still as strong as ever and these former heroes do everything possible to put one over their old enemies.’

Enough of cricket. Now something about the slaves whom the British and the French locked up in ‘slave pens.’ Mundu points to the pens. His stories of cruelty are dampeners to the picture perfect scenic beauty around us — the beaches shimmering in the white sand; the sea a pool of emerald green; the lush palm trees green with raindrops and wild flowers blooming radiantly with abandon.

‘Even after slavery was banned, the merchants went to India and lured people to come to the Caribbean with promises of giving them lands to till which they would own,’ he drones on. ‘But once these unfortunate creatures boarded the boats, they were seized and made galley slaves. Several died en route and their bodies were tossed into the ocean. Those who survived were brought on the islands in chains and locked up in cages. By day they toiled in the cane fields and by night they were forced to make babies. Big men were matched with small women and small men were matched with big women for a baby-making slave factory.’

The British and the French who ruled in the Caribbean were the worst specimens of humanity. The ‘Caribs’ as the local population was called lived in slavery for centuries. But when Grenada got its independence in 1974 from the British, more tragedy followed. The political parties wrestled for power and in 1979 after a revolution, Maurice Bishop became the prime minister. He got pally with Cuba and the Soviet Union which didn’t wash well with the then American President Reagan.

In October of 1983, Bishop and his seven most powerful ministers were rounded up by the armed forces of Grenada, brought to St George’s Fort atop a hill and lined up against a stone wall to face the firing squad. According to one witness, before he died Bishop said: ‘My God, my God. They have turned the guns against the people.’

Our guide points to the bullet holes in the wall of the fort. ‘I was so upset because I knew all these people personally,’ says Mundu. ‘Their bodies were never discovered. We’re told they were burnt and the ashes thrown in the sea.’

Soon after Bishop’s execution, President Reagan ordered the invasion of Grenada. Codenamed ‘Operation Fury’ several hundred US soldiers landed in St George’s. The invasion was criticised by the UK, Canada and the UN General Assembly calling it a ‘flagrant violation of international law.’ Strangely enough the invasion was welcomed by the people of Grenada who were fed up with civil strife and internal bloodshed.

October 25 each year is commemorated as a Thanksgiving Day to celebrate the American invasion. It is a national holiday! Earlier this year the international airport was officially re-named Maurice Bishop airport to remember the slain leader. The main road that takes us from the airport to the town is also named after him.

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