In Macaulay, Couva, everyone calls him the man with magical hands.
The title was bestowed on Kemo Persaud, 41, because of his natural ability to transform plain red sand and cement into beautiful crafted murtis of Hindu Gods and Goddesses using his hands. Murtis are deities or images used by Hindus and Buddhists during worship as points of devotional and meditational focus. In addition to murtis, Persaud can make lingam stones and deya houses, which are carefully airbrushed with different colour oil paints to give it that stunning appearance. Joining his new line are baby elephants, which are purchased by people as a symbol for prosperity and strength.
Persaud supplies close to ten puja stores in central and south Trinidad. His fastest selling item is Mother Lakshmi, which signifies wealth, prosperity and spirituality."People say I have magical hands, but I think God has a lot to do with my success. I think once you have a clean heart, God will open up a way for you," said Persaud. Living in a squatting settlement in Macaulay Village, mere metres from the bustling Solomon Hochoy Highway, Persaud has managed his medium-sized business for the past eight years without pipe-borne water and electricity.
The family buys water from a private contractor and receives a six-hour supply of electricity using a battery-operated generator, which Persaud built from scratch. Nothing comes easy "In life nothing comes easy. We made a lot of sacrifices over the years to reach this far," said Sharda, 40, who works from sun-up to sun-down every day with her husband under their wooden house. Their two children Shivanee, 21, and son Purushottam, 15, are also required to give of their labour every day. Seventeen years ago, Persaud, who described himself a jack of all trades, left his home in Guyana with his family.
"We were facing hard times in Guyana and I decided to come to Trinidad for a better life," recalled Persaud. The first job Persaud landed was a cane cutter, which brought him no financial rewards.
"I was taken advantage of by my employer. It seemed that the more I worked, the less pay I got." Faced with more than he could bear, Persaud said he chucked his job, promising never to work for anyone again. Jobless and faced with mounting pressures, Persaud said he started praying to Mother Lakshmi. "My life was just going downhill fast. I kept asking myself if I had made a bad decision coming here."
Then not too long after, Persaud said an idea for making concrete flower pots came to him. "I was guided to buy a bag of red sand and raw cement to make flower pots."
Trial and error pays off
Like a mad scientist, Persaud began constructing a contraption made of a wooden table and a bicycle wheel to produce the flower pots under his house. "When I finally got the contraption working, I did not know what ratio of sand and concrete to use to get the right mixture to start off my flower pot business." Persaud said the sand and concrete blend was either too soft or too watery, which only frustrated him. After several days of trial and error, Persaud said he was tempted to throw in the towel, but a voice kept telling him not to give up.
By evening, Persaud had six flower pots on the shoulder of the highway to sell. Then he gradually branched off to making murtis, which started selling like hot bread. "The murtis were more gratifying," said Persaud. First he produced small murtis using moulds, which he obtained from India or made himself. Today, he can make life-size murtis, mainly Mother Lakshmi, Lord Shiva, Vishnu and Ganesh. "The big ones are my fastest-selling items to date, as these have to be carefully hand-sculptured."
Persaud was the first person in T&T to carve and paint Lord Shiva's face on a lingam stone. "My customers like to see the intricate work, while others like the way the murtis are carefully painted and designed." After the murtis are dried, they are sanded and painted with primer. The final touch is applied by Persaud, who carefully paints the eyes and lips with a small art brush. Through Persaud's love for his trade, he plans to continue nurturing his creativity and expand his business.