The life, culture and traditional practices of  T&T have been recorded vividly in The Gold Book: Trinidad and Tobago, Terrific and Tranquil. The book was launched on Wednesday at the Hyatt Regency in Port-of-Spain in a ceremony attended by Government officials and other prominent people. Editor of the book, Arif Ali, praised the Government for taking such a keen interest in making the book a reality and specially thanked Education Minister Tim Gopeesingh, Minister Tourism, Rupert Griffith; and the Minister of Community Development, Winston Peters. Ali, who made jokes about his Guyanese ancestory  during his address, said he was honoured to be a part of the historic effort to compile the book. “Working in Trinidad… because of my Guyanese background I find the people in Trinidad very receptive and I must complain to my Guyanese family friends that your co-operation with the races in this country is a hundred per cent better than Guyana,” he said.

 

He also praised the efforts of the Minister of Planning Dr Bhoe Tewarie, who he said was always willing to contribute to make sure that book was produced. Tewarie delivered the feature address and said that the book represented the lives of citizens. He said he believed the book was a fitting way to celebrate the nation's 50th anniversary of independence. “The innate beauty that is Trinidad and Tobago is well-represented within the pages of Terrific and Tranquil. The images in this publication are the true representation of who we are as a people and who we are together as a people, as a nation,” he said. Tewarie added that it was a pleasure to see people so united and living peacefully and happy as represented in the images of the book. “The images of our people united and living as one under conditions of peace and freedom must be treasured and nurtured. Within these pages are some of the most magnificent images of life in Trinidad and Tobago,” he said. Tewarie said the book represented how far the nation had moved forward over the last 50 years.  “Our challenges today must not make us weary, we must overcome them as we endeavour to be a country that can sustain itself and sustain generations to come,” he said.

 

He added that people of the country should remain committed to seeing positive growth for the next 50 years. The book will be a testament to our culture in years to come, he said. “This book is about our people how they live, how they work and how they play. This edition of Terrific and Tranquil is a project in commemoration of the golden jubilee,” he said. The book was one that would make the nation and people viewing the nation proud, he continued. One of the major highlights of the night was the performance by Machel Montano and 2010 Digicel Rising Stars winner Neval Chatelal of a newly released song, I Believe. The song is one of the tracks of the album that Montano has produced for the 50th Independence Day celebrations. After the performance Montano said he was happy to be blessed with a talent that he could share with the nation and was happy to be alive for the 50th Anniversary of Independence celebration. Chatelal said the words were a true representation of how he felt about T&T. He added that he believed this country was one of the true wonders of the world.