AS TOLD TO BC PIRES
My name is Frederick “Dharmbodh” Westmaas and I recently published my memoirs, Glimpses of a Mystical Misfit.
I will turn 76 in March.
I’ve worked for six years as a psychiatric nurse in England. But spent the better part of my working life as a sculptor in Trinidad.
I spent two years in my guru’s ashram in India.
I was born in a nursing home on a street in the capital city which bears my official name, Frederick.
People do sometimes wonder where I come from but, despite my varied (Dutch, Afghan, African, French Creole and Venezuelan) ancestry, I am Trini, without a doubt.
The boxer Ralph Peterkin said the high point of his career was his victory over Westmust (sic) the Venezuelan in the amateur championships flyweight final in the late 60s.
I now live in D’Abadie, the home my father built and left for his children.
From age six to 16 (1950s and early 60s), when the government acquired our property to expand the airport, I lived literally on the banks of the Caroni River, as my father worked as a (control tower) aeradio operator at the airport.
I learnt to swim and mastered the art of river fishing.
From 16 to 28, when I left for England, I moved between Tumpuna Road, Arima, and my maternal grandparents, uncles and aunts in Success Village, Laventille.
My first primary school was St Helena Presbyterian, just across the iconic bridge separating Piarco and St Helena Villages.
In 1962, I was expelled from Hillview College (described in chapter seven of my memoirs).
We were six children, four boys and two girls.
[caption id="attachment_934887" align="alignnone" width="738"] Frederick “Dharmbodh” Westmaas worked for six years as a psychiatric nurse in England, but spent the better part of his working life as a sculptor in Trinidad. - Mark Lyndersay[/caption]
Unfortunately, my youngest sibling died last September at 64.
Only my younger brother Jan lives in Trinidad. He was the only Westmaas to see me fight in the ring. And to join in storming Carnival fetes.
Both parents died in my arms, my father at 97 and my mother at 86.
One day my father looked at me lovingly and said, “You turned out to be a good boy, after all.”
Although I had intense relationships with women in England and India, my love for freedom shaped my destiny to remain single.
Being engaged in a personal search for truth does not constitute belonging to any religion.
As a youngster, I was an atheist. Today I try not to get caught up in beliefs or doubts.
Nevertheless, I believe there are degrees of believing and doubting. To a great degree, I believe in Eternity, which postulates that there is no beginning and no end.
People say they go to the beach, listen to music or even have a drink to relax. I see all this as “external relaxation.” Real or conscious relaxati
