Even as the Trinidad Carnival adapts to the wider cultural sphere, for better or worse, Dimanche Gras seems stuck in a time warp. This is not the case for all aspects of the show. The king and queen costumes have moved from strength to strength every year, building on the strong aesthetic and technical foundations established by mas greats such as Harold Saldenah, Wayne Berkeley and, especially, Peter Minshall.

Even as the kings and queens have become divorced from any coherent theme with the bands, the costumes have retained the traditional references to myth and have become more complex in construction and portrayal. This year's winners, "Ralliez-Vous A Mon Panache Blanc" and "Mother of Humanity —The Weeping Madonna", epitomised these qualities. At the same time, reliance on past artistic exemplars sometimes seems to stymie innovation.

Then there's the calypso. New Calypso Monarch Duane O' Connor made a significant point in his victory interview, when he noted that half the finalists belonged to the younger generation. Not only that, but all the older heads, such as Chalkdust and Cro Cro, placed in the latter half of the dozen in this year's competition. But does this indicate that the future of commentary calypso is in good hands?

The basic principles of a good calypso have not changed in 100 years: wit, mockery of authority, and a catchy tune. Do the Dimanche Gras competitors meet these standards? The short answer is "No". The greatest defect is the melody, with virtually every song being a mundane variation of a santimanitay chorus. This might be partly because any composer with a good melody prefers to use it in the more lucrative soca and Road March arenas.

But, compared to the gems of the 1930s and 1950s, these calypsoes fall short lyrically as well. Their messages are delivered in mostly straightforward rhyming statements, bereft of double entendre, puns, or even irony. Mr O'Connor's winning song stood above the rest precisely for its tongue-in-cheek approach. But, if traditional calypsonians complain that they are given short shrift, this is partly because they have lowered their own bar.

As a result, although Dimanche Gras is promoted as the premier competition platform of the Carnival, audience attendance belies this claim. The various soca competitions, including the Chutney Soca which mainly attracts the Indo-Trinidadian segment of the national populace, have far more popular appeal and, concomitantly, pay greater returns to the artistes.

It may be justifiably argued that popular appeal should not be the sole, or even main, criterion by which the quality of Carnival is judged. But, if the Dimanche Gras is to resonate with the national audience, greater creativity is needed from all hands.