Culture, Youth and Sport Minister Dr Frank Anthony (third from left) with a few prominent supporters of chutney music. At left of the minister is local actor Neaz Subhan
As thousands of Guyanese flocked the Mash route to feast their eyes on the many creative floats and costumes which were proudly displayed by revellers, one thing is for sure; there is much to celebrate.
Having a rollicking good time to the beats of infectious music, is a great way of doing so. While progress, development, stability, harmony in diversity and our cultures are good reasons for national celebrations, our music surely must be in contention. Its rapid transformation over the years is spectacular and heartening.
Some artistes and their music are featured frequently overseas. They are now an attraction. Congratulations are definitely in order. While there are preferences, Guyanese generally party to all types of music, whether local, regional, North American or Bollywood, to name a few. It is now common to hear Bollywood, chutney, soca, R & B, dub music etc at the same party despite the diversity of the audience.
That’s another reason to “shake” for our music has always transcended stereotypical barriers. Therefore, it wasn’t surprising that Mahendra Ramkellawan’s chutney hit song, “Dem A Watch Me”, won the Road March title for Mash 2011. The revellers last year weren’t concerned who “watched” as they gyrated rhythmically to the chutney beats.
In addition to the song being extremely popular, it exemplified the strides chutney music has made especially within the last six years. Culture, Youth & Sport Minister, Dr Frank Anthony vehemently insisted that the chutney competition return and remain an integral part of the national Mashramani celebrations.
This has to be one of the main reasons for the development of the chutney art form in recent years, for artistes now have a national platform to showcase their talent.
While, of course, there are areas for improvement, chutney has a prominent place within the country’s cultural landscape.
An impetus for further development was added, when collaborations were built between the producer of the Trinidad & Tobago Chutney Soca Monarch (CSM), George Singh, and the Culture, Youth and Sport Ministry.
Among the collaborations for the development of local chutney music, was the automatic qualification of the top three winners for the Trinidad & Tobago CSM competition. This resulted in Haresh Singh, Terry Gajraj and Fiona Singh (first, second and third place winners for the Guyana 2012 competition respectively), being given the opportunity to compete with the best in the business.
Terry competed there in 2011 and Fiona would have performed in the past with some of the competitors overseas. This now provides an overseas platform for the showcasing of local chutney talent.
The 2012 T&T CSM was broadcast live in Guyana, throughout the region and parts of North America courtesy of NCN and George Singh. Our three competitors finished among the top 10 out of 18 on February 11, 2012 at the Queen’s Park Oval. While winning would have been preferred, there is enough reason to be proud of their achievements in the first year of this venture.
From a personal standpoint and from reports received, our singers were outstanding in their performances. The judging was solely by texting. Maybe if more Guyanese had voted, the results could have been vastly different.
While many are of the opinion that texting does not necessarily judge the craft of chutney singing, it is the criteria. Maybe next year, with more awareness, a Guyanese winning the T&T CSM would not be unachievable. Don’t be too surprised if Mahendra makes it twice in a row for the Road March title this year when he and revellers take “One Fuh De Road”. Given its popularity, it’s not unachievable. Even if it doesn’t, local chutney music is on the take-off.
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