By Lakhram Bhagirat
When speaking about the impact of music, media mogul Ted Turner brilliantly said: “Music has a great power for bring people together. With so many forces in this world acting to drive wedges between people, it’s important to preserve those things that help us experience our common humanity.”
No matter what you are experiencing, music has the uncanny ability to help you through that. Particularly when it comes to lifting our spirits or forging a bond with our fellow humans, music is always there. The lyrics speak to the soul and can influence a revolution or make a stone heart melt.
At a time when tensions are running amok in the world and even here at home, young Chandrapaul Nathoo is using his gift of making music to soothe our souls and promote unity. He considers himself as one of the most patriotic Guyanese and dreams of a Guyana that is united beyond barriers and he is doing his part to forge that level of unity.
The 18-year-old hails from the peaceful village of Albion Front on the Corentyne Coast in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) and is the baby of his family. He remembers his childhood as one that was fun-filled, but with great emphasis on acquiring a sound education to propel him into the world of work as a prepared individual.
He attended the JC Chandisingh Secondary School and was considered an A student and excelled at his examinations. He sat the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations in 2015 and gained passes in 11 subjects. Apart from gaining a traditional education, Chandrapul actively pursued studies in other areas,
including computer science along with Sanskrit and Hindi.
During the same period as he was studying for CSEC, he met with his Sanskrit and Hindi Gurus (Teachers), Pandit
Shamkumar Ramlochan (Sanskrit Kovida) and Srimate Saroja Ramlochan. Here is where Chandrapaul excelled with a distinction in Sanskrit as well as Hindi.
His thirst for higher education became more evident and practical resulting in him joining the Environmental Health programme offered by the Ministry of Public Health. At the end of this programme, Chandrapaul graduated with a distinction in Environmental Health and was also declared the Valedictorian. Upon obtaining his certificate in Environmental Health, he was appointed as a Public Health Inspector with the Regional Administration. To further his education, he was accepted into the University of Guyana (Berbice Campus) to pursue a Diploma in Public Management, an encouragement he gained from his Regional Environmental Health Officer, Marvin Dindyal.
During all these occurrences, Chandrapaul was proactively involved in his singing career. He composed Bhajans of his own. In one instance, he composed a Bhajan entitled “Durga Maa”, which he sung in his Mandir during a Navaratri celebration.
Gradually, Chandrapaul was motivated to participate in the Guyana Chutney Monarch Competition 2019. Music being no stranger to him, he composed a song entitled “Mash 49”. This song is composed of both English and Hindi Lyrics. “Mash 49” is considered a true patriotic song of Guyana. In this song, Chandrapaul expertly depicts the theme of Mashramani 2019 “Celebrate Mash 49 with victory in mind” as the chorus. His Hindi lyrics “garbhse manaao Mashramani, phirse kojo El Dorado” exactly meant what the theme warranted.
A song of three verses reflects the culture of the three major ethnic groups in Guyana. The first verse pays tribute to the arrival of the Amerindians who came from Asia to Guyana bringing with them their food and the word that would eventually become Mashramani. The second verse gives credit to the arrival of Afro-Guyanese who came from Africa to Guyana, bringing with them their musical instruments as well as their Qwe-Qwe Culture. The third verse speaks about the arrival of Indo-Guyanese who came from India to Guyana bringing their musical instruments as well as their festivals and cultures. His concluding line glorifies the National Motto of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana “One People, One Nation, One Destiny”.
Chandrapaul having been selected as a semi-finalist in the Guyana Chutney Monarch Competition 2019 is ready to perform among 12 semi-finalists on the same stage. He is optimistic to be crowned the 2019 Chutney Monarch of Guyana.
He says that you can look for more music from him as he intends to use his talent to unite his people. (Guyana Times Sunday Magazine)
