"CHUTNEY IN YUH SOCA" (The Birth Of Chutney/Soca Music Documentary) Directed and produced by Karen Martinez A NEORAMA Filmworks Production for the Arts Council of England and Channel Four Television.
This engrossing video provides a concise overview of the origins of chutney music in Trinidad and Tobago and the syncretisation process that produced our chutney/soca music. It features inputs from Ajala, Rawatie Ali, Brother Marvin, Cecil Fonrose, Chris Garcia, Rikki Jai, Satnarayan Maharaj, Sonny Mann, Marcia Miranda, D.J. Shamoon Mohammed, Mungal Patasar, Sundar Popo, Rohini Rampersad, Savitri Rampersad, Drupatee Ramgoonai and Dr. Rhoda Reddock. In addition to the interesting commentaries and performances, the viewer is treated to a distracting procession of visual delights. Our people and our country are just too beautiful for words.
The following are some excerpts:
Mungal Patasar: "The whole concept of men coming out in chutney is an anachronism. Men got involved later, far later on, when the society became more liberal and allowed men to sing chutney songs in public and went more for the beat rather than the meaning of the song. People like Sundar Popo and so ventured into the ladies' arena of singing these songs in public."
Drupatee Ramgoonai: "In '87 we started "Chutney Soca". I did the Hindi in "Chutney Soca" and I did the English in "Chutney Soca" - the English version:
I don't know 'bout kaiso, what I go tell this fella He say he going to teach me a different kind of soca Mix some tassa with some conga, throw in some paratha A little congo pepper, mango, then you have the answer Is chutney soca, yay chutney soca, is dat wey have me wining down so Yay chutney soca, yay chutney soca, is dat wey make me feel to limbo...
I sang Indian tunes all my life and you know I wanted to do this mixture with the English and the Hindi songs, and then I wanted, you know, to go international. You know calypso is going international anyhow, so I just mix the two sounds together and there I....finally, when I sang this monster hit, "Mister Bissessar", it went, as far as I know, it went worldwide and there is where I brought in the tassa which is now being played all over. The tassa is a fast rhythm beat which blends together with the soca beat."
Brother Marvin: "The song Jahaji Bhai in Hindi means brotherhood of the boat. The conception of the song really is that all races you know came here by boat and I decide for us to unite, let us make Trinidad and Tobago our boat and all races would be brotherhood of that boat so we'd be jahaji bhai again. It's a very personal song to me because I am of, you know, different races. I may not look so but I am of different races."
Basdeo Panday: "Chutney/soca, chutney and soca, are two aspects of culture emanating from the two major ethnic groups in our society. This present trend towards cross-culturalisation in our music is therefore a step in the direction of national unity to which we aspire. And this harmony that exists between soca and chutney is a symbol of the type of complete harmonization that must characterise our society in years to come." Rikki Jai: "It's very significant that chutney was played on the road for Carnival this year. As you know, in past years the festival has been a predominantly calypso oriented festival and this year with the advent of Sonny Mann's "Lotala", we found it moving from the chutney market on to mainstream Carnival activities. So it's a big plus for the East Indian people of Trinidad and Tobago. It's very significant for them. It makes them feel a lot more in the Carnival than they probably felt in the past."
.............................................................................................................................. "Patria est communis omnium parens" - Our native land is the common parent of us all. Keep it beautiful, make it even more so.
Blessed is all of creation Blessed be my beautiful people Blessed be the day of our awakening Blessed is my country Blessed are her patient hills.
SUMINTRA Performed by Rikki Jai (1989) Composed by Gregory Ballantyne
Bindiya chamkegi [Give me soca, aha aha] Bindiya chamkegi [Boy give me soca, aha aha] [Give me soca, aha-aha] [Boy, give me soca, aha aha.]
Sumintra born in a shack in Debe and she parents from Indian Walk This pretty girl have me tracking whole day filling me with she fancy talk Is for years I sooting she, and she blushing back at me But when I send my letter, she don't send no answer So I hit the record shops, Indian records I buy up When I reach by the girl she say, “Stop, Rikki, stop!”
Chorus: She say, “Hold the Lata Mangeshkar, give me soca, aha-aha Hold the Lata Mangeshkar, give me soca, aha-aha Tickle me with a lavway, soca me till I sesay But hold the Lata Mangeshkar, give me soca, aha-aha.”
Sumintra charge me for being racist and tell me don't take them chance with she Don't let me catch you in that foolishness, trying to reach the Indian in me Like you into politics, boy, you coming on that tricks Boy, I'm Trinbagonian, I like soca action Take your Mohammed Rafi and bring Scrunter or Bally Only then you’d be talking to me. Yes, Rikki.
Chorus: She say, “Hold the Lata Mangeshkar, give me soca, aha-aha Hold the Lata Mangeshkar, give me soca, aha-aha Tickle me with a lavway, soca me till I sesay But hold the Lata Mangeshkar, give me soca, aha-aha Hold the Lata Mangeshkar, give me soca, aha-aha Hold the Lata Mangeshkar, give me soca, aha-aha Tickle me with a lavway, soca me till I sesay And hold the Lata Mangeshkar, give me soca, aha-aha.
[Give me soca, aha aha] Bindiya chamkegi, [Boy give me soca, aha-aha] Bindiya chamkegi, [Give me soca, aha-aha] [Boy, give me soca, aha aha.]
Aha-aha, aha-aha
Sumintra back me into a corner, she really catch me offside that night For so much years was the village joker I don't know since when she get so bright Must be University or them trips to Miami That make she draw a border between roots and culture She's a liberated soul, Trinbago in she passport.. I feel small like a quart She say, “ Sport, you come short”
Chorus: Just hold the Lata Mangeshkar, give me soca, aha-aha Hold the Lata Mangeshkar, give me soca, aha-aha Please tickle me with a lavway, soca me till I sesay But hold the Lata Mangeshkar, give me soca, aha-aha.
I still believe the best gift is music ’cause music is the food of love But now I had to come up with new tricks for Sumintra to get involve Was November 28th, I say “Kaiso ent release yet” Boy, like I get she more hot, is kaiso in she thoughts Man you really out a line, treating calypso like wine Oh lord, you bring dem tune, all is wine. Leh we wine.
Chorus: She say, Hold de Lata Mangeshkar, give me soca, aha-aha Hold the Lata Mangeshkar, give me soca, aha-aha Tickle me with a lavway, man, soca me till I sesay But hold the Lata Mangeshkar, give me soca, aha-aha Hold the Lata Mangeshkar, give me soca, aha-aha Hold the Lata Mangeshkar, give me soca, aha-aha Please tickle me with a lavway, man, soca me till I sesay But hold the Lata Mangeshkar, give me soca, aha-aha Hold the Lata Mangeshkar, give me soca, aha-aha Hold the Lata Mangeshkar, give me soca, aha aha Tickle me with a lavway, man, soca me till I sesay But hold the Lata Mangeshkar, give me soca, aha-aha [Hold the Lata Mangeskkar, give me soca, aha-aha] [Hold the Lata Mangeshkar, give me soca, aha-aha]
Is soca yuh want eh? I go give you what you want. Lavway! Sesay! [Hold the Lata Mangeskkar, give me soca, aha-aha] [Hold the Lata Mangeshkar, give me soca, aha-aha]...
Eighteen years after its composition and execution, I am taking the opportunity to applaud Gregory Ballantyne and Rikki Jai for this amazing work, “Sumintra.” I came across it while trawling for Trinbagonian music on the Internet and in addition to taking a very pleasant trip down memory lane, I found myself being amazed by the treasures it contains.
At the time when the song was first released, having only just discovered Lata Mangeshkar myself, I remember being puzzled by Sumintra’s dismissal of the glory that for me is Lata. At that time, I would have said, “Hold de soca, give me Lata, aha-aha.” I think I must have dismissed Sumintra (the song) because I cannot recall noticing at that time just how clever it is. Reading and re-reading the lyrics now, I find myself again and again silently congratulating Mr. Ballantyne on his insights.
Sumintra, the composition, is an earlier example of Trinbagonian songs which reflect the meeting and merging of ethnic groups, specifically the African and East Indian groups. These songs have been produced by African, dougla and East Indian performers and more recently co-performed by members of the two groups.
Sumintra, the young woman, represents natural evolution that wants to be allowed the space and the freedom to select the best from the new environment which ever-present change constantly guarantees us. In this ever-new environment, whether pre or post arrival, pre or post independence, pre or post emancipation, pre or post industrialization, pre or post boom, the one constant is that we inhabitants continually seek to find ways to survive and prosper.
Sumintra’s protest draws attention to the ties that attempt to bind and shape us, and not necessarily in ways that encourage our arriving at the most fruitful syntheses.
Having been born in a shack in Debe and with parents from Indian Walk, the scene is set for us to expect an East Indian female who will, according to the stereotype, partake only of things associated with her ethnic group. But Sumintra is “Trinbagonian” and “a liberated soul.” Did the composer associate the two conditions? Was he saying that to be able to claim to be a real Trinbagonian, one must be liberated…from ethnic roots? Whatever the reason, Sumintra has “drawn a border between roots and culture.” How did this amazing thing happen? The composer concludes that it must have been the mind-broadening influences of her university education or the trips to Miami.
Hmm. Many of us didn’t have to wait that long. Having had to see our faces in the mirror every day was at least one of the catalysts towards enlightenment for sure. Growing up, I saw a chimera, a thing that could not be defined and the product of amalgamation of immigrants from at least five ethnic groups from three contintents and the Amerindians that they met here, each fading in and out. People didn’t know what I was and I found myself revelling in the freedom to choose anything which that past and my present location offered me. Most Trinabgonians, even if not ethnically mixed, but simply by virtue of the wealth of our cultural influences, find themselves in the same situation of “transcendence” and often without the influences of tertiary education and travel.
But Sumintra makes some powerful statements. She accuses her admirer of the following: Being racist: She could have said also that he was seeing her as a stereotype, or locking her into the past of her ethnic origin. The same type of categorization that encourages cultural ghettoization, where, for example, East Indians should only want to play East Indian instruments and people of African descent must naturally be drawn to the steel pan. Being into politics:“Like you into politics, boy, you comin' on that tricks…/Don't let me catch you in that foolishness/Trying to reach the Indian in me.”
Right on Mister Ballantyne!!! But that tactic of trying to reach or pander to some particular aspect of an individual or a particular segment of the population is not the preserve of politicians. It is resorted to universally when there is a need to quickly (often unscrupulously) harness a person or persons to a particular cause. Rikki wants to quickly capture Sumintra’s affection and he attempts to awaken a resonance in this East Indian woman by plying her with East Indian music. This is the bait and the hook. Sumintra, however, is having none of it. While she may personally be familiar with and enjoy Lata Mangeshkar’s music, she resents the stereotyping which reduces her to a one dimensional entity. She also loves soca music and this is what she would prefer to share with Rikki.
“Boy, I'm Trinbagonian, I like soca action Take your Mohammed Rafi and bring Scrunter or Bally Only then you’d be talking to me, yes, Rikki”
“Please tickle me with a lavway, man, soca me till I sesay But hold the Lata Mangeshkar, give me soca, aha-aha.”
While this speaking to difference may be excused, or even essential in less open societies, here in Trinbago, it is often quickly seen for what it is – a ploy, and often a divisive one that pits one “group” against another, whether these be distinguished by religion, ethnicity, gender, class, political affiliation. We identify the trickery by recognizing that we are being flattened, simplified, categorized, reduced to one dimensionality. We defend our multi-dimensionality by asking ourselves the questions, “Why am I not being addressed as an individual and a human being and a man or woman or child and a Trinbagonian? What aspect or aspects of my being and my life in this country am I expected to neglect, to betray? Why are these artificial distinctions being solidified?” Whether the object(s) of these strategies choose, like Sumintra, to protest, or to play along, depends on if there is the perception of benefits to be received. We are entitled always it would seem, to sell ourselves to the highest bidder.
Thank you Gregory Ballantyne and Rikki Jai.
"Patria est communis omnium parens" - Our native land is the common parent of us all. Keep it beautiful, make it even more so.
Blessed is all of creation Blessed be my beautiful people Blessed be the day of our awakening Blessed is my country Blessed are her patient hills.
Let us suppose they pass a law, They don't want people living here anymore Just suppose they pass a law, They don't want people living here anymore Everybody got to find their country According to your race originally What a confusion I would cause in the place They might have to shoot me in space.
Chorus: Because they sending Indians to India [India] and the Negroes back to Africa, Can somebody please just tell me, where they sending poor me? [Poor Dougie] I am neither one nor the other, six of one, half a dozen of the other If they serious about sending back people for true, they got to split me in two.
From the time I small I in confusion I couldn't play with no other lil children If I go by the Negro children to play They say, "You little coolie, now run away!" I go by the Indian children next door They say, "Noweyrian, what you come here for?" I always by myself like ah lil monkey Not one single child wouldn't play with me.
Chorus: So if they sending Indians to India [India] and the Negroes back to Africa, Can somebody please just tell me, Where they sending poor me? [Poor Dougie] I am neither one nor the other, six of one, half a dozen of the other If they serious 'bout sending back people for true, they bound to split me in two.
Hear what happen to me recently I going down Jogie Road walking peacefully Some Indians and Negroes rioting Poor me didn't know not a single thing But as I enter in Odit Trace Ah Indian man cuff me straight in mih face I ran by the Negroes to get rescue "Look ah coolie!" and them start beating me too.
Chorus: So if they sending Indians to India [India] and the Negroes back to Africa, Can somebody please just tell me, where they sending poor me? [Poor Dougie] I am neither one nor the other, six of one, half a dozen of the other If they serious 'bout sending back people for true, they bound to split me in two.
Some fellas having a race discussion, I jump in to give my opinion A young fella watch me in mih face He say, "You shut your mouth, you ain't got no race!" What he said to me was a real insult But is not I to blame, is mih father fault When he say I have no race, he did talking true Instead of having one race, you know I got two.
Chorus: So if they sending Indians to India [India] and the Negroes back to Africa, Can somebody please just tell me, where they sending poor me? [Poor Dougie] I am neither one nor the other, six of one, half a dozen of the other If they serious 'bout sending back people for true, they bound to split me in two. Source: The lyrics posted on this blog are often transcribed directly from performances. Although it is my intention to faithfully transcribe I do not get all the words and I have a knack for hearing the wrong thing. Please feel free to correct me or to fill in the words that I miss by dropping me a message via e-mail. I'd be forever grateful. Thanks in advance! ..............................................................................................................................
A Note From The Gull
Thank you, Mighty Dougla.
For outsiders who do not understand this song, it is about the no man's land in which persons who are products of miscegenation can find themselves, especially when they are located within societies which haven't yet fully grasped the fact that humanity trumps ethnicity.
A "dougla" originally referred to a person of mixed East Indian and African ancestry, but it can also be used to include other mixed persons, so you can hear "douglarisation" being used to describe any process of mixture.
The Mighty Dougla is proposing an imaginary, ridiculous solution of being split in two to highlight the actual ridiculous reality of being ostracised because you are caught between two ethnicities which have not yet learned to accept the humanity of the next.
What would be his situation if East Indians and Africans were asked to return to the countries of origin of their ancestors? He finds himself between a rock and a hard place. Because he represents an irreversible fusion, he sees himself as also representing the point of NO RETURN - no return to Mother Africa, no return to Mother India.
The Mighty Dougla never explored the possibility that Mother T&T would never have allowed him to leave or to be cleaved, that she would have hidden him, as her own special creation, safely within the folds of her skirt until the racists had departed.
"Patria est communis omnium parens" - Our native land is the common parent of us all. Keep it beautiful, make it even more so.
Blessed is all of creation Blessed be my beautiful people Blessed be the day of our awakening Blessed is my country Blessed are her patient hills.
Lord, Please walk beside me through this day. Clear the heavy air with the lightness of Your Presence. Guide my hands and steady my heart that I may give comfort when I cannot give hope, that I may give relief when I do not have a cure, and that I may radiate Your healing peace when the limits of science, time, and the human body overwhelm us all. Amen
Source
Sáncte Míchael Archángele, defénde nos in proélio, cóntra nequítiam et insídias diáboli ésto præsídium. Ímperet ílli Déus, súpplices deprecámur: tuque, prínceps milítiæ cæléstis, Sátanam aliósque spíritus malígnos, qui ad perditiónem animárum pervagántur in múndo, divína virtúte, in inférnum detrúde. Ámen
