An International Star is Born - Ravi Bissambhar

To truly express an art, you must study its form with great diligence

Music and Dance in Indian culture are a dramatic art of story-telling. In the classical Bharatanatyam dance it shows a form of visual language in the movement of the dancer. Every gesture means something. Here in Trinidad and Tobago, a small island off the coast of South America and populated with mostly Africans and East Indians many of which still practice the traditions brought forth by their families. East Indians in particular kept their faiths in ceremonies at weddings with dance and music. Although people born on our soil exhibit a dance derived from Africans slaves mocking Europeans. We call it wining.

There are still traditions of East Indian music preformed here and a genre incorporates both; namely Chutney Soca. The video clip is Ravi Bissambhar, preforming at the local Bollywood awards in 2005. At the age of twenty five, Mr. Bissambhar shows great range and his repertoire other than the kitsch Chutney video posted on thebookmann. With the flack and racism voiced by readers regrading a Chutney song called, Rum is meh lover, the entertainer showed his true heart of being a Trinidadian, you see with his wining.

Yet, he has been playing the arse with his gold chain and all. This video shows another side of him, cultured and refined as seen with the Hindustani Ragas sung in the clip. It is unclear if he understands what is he is singing or that the dancers are aware of the means in their movement, Trinidadians generally like to copy. But Mr. Bissambhar exhibits showmanship and charisma and the possibility to further study the art of Hindustani Ragas in Indian may bring forth a genuine International Star. -See Ravi Bissambhar as thebookmann header

Scream your name over and over - T&T

Why we love who we are - The linguistics of spoken West Indian English.

For many years in Trinidad and Tobago there was a local television show called "Scouting for Talent". It was produced by the TV personality Holly Betaudier, his objective was to audition people who had some sort of entertaining ability. Once a week participants trotted out the best renditions of mostly popular American tunes. An interpretation of a Stevie Wonder or a Whitney Houston's " I would always love you" would be attempted with all the inner passions of the individual. Occasionally, a contestant would perform a modern dance routine, or play a composition on our national musical instrument, the steel pan. Trinidadians should remember the woman in the tight stretched white spandex pants who danced to a ballet wearing a pair of roller skates, the man who spitted out gum on stage before belting out his song or the Indian girl and black man's dance routine. He dressed as a vampire and she as a coffin, It was amazing. What made these appearances so memorable were how confident the participants presented themselves to a live audience.

This is a video clip from the local music TV station called Synergy, and the artist is Nicole De Coteau filmed at the Chaguaramas Peninsular, Trinidad. Ms. Coteau is going all out with her music genre that really can't be explained, but she is surely supported by her entourage of admirers that groove to her tune. The singer exhibits a tone in which Trinidadians and Tobagoians call pure self-confidence. Her temperament equals the level of a Scouting of Talent contestant. -thebookmann

Put your arms up upon meh shoulder baby
Hold meh tight squeeze meh sugar honey
Let de whole night completely satisfy meh
Swee lovin gets meh delighted
Yuh de one to get meh excited
With wine and roses and candle lighted

Swee lovin to satisfy meh
Swee lovin yuh ca deny meh
Bring yuh lov into meh baby
Make no mistake de tem-perature rising

Scream your name over and over
Take meh now I ca wait no longar
Splashing and pleasure make meh perspire
Oh baby yuh dis bend meh like wire

Dynasty Chutney

Rum is my lover - Perpetuating a stereotype

These stills are taken from a local television show that promotes the culture of Trinidad and Tobago. Once a week or so, it slots in a chutney video count down in a cheesy commentary format.

Making low-budget Soca Chutney videos as such seen on Synergy TV requires the following; Rum, a river, a beach, roll-on-roll off cars, Indian dancers in costume, wedding guests, family and friends,feuded neighbors, a iron pot for a cookup, domestic animals such as fowls (cocks) or cats (catt) and more rum to incite fights and cutlass chopping.

The star Ravi Bissambhar from the video clip is a bit of a celebrity himself, and as he was interviewed by the VJ, a older woman kept accosting him then uttered the words, "I want to rape yuh." One wonders why it was not edited out. And although the melody is about Rum drinking, in part of the video (the river scene) it shows Mr. Bissambhar holding up a bottle of scotch. ??? There are the lyrics from song which, Ravi Bissambhar sings with great passion

Rum is meh lover and I don cyare, so we drinking today and we drinking forever, Akela hoon main

But I don cyare what people say, Ah drinking today and we drinking forever, ah Tequila or Beer

Rum kill meh muda

Rum kill meh fada

Rum kill meh whole family

Rum kill meh broda

Rum kill meh sista

Now it want to come and kill me

But I don cyare what people say, oh ah drinking today and ah drinking forever, Akela hoon main

For readers unfamiliar with Trinidad and Tobago, the backdrop is Mayaro beach and the video is a broad generalization of desires and wants of East Indians. The whole idea of promoting alcoholism with East Indians equals the vulgarity of mainstream music which perpetuates the stereotype of young black men and women.

Note: Akela hoon main is Hindi for "I am alone"


Read the racist comments at Youtube
See also Ravi Bissambhar an International Star is born
See Ravi Bissambhar as thebookmann header.