Heavily influenced by the tunes brought in by migrant Indian workers and by rhythms from erstwhile African slaves, the unique music of Trinidad & Tobago could very well be a metaphor for the twin Caribbean islands themselves, where fusion and duality are found everywhere.
By Raul Dias
Never have I been made more aware of the currency of the phrase “Necessity is the mother of invention” than in the twin island nation of Trinidad & Tobago. Carelessly strewn across the shockingly blue waters of the Caribbean Sea like a pair of emerald danglers, Trinidad & Tobago that are part of the Lesser Antilles chain of islands may be a mighty trek to get to from India. But once there, this happy-go-lucky country shows off its ingenuity and adaptability in myriad ways. Most noticeably in its music.
Limein’ and Steelpanin’
Blessed with a unique vocabulary that is a fusion of everything from pidgin English to Bhojpuri and even old Hindustani, one of the favourite words used by the local Trinbagonians is limein’. This is one word that you’re sure to come across in conversation at least once every couple of hours here. Put very simply, limein’ is the art of hanging out just about anywhere with friends or family. All this, with a spot of music thrown in for good measure. Often, the choice of music is either that produced by a steelpan band or a unique hybrid genre called chutney soca.
To start off with the former, as the national musical instrument of Trinidad & Tobago, the steelpan is made from oil drums hammered on one end and divided into grooves and notes. The steelpan also bears the distinction of being the only acoustic musical instrument to be invented in the twentieth century. Panbands were said to have originated when erstwhile African slaves working on the sugar plantations were prohibited from participating in the annual carnival.
So, they came up with their own version that they called canboulay where most of the percussion instruments were crafted out of household utensils and other items like pans, oil drums, and garbage can lids. Today, panbands are a vital part of any Trinbagonian celebration—particularly carnival.
And one of the best ways to get an earful of steelpanin’, is by visiting a local pan yard. One such place is the Crazy Golden Eagles pan yard at the George Street Community Centre in downtown Port of Spain that is the biggest city on the island of Trinidad and the capital of the nation. What this yard basically is, is a sort of community centre where steelpan bands comprising of musicians of all ages—including kids—practice almost every day, honing their skills for their line-up of various performances across the country.
The Desi Connection
Yuh feel this Indian gyal cyah come and wine and wuk she waist
Take over the street make ah bacchanal in the place
Drop it to the ground and sh-sh-shake it all around
Push up on ah speaker beat it like ah Indian drum…
…go the opening lines of ‘Indian Gyal’ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmPFOhkDTdI) a monster hit of 2015 by the reigning queen of Trinidad & Tobago’s chutney soca scene—Drupatee Ramgoonai. With its pulsating rhythms and a unique blend of pidgin English and Bhojpuri lyrics set to decidedly East Indian dance tunes brought in by Trinidad & Tobago’s Indian immigrants who started coming here from UP and more particularly Bihar in the mid-1800s, chutney soca is another national obsession of the islands. Particularly in Port of Spain’s raucous nightclubs and during carnival season. Taking on the drumbeats of the typically Caribbean ‘soul of calypso’ aka soca music and merging them with the sounds of tablas, shehnais, dhantals and sitars, is the hybrid Indo-Trinbagonian chutney soca music genre.
And while it may not have been born out of necessity and oppression, just like steelpanin’, chutney soca is very much a twentieth century invention. Late twentieth century to be more precise when pioneers of this musical genre like Lord Shorty gave it form in the early 1970s. However, it was only in 1987 that the term ‘chutney soca’ was itself coined by Drupatee with the release of her debut album simply titled Chutney Soca. Within one year, with the release of her next single ‘roll up de tassa’, this style of music got co-opted by the neighbouring, Indian immigrant-rich South American countries of Suriname and Guyana, where it is still insanely popular.
Interestingly, chutney soca even finds a place for itself in worship in Trinidad & Tobago. The Port of Spain suburb of Carapichaima is home to a gigantic 85-feet tall Hanuman statue that occupies prime position at the saffron-hued Dattatreya Mandir. It is here that locals not just come to pay obeisance to the statue of the Monkey God that is believed to be the largest one outside India, but also to sit down to a rather sonorous chutney soca-style bhajan singing session every evening.
And just when I thought that I’d heard it all, en route back to Port of Spain from Carapichaima, my driver of Indian origin introduced me to the three newest sub genres of chutney soca that he insisted on playing on the car’s stereo. He called them ‘chutney rap’, ‘chutney jhumar’ and ‘chutney lambada’. ‘nuff said!
Travel log
Getting There
As there are no direct flights from India to Trinidad & Tobago, one needs to fly to Port of Spain via New York, Miami or London on airlines like Jet Blue, American Airlines and Caribbean Airlines. Indian nationals do not require a visa to visit Trinidad & Tobago.
Stay
Despite being a relatively small city, accommodation options are abundant in Port of Spain catering to most budgets. Perched up on a small hill that overlooks the city’s iconic Queen’s Park Savannah, the centrally-located Hilton Trinidad & Conference Centre (www3.hilton.com) is a good pick. Here, one can expect to pay around Rs 10,896 for a double room with breakfast. The Hotel Normandie (www.normandiett.com) in St. Ann’s is another great option. The tariff for a doble occupancy room in this 4-star property is Rs 8,911 without breakfast.
Tip
* As a protective haven for the scarlet ibis which is the national bird of Trinidad & Tobago, the Caroni Swamp sanctuary, a little out of Port of Spain, is a great place to commune with nature. A boat tour down the meandering swamp gives you a glimpse, not just of the habitat of the scarlet ibis, but also of snakes, spiders and other inhabitants of this vast ecosystem.
(An edited version of this article first appeared in the 23rd May 2020 issue of The Hindu Business Line newspaper's BLink section on page 20 https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/blink/takeaway/music-of-trinidad-and-tobago/article31648003.ece)
By Raul Dias
Never have I been made more aware of the currency of the phrase “Necessity is the mother of invention” than in the twin island nation of Trinidad & Tobago. Carelessly strewn across the shockingly blue waters of the Caribbean Sea like a pair of emerald danglers, Trinidad & Tobago that are part of the Lesser Antilles chain of islands may be a mighty trek to get to from India. But once there, this happy-go-lucky country shows off its ingenuity and adaptability in myriad ways. Most noticeably in its music.
Limein’ and Steelpanin’
Blessed with a unique vocabulary that is a fusion of everything from pidgin English to Bhojpuri and even old Hindustani, one of the favourite words used by the local Trinbagonians is limein’. This is one word that you’re sure to come across in conversation at least once every couple of hours here. Put very simply, limein’ is the art of hanging out just about anywhere with friends or family. All this, with a spot of music thrown in for good measure. Often, the choice of music is either that produced by a steelpan band or a unique hybrid genre called chutney soca.
To start off with the former, as the national musical instrument of Trinidad & Tobago, the steelpan is made from oil drums hammered on one end and divided into grooves and notes. The steelpan also bears the distinction of being the only acoustic musical instrument to be invented in the twentieth century. Panbands were said to have originated when erstwhile African slaves working on the sugar plantations were prohibited from participating in the annual carnival.
So, they came up with their own version that they called canboulay where most of the percussion instruments were crafted out of household utensils and other items like pans, oil drums, and garbage can lids. Today, panbands are a vital part of any Trinbagonian celebration—particularly carnival.
And one of the best ways to get an earful of steelpanin’, is by visiting a local pan yard. One such place is the Crazy Golden Eagles pan yard at the George Street Community Centre in downtown Port of Spain that is the biggest city on the island of Trinidad and the capital of the nation. What this yard basically is, is a sort of community centre where steelpan bands comprising of musicians of all ages—including kids—practice almost every day, honing their skills for their line-up of various performances across the country.
The Desi Connection
Yuh feel this Indian gyal cyah come and wine and wuk she waist
Take over the street make ah bacchanal in the place
Drop it to the ground and sh-sh-shake it all around
Push up on ah speaker beat it like ah Indian drum…
…go the opening lines of ‘Indian Gyal’ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmPFOhkDTdI) a monster hit of 2015 by the reigning queen of Trinidad & Tobago’s chutney soca scene—Drupatee Ramgoonai. With its pulsating rhythms and a unique blend of pidgin English and Bhojpuri lyrics set to decidedly East Indian dance tunes brought in by Trinidad & Tobago’s Indian immigrants who started coming here from UP and more particularly Bihar in the mid-1800s, chutney soca is another national obsession of the islands. Particularly in Port of Spain’s raucous nightclubs and during carnival season. Taking on the drumbeats of the typically Caribbean ‘soul of calypso’ aka soca music and merging them with the sounds of tablas, shehnais, dhantals and sitars, is the hybrid Indo-Trinbagonian chutney soca music genre.
And while it may not have been born out of necessity and oppression, just like steelpanin’, chutney soca is very much a twentieth century invention. Late twentieth century to be more precise when pioneers of this musical genre like Lord Shorty gave it form in the early 1970s. However, it was only in 1987 that the term ‘chutney soca’ was itself coined by Drupatee with the release of her debut album simply titled Chutney Soca. Within one year, with the release of her next single ‘roll up de tassa’, this style of music got co-opted by the neighbouring, Indian immigrant-rich South American countries of Suriname and Guyana, where it is still insanely popular.
Interestingly, chutney soca even finds a place for itself in worship in Trinidad & Tobago. The Port of Spain suburb of Carapichaima is home to a gigantic 85-feet tall Hanuman statue that occupies prime position at the saffron-hued Dattatreya Mandir. It is here that locals not just come to pay obeisance to the statue of the Monkey God that is believed to be the largest one outside India, but also to sit down to a rather sonorous chutney soca-style bhajan singing session every evening.
And just when I thought that I’d heard it all, en route back to Port of Spain from Carapichaima, my driver of Indian origin introduced me to the three newest sub genres of chutney soca that he insisted on playing on the car’s stereo. He called them ‘chutney rap’, ‘chutney jhumar’ and ‘chutney lambada’. ‘nuff said!
Travel log
Getting There
As there are no direct flights from India to Trinidad & Tobago, one needs to fly to Port of Spain via New York, Miami or London on airlines like Jet Blue, American Airlines and Caribbean Airlines. Indian nationals do not require a visa to visit Trinidad & Tobago.
Stay
Despite being a relatively small city, accommodation options are abundant in Port of Spain catering to most budgets. Perched up on a small hill that overlooks the city’s iconic Queen’s Park Savannah, the centrally-located Hilton Trinidad & Conference Centre (www3.hilton.com) is a good pick. Here, one can expect to pay around Rs 10,896 for a double room with breakfast. The Hotel Normandie (www.normandiett.com) in St. Ann’s is another great option. The tariff for a doble occupancy room in this 4-star property is Rs 8,911 without breakfast.
Tip
* As a protective haven for the scarlet ibis which is the national bird of Trinidad & Tobago, the Caroni Swamp sanctuary, a little out of Port of Spain, is a great place to commune with nature. A boat tour down the meandering swamp gives you a glimpse, not just of the habitat of the scarlet ibis, but also of snakes, spiders and other inhabitants of this vast ecosystem.
(An edited version of this article first appeared in the 23rd May 2020 issue of The Hindu Business Line newspaper's BLink section on page 20 https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/blink/takeaway/music-of-trinidad-and-tobago/article31648003.ece)
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