Ramdew Chaitoe (19 December 1942 - 6 June 1994) was a Surinamese musician and a harmonium player, who released a Baithak Gana album called The King Of Suriname a.k.a The Star Melodies of Ramdew Chaitoe in 1976. Rumors exist about how Chaitoe started his career singing in jail after being arrested in a bar fight.
Ramdew grew up on a farm. His father, songwriter/lyricist and harmonium instrumentalist Pundit Shastrie Sewpersad Chaitoe, was a considerable influence on Ramdew, inaugurating his son early in the musical art form, by having him perform weekly at Hindu temple ceremonies. This allowed the young Chaitoe to become skilled at his craft, thus allowing him to perform with the top singers and composers in Suriname as he matured. Throughout his travels in the Caribbean, Chaitoe acquired a strong reputation as a skilled harmonium player and singer. Ramdew Chaitoe traveled from the West Indies to Europe, and also had a show in New York.
In 1976, Chaitoe released The King Of Suriname a.k.a The Star Melodies of Ramdew Chaitoe. This album is considered to be the first Baithak Gana album ever in Suriname. Moreover, due to the exposure that he received from this album, Chaitoe became a household name not just in Suriname but in the Indo-Caribbean world as well. In the popular manner of composition at the time, Chaitoe composed this album with religious and folk songs from the Purvanchal-Bhojpur, and Awadh regions of the present-day states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in India. These songs, like blue bhajans, captivated audiences with Chaitoe's artistic trend not just in Suriname but all over the Indo-Caribbean community. Chaitoe is regarded as one of the best singers of the Caribbean genre of Baithak Gana, which is still seen as the authoritative music genre in the Hindustani community. Though on the evening of June 6, 1994, Ramdew Chaitoe's life was cut short of a massive heart attack during his sleep in his home in Rotterdam, he left behind dozens of pieces of music for his thousands of fans throughout the Indo-Caribbean world. He suffered from alcoholism. Chaitoe is outlived by his son Pradeep Chaitoe, who is carrying on his legacy and tradition of singing and a sister Bidjanwatie Chaitoe, who is also a singer.
The music of Trinidad and Tobago is best known for its calypso music, soca music, chutney music, and steelpan. Calypso's internationally noted performances in the 1950s from native artists such as Lord Melody, Lord Kitchener and Mighty Sparrow. The art form was most popularised at that time by Harry Belafonte. Along with folk songs and African- and Indian-based classical forms, cross-cultural interactions have produced other indigenous forms of music including soca, rapso, parang, chutney, and other derivative and fusion styles. There are also local communities which practice and experiment with international classical and pop music, often fusing them with local steelpan instruments.
The dholak is a two-headed hand drum, a folk percussion instrument. The dholak is most commonly recognised in countries such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka, but can also be found amongst the Indo-Diaspora in countries such as Guyana, Suriname, Fiji, Trinidad and Tobago, South Africa and Mauritius. The dholak can be anywhere about 16" to 24" in length. It is widely used in qawwali, kirtan, bhajan, bhangra, chutney, baithak gana, Bollywood film songs, lokgeet and various classical styles such as Hindustani, Carnatic and Trinidadian local classical / Guyanese taan. The drum has two different sized drumheads. There is a smaller drumhead that can be from 5.5 to 8 inches in diameter and is made for sharp notes while the bigger drumhead, which can be from 7.5 to 10 inches in diametre, is made for low pitch. The two drumheads allow a combination of bass and treble with rhythmic high and low pitches. The body or shell of the Dholak can made of sheesham or mango wood. The larger drum head has a compound of tar, clay and sand, called "masala" which is applied to lower the pitch and produce the sound. The smaller drumhead is played with the person's dominant hand, while the larger is played by the person's weaker hand. A dholak can either be fitted with a nuts and bolts or a rope and steel rings for tuning. Commonly in the Indian subcontinent, there are only one set of rings for tuning the treble side of the dholak, while in the Caribbean, hook screws are placed into the sides of the dholak to allow tuning of both the treble and the bass. Dholak can be played in three ways — on the player’s lap, while standing, or pressed down with one knee while sitting on the floor.
Chutney music is a fusion genre of Indian folk music, specifically Bhojpuri folk music, with Caribbean calypso and soca music, and later with Bollywood music. This genre of music that developed in Trinidad and Tobago is popular in Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Suriname, Jamaica, other parts of the Caribbean, Fiji, Mauritius, and South Africa. Chutney music emerged mid-20th century and reached a peak of popularity during the 1980s. Several sub-genres have developed.
The music of Suriname is known for kaseko music, and for having an Indo-Caribbean tradition.
Indo-Guyanese or Indian-Guyanese, are Guyanese nationals of Indian origin who trace their ancestry to India and the wider subcontinent. They are the descendants of indentured servants and settlers who migrated from India beginning in 1838, and continuing during the British Raj.
Indo-Caribbean Americans or Indian-Caribbean Americans, are Americans who trace their ancestry ultimately to India, though whose recent ancestors lived in the Caribbean, where they migrated beginning in 1838 as indentured laborers. There are large populations of Indo-Trinidadian and Tobagonians and Indo-Guyanese along with a smaller population of Indo-Surinamese, Indo-Jamaicans and other Indo-Caribbeans in the United States, especially in the New York metropolitan area and Florida. The Washington metropolitan area, Texas, and Minnesota also have small numbers of Indo-Guyanese and Indo-Trinidadians. Indo-Caribbean Americans are a subgroup of Caribbean Americans as well as Indian Americans, which are a subgroup of South Asian Americans, which itself is a subgroup of Asian Americans.
Laxmichand "Babla" Virji Shah and Kumari Kanchan Dinkarrao Mali-Shah were an Indian husband-wife musical group best known for work in the chutney music and Desi Folk music genres. They performed together for forty years until Kanchan died in 2004. Babla Shah is the younger brother of famous music director duo Kalyanji Anandji.
The dhantal (dandtal) is a long steel rod based percussion instrument, which was adapted from the iron "bows" which yoked the oxen that pulled the carts on the estates in Guyana, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, other parts of the Caribbean. The original beater was an actual horseshoe, a shape which is still retained in the dhantal's modern context as a musical instrument. The top of the dhantal may be blunt or tapered to a fine point to allow for greater resonance, and its end is shaped into a circle that rests on the ground, table, or other surface when it is played. Dhantal sizes can range from 3' to 6' in length and 3/8" to 1/2" in width. The dhantal is an important instrument in Indo-Caribbean music styles, such as Chutney, Baithak Gana and Taan Singing.
In Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, and Suriname, chutney soca music is a crossover style of music incorporating soca and calypso elements and English, Hindustani, and Hinglish lyrics, chutney music, with Western instruments such as the guitar, piano, drum set, and Indian instruments such as the dholak, harmonium, tabla, and dhantal.
Caribbean Hindustani is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by Indo-Caribbeans and the Indo-Caribbean diaspora. It is a koiné language mainly based on the Bhojpuri and Awadhi dialects. These Hindustani dialects were the most spoken dialects by the Indians who came as immigrants to the Caribbean from Colonial India as indentured laborers. It is closely related to Fiji Hindi and the Bhojpuri-Hindustani spoken in Mauritius and South Africa.
Indo-Caribbean music is the musical traditions of the Indo-Caribbean people of the Caribbean music area. Indo-Caribbean music is most common in Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Jamaica, Martinique and Suriname.
Dropati is a Surinamese musician. Considered by many to be the mother of modern-day Baithak Gana, she was introduced to the Indian music industry in the Caribbean by way of her album Let's Sing and Dance. Produced in 1968, the album includes captivating wedding folk songs that easily transport the listener to colorful Indian village weddings dating centuries before Dropati's time.
Baithak Gana is a form of music originating in Suriname by the Indian community. Baithak is a social gathering. It is a mix of Bhojpuri folk songs with other Caribbean influences. It is similar to Chutney music that originated in Trinidad and Tobago. The most popular exponent in Surinam of the genre were Ramdew Chaitoe and Dropati.
Chowtal or Chautal or Chawtal, aside from being the name of a "taal"/"tala" or meter in Hindustani classical music, is a form of folksong of North India's Bhojpuri region, sung during the Phagwa or Holi festival.
Rasiya is a popular genre of Indian folk music from the Braj region of Uttar Pradesh. The style of rasiya consists of multiple sub genres and is performed in a variety of different contexts. The songs have been known to portray a wide range of topics however, they are most commonly sung to a set of stock tunes that often portrays the love of the Hindu god Krishna and goddess Radha. The term rasiya is the Hindi word for “epicure” which refers to the male suitors, or the god Krishna himself as depicted in the songs. Rasiya's are sung and typically played with a variety of instruments, the most common are the “dholak” drums, sarangi, and harmonium. This style of music is commonly associated with the popular ancient Hindu festival of Holi and is often performed by villagers, professional entertainers, as well as participants in temple song sessions.
Surinamese culture has strong Asian, African and European influences. The population is mainly composed of the contribution of people from India, Africa, China, Europe, and Indonesia, as well as indigenous peoples who lived in the area, before the arrival of European settlers.
Terry Vivekanand Gajraj is a Guyanese chutney and chutney-soca artist.
India–Suriname relations are the international relations that exist between India and Suriname. Indo-Surinamese form the largest ethnic group in Suriname, making 27.4% of the population. The current President of Suriname Chan Santokhi is of Indo-Surinamese descent.
Mohamed Shahied Wagid Hosain was a Surinamese singer and musician. He was best known for covering Bollywood songs originated by Mohammed Rafi.
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