Mas designer Devika Singh works on her legacy project

Twenty years ago, Devika Singh made the decision to leave her job as an agent at Guardian Life to take care of her brother who was paralysed from the chest down after an accident. Being his primary caregiver, she couldn’t balance the nine-to-five schedule and her brother.

“It was difficult because I lost stability and my nuclear family as it was, was in shambles because we are a family of just two siblings, me being the eldest. It was very difficult, but we persevered.”

And, as it turned out, during that time she was able to find a silver lining.

Singh had grown up around Carnival costume designing and production because her uncle, Paul Singh, was a key part of the Poison mas band, one of the more popular large bands in the 1990s and early 2000s.

“Since I’ve known myself, as a child I’ve always been involved in the making of costumes.”

Singh made good use of that experience in production and today has her own workshop that she operates out of her Valsayn home.

“Our production crew consists of anywhere between five and 20 people at any given time depending on the workload. There are times where I even subcontract and the workforce can be more.”

Singh said she was able to utilise her skills to create costumes for well-known bands such as Tribe and Bliss, and has also taken her abilities internationally and provided costumes for bands in other places – Miami, India, Cayman Islands, Bermuda, London and Australia. She now creates pieces for the newly launched Jamborii mas band and even offers customised pieces.

“I was also fortunate this year to do pieces for local promoters such as KFC and Carib. This gives me great joy because Carib is our brand and to be able to do something for them was quite rewarding on a personal level. I was also able to do the national costume for Miss Cayman Islands for the Miss Universe pageant this year.”

Singh has also worked with artiste Fay Ann Lyons during the virtual concerts during the covid19 pandemic, and she has her own section in London and Miami.

When asked about her experiences in these bands and countries, she said, “It’s definitely a platform for me. When I travel, I try to tell people about where I’m from because when you go to certain places, they’re confused as to why you look and sound the way you look and sound. It’s still an opportunity to showcase what TT has to offer and try to remind people how to differentiate between what Brazil does to what we do.”

While creating costumes, Singh tends to immerse herself in her work, but sets her own agenda. She said sometimes she may start working on a piece at one in the morning or whenever the inspiration strikes. She said finding the drive to create is never deterred despite what may be happening around her. But while putting together the pieces isn’t time consuming for her, conceptualising the designs can take a while.

“There are always boundaries, in terms of having four designs, making sure they look different and to keep them within a budget. That in itself takes a while, sometimes it can be done days, but other times, weeks. As for execution, I would say it takes a week per design.”

Outside of Carnival costume designing, Singh and her staff at her workshop also create designs for other events.

“We’re always looking to expand in terms of offering quality work to whoever needs our services.”

Singh said her creativity and her accomplishments could not have happened without the help of her mother, two sons, brother and partner.

“They have all been amazingly unworldly in trying to help and allow me to create in a space that’s free. All of this would be nothing without my family.”

She described her work in the creative industry as a “legacy project” her eldest son Sameer Khan is going to take over from her.

“This is not a one generational thing, this is actually going to be three generations of me and my family doing mas.”

During her downtime Singh continues to create, as her hobbies include weaving, crocheting, painting and drawing.

“When I’m not doing Carnival, I’m making something somewhere, sometimes for no good reason,” she joked.

As she looks to the future, she said, “I am also hoping in the future to offer products, we see as necessary as producers, which are not easily available here. Maybe a store will be in my future.”