McBean primary students excited about Chowtaal competition

Every year children of the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha (SDMS) Hindu schools participate in a Chowtaal competition. Chowtaal is an Indian genre of folk music that is sung during the Holi or Phagwa celebrations. At these competitions, the children depict what Phagwa is about and why Hindus celebrate it worldwide.

There are many reasons for Phagwa celebrations, among them that it marks the beginning of Indian spring, it shows the love between Hindu deities Radha and Lord Krishna, and it marks the death of Holika, the sister of a demon king.

Three children of the McBean Hindu Primary School – Sarvesh Ramsumair-Maharaj, Nalini Ramasray, and Krishen Narine took part in their first Chowtaal competition on Saturday at the SDMS Headquarters in St Augustine. The trio, all age ten and standard four students, are on of their school’s choir.

Sarvesh said he comes from an Indian classical music family, so being on this choir came natural to him.

He told Newsday Kids, “I feel like I get to embrace my inner voice and shout a lot.”

Sarvesh said because of the instruments, he needs to be louder so he and the rest of the choir can be heard. It’s also his favourite style of singing.

“It’s like you’re shouting, so you need to take a sip of water every once in a while,” he said.

Nalini said, “Being in the choir is fun, active and separate from school. It’s like getting a break every minute.”

Krishen agreed and said he enjoyed practice since they got to take so many breaks from classes.

It was their first time competing, but they said they were excited to perform and couldn’t wait to play Phagwa after with their friends. They were also hoping to win the competition since they practised non-stop and even used their lunch time to do so.

Krishen said, “I like to dance when they are playing the drum and I like to play the jaal too.”

Nalini said, “I like to dance, move around a lot and laugh when they play the jaal and the drums extremely fast.”

Sarvesh told Newsday Kids, “My favourite hobbies are playing video games and I dance a lot.”

All three have siblings who practices singing with them. Sarvesh said he practises with his 14-year-old brother.

He said, “He used to go to this school and he competed in Chowtaal as well.”

Nalini said her seven-year-old sister who is also a student of the primary school sings with her.

She said, “She actually knows the songs by heart now.”

Krishen said he has two sisters, one is three and the other is eight. His eight-year-old sister is also part of the choir.

He said, “She and I are always practising when we are home.”

The three said they all try to fit their work in because they have a lot to do.

Krishen said, “While playing with our friends, we always bring school work so we don’t forget anything.”

Their favourite subject is mathematics and Nalini said when she grows up, she wants to be a dentist.

Krishen he isn’t sure what he wants to do when he grows up and Sarvesh said, for now, his focus is on playing the tabla and singing with his aunt.