00:28My mother totally
00:29used to sing and play the harmonium, and she taught me five notes, and out of that five notes, I
00:34created about five, six different songs.
00:37My father used to sing and play the harmonium. Every single one of my brothers and sisters that was from
00:45the eldest that was born, who's still alive, who's 93 years old, they all sing and play the instruments.
00:59My voice was changing. I was around 15, 16, and I was singing and playing the harmonium, and my elder
01:06brother came, and he was a rough kind of guy.
01:10He said, you're not singing good. Why don't you give up singing?
01:15In those days, young people listened to the elders, and there was no animosity or anything.
01:22I just decided, okay, I wouldn't sing.
01:46It was a world-class exam, meaning that the exam was held at different parts.
01:53And in that entire international exam, I came first, and that qualified me to become an A-grade international artist
02:03in India.
02:14The Diwali Nagar people asked me to do a performance for them. I did that for them on that river
02:20bowl.
02:21The response to the classical music was negative.
02:25In Trinidad, I don't think people were ready for classical Indian music, and even now, they are not ready for
02:32classical Indian music.
02:33In Trinidad, I was natural as a composer.
02:36In Trinidad, I was natural as a composer.
02:53In Trinidad, I decided to compose my own music.
02:58In Trinidad, I was natural as a composer.
03:02They were familiar with me, because I said the fan and the sit-out must represent Trinidad too big.
03:26So we went up, I took a tablet player with me, a guy by the name of Nanlal Jadunanan,
03:33and we went to the Prime Minister's. In total, we knew three songs, one of my composition
03:43and two of Harry's songs. We played one song for more than half an hour, and it was interesting
03:51because it was only improvisation on the one song, so that you realized three songs could
03:56last two hours. So while we were performing, the Prime Minister came to me with his wife,
04:03Hazel, and he said, if this thing is successful, you have to get the credit for it, because
04:11that man loved your music more than anything else. Well, that made the day for me.
04:29You would say that the rhythm is very similar to our local song. But what he put inside
04:41of that made it like magic.
04:54Every single song I composed, it is my favorite at that time. The world made Dreadlock the favorite,
05:01because Dreadlock became the top ten in the European chart. That's tam tam tam tam tam tam.
05:24One of the biggest influence in my life was Schofield Pilgrim. Schofield Pilgrim was a Bajan, red-skinned,
05:40Afro-Bajan, Afro-Bajan, Afro-Bajan, Afro-Bajan. Right? And he was teaching at Cuality College.
05:46I still have his, he left a keyboard for me. So I still have his keyboard here. So I was
05:53like his prodigy.
06:03One, I think the rhythm. Two, the fact that it has a strong patriotic content. The steel fan marrying the
06:14sitar.
06:14It's like an Indian and Afro getting together in the spirit of oneness and the spirit of creating something.
06:25Not only the instrument getting together, but creating something that is unique to Trinidad and Tobago.
06:38This is the music that truly represents all aspects of Trinidad and Tobago. From Spanish, Indian, African,
06:50Calypso, Soca, everything is inside our music. So what I feel is that our music, I put that my personal
07:00prejudice,
07:00opinion, is the only true representation of the music of Trinidad and Tobago.
07:22I have a song called Roshni, which I named after my wife. One of the singers are singing it outside
07:30there.
07:30And it is the song, I think, that will heal anybody who hears it.
08:00I would say my wife has an important rule to play where that is concerned. Every time I am depressed
08:06or something,
08:07she is the one positive one who brings me back on track she is there that
08:14support from her is I will say kept me from one thing to give up
08:43I am Mongol Patasar thank you for catching up
09:07you
