Spread Pal Crew keeps tradition alive

Talented musician and singer Omardath Maraj moved his fingers expertly across the harmonium. His smooth and melodious voice blended with the dholak as he belted out the very powerful tune that sent the crowd at Couva into a frenzy. The song, “Kaabhai Bhi Ke Lawa,” is popular at weddings. He repeated the chorus, as the young people moved their bodies into delight, singing the same song for more than 15 minutes. Omar, as he is fondly called, has been singing classical and chutney songs for more than 20 years, starting off in primary school. He has made a name for himself singing traditional songs at functions across the country. In 1997 he formed the Spread Pal Crew (SPC) orchestra to provide traditional music and songs for the “cooking nights” —the night before a Sunday Hindu wedding. They now perform five times a week at local venues and have also toured New York, Canada and Miami.

Joining forces in the Spread Pal Crew are top vocalist Saffiroon Mohammed, ace composer Ramdeen Falko Maharaj and chutney’s Suresh Maraj. Musicians are Naresh Dowtal, Jason Singh, Anand Sookhan and Eton Randolph Gonzales. At midnight, Omar completed half of his show at Couva and still had to provide entertainment for another three hours, when he spoke with People. “Somehow I feel there is a need to keep the tradition alive. Even though we have so much modern musical equipment, there is still a demand for the traditional harmonium and dholak. There is a certain sweetness in the sound of the dhantal, harmonium and dholak,” he said. Omar said that during the ’60s and ’70s classical singing was very popular as more families looked for entertainment for the pre-wedding night.
 
“There were singers who went to these houses and spread a ‘pal’ (made from bags) and sat there to give hours of entertainment. It was amazing how they would sing these classical songs with so much zest and style that people would start dancing,” he said. Based on this need Omar decided to revive this kind of entertainment and he called it “spread pal crew.” He equipped himself with a collection of traditional songs which he performed on cooking nights where family members gathered for the preparations of the wedding the following day. He also went on to sing film songs, “Sarey Zamana Pe,” “Yeh Dosti,” and “Yeh Kaaj Nabhi” and calypsos accompanied by the traditional musical instruments. “Music is basic. There are scales that we follow and come up with the various sounds for the tunes we sing. The scales are available both for English and East Indian music. Therefore, it is not difficult to sing calypso and soca with these instruments,” he said.

Omar’s only regret is that other singers are now using the name Spread Pal Crew without his permission. “Imagine, singers will just get together and call themselves Spread Pal Crew. I want them to know that I have registered my name and I will sue people for using this name,” he said in disgust. Crew member Suresh has been doing his popular “pitbull song” — “Meh Neighbour Have Ah Pitbull” and “Falko Ah Sharing Wood” and “Ah Doing It For Que” which have quite a following. The group is very much in demand, having progressed from providing entertainment for Hindu weddings to being contracted for social functions. The Crew is also a regular at Krusers in San Juan, Jovi’s Park in Penal, Island Club and the Triangle Amphitheatre in Rio Claro.

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"Spread Pal Crew keeps tradition alive"

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