Young Roger’s chutney rising

When TT’s youngest chutney singer Roger Maharaj performed at the Triangle in Aranguez recently, he surprised the crowd with his command of the stage.

Twelve-year-old Roger took the mike, bravely asked the audience if they were having a good time, then launched into his soca chutney “Jumping Till Morning”. “I love it when I see people of all the different races jumping and dancing. Only then I know that there are no problems and everything will be okay,” Roger said. Show promoter Simbhoonath Kumar says Roger has the ability to become a big name in entertainment. “I have seen many children perform in my time but Roger has the voice and style that are unique. He is a brilliant, positive and confident young man with a mission to entertain,” he said. Kumar said Roger reminds him of Machel Montano. “Montano grew up on stage and the entire country was like his family watching him grow,” he said.

Roger is the son of well-known composer Ramdeen “Falko” Maharaj. Like his father, he is also penning his own tunes. Entertaining people is one of the things this Sangre Grande Government School pupil says he loves to do. The young composer admits that it took a lot of concentration for him to create songs. “I see my father playing with a lot of ideas. He would come up with a point about anything and he would start rhyming right away and I always wanted to do that,” he said.

His mother Kamla has been very supportive of him and said he always brings happiness to their home. “If he finds that the living room is too quiet he will think of something that will make everyone laugh. He tries genuinely to make people happy,” she said. The youngster is already getting the attention of promoters and is booked for several shows for which he will have top class back-up music provided by Triveni.