Savitri — talented mom releases new CD

On any given day one can turn on the radio and hear the soulful voice of Savitri Rampersad, 47, of Edinburgh Village, Chaguanas. She is one of TT’s popular singers whose voice is suited to the sad tunes of yesteryear. Members of  East Indian communities have been demanding the tune, “Bachpan Ki Mahobatt Hoo” from her. It seems like no one in the country can deliver this song quite like Savitri. She released her brand new CD, Back In Times on TTT’s Mastana Bahar recently. The radiant looking Savitri took time off her busy schedule for this interview with People. First off she spoke of her struggle to meet all her commitments as a “performer in demand” and dedicated mother. Savitri who has been meeting the demand for her songs in many countries has a greater challenge at home in the role of mother. Her eldest son, Karan, 24, is disabled and Savitri must spend long hours taking care of him. Karan is suffering from ‘muscular diaphomea’ which leaves the muscles in the body nonfunctioning. “Karan cannot use his hand or feet,” Savitri said. Taking care of her eldest sons has been a major part of her life for the past 15 years.

Both Savitri and her husband of 25 years, Dhanraj Rampersad take care of Karan. They have two other children, Timothy 21, and Rohini, 20, who are both successful students. Savitri has to juggle her time in such a way that she could manage her motherly duties before going out on evenings for performances. Reminiscing on her early childhood days, Savitri remembered at the age of seven when she joined other children in the Endeavour Hindu School to sing bhajans (religious songs). It was then she developing the love for singing and pretending to be Bollywood singers. “Back then I never knew that I would be a performer on stage. I was so shy and coward that I would always stay in the background at home. When I was asked to sing alone in school,  I remember practicing for long hours at home so that I wouldn’t falter before the children at school,” she recalled. Although Savitri claims that she knows very little Hindi, the words of her songs come out so fluently one would think she was born in India. “I believe that I wanted to create an impact in my early childhood days as a good singer and I would try to listen carefully to every word that the original singer sang before attempting the song,” she explained. Today, the art of pronunciation has brought her many trophies. She belts out her tune in such a melodious way that people listen to her attentively.

Talking about her eldest son Karan, she said that he was born with perfect features and when he turned 11 he started losing strength in his feet. “He could not keep his body up at all. Then his other muscles started failing. Today he cannot move his hands or feet,” she said. But taking care of her son is not a task. She noted that the experience of caring for him has humbled her and today she remains a person of God. She said that Karan is her number one fan and he looks forward to hearing her voice on radio and seeing her on TV. Savitri said that she took Karan to the US for medical attention but the doctors could not restore the nerves in his limbs. She noted that her family heard of a doctor in Venezuela and after visiting that country there was still no cure for young Karan. Today he sits at home looking at television and joking and laughing with the members of his family. “If a mosquito bites him, he cannot reach out to kill the insect. He would call his brother or father to help him,” Savitri explained.

Shifting her thoughts, Savitri lamented the fact that local radio station do not give the local artistes the airplay they deserve. “The airwaves are bombarded with songs from India and the local singers who are now of international fame do not get the airplay they deserve in this country.” She noted that she took the time to take her CD to every radio station and of late she would hardly hear the songs. Although she has a lot of live shows to do, the sales of the CD remains slow. “If the people of the country hear the song on the radio they would eventually go out and purchase the CD. Then the radio station would have served its purpose — promoting the local artistes in Trinidad and Tobago,” she said. She said that her best performance ever was in Canada, where she was able to take her son Karan. “Although there were more than 10,000 people at Brampton Stadium, Canada, I sang for Karan and he enjoyed seeing me on stage. This moment I could never forget,” she said. Savitri has been penning her own chutney selections for the stage. She created the tune, ‘Trini Dance So’ for the National Chutney Foundation’s competition this year.