Former Chutney monarch Pooran Seeraj has officially released ‘Roti and Dhal’, which is his entry for this year’s Mashramani Chutney competition.
Seeraj, 40, who won the competition in 2014, launched the song and a video to accompany it on Wednesday at the Critchlow Labour College Boardroom, in Georgetown.
According to the Department of Public Information (DPI), Seeraj said this year’s song was a simple one which highlighted the notion that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.
“Most Indian’s homes and even other cultures like these dishes. Since as a young boy that [roti and dhal] was my favourite dish and it started when my mother prepared lovely roti and dhal. Then I met this girl and think she got me trapped with this roti and dhal issue,” he was quoted as saying.
The DPI reported Seeraj as saying that the video shows his funny side and “out of the box” thinking and he was confident about his chances of topping the 16 other contestants.
He thanked his sponsor, Triple C Consultancy for being part of his journey, while noting that sponsorship plays a significant role in getting artistes’ material out into the public sphere
Rahul Chintamanie, a representative of Triple C Consultancy, told DPI that they were “proud to be a part of Chutney Monarch 2020.”
“We are supportive of this Roti and Dhal by our very own Pooran Seeraj. Triple C Consultancy always recognises and supports local talent, especially in the rural area,” he said.
Meanwhile, Seeraj called for more cooperation among local Chutney artistes to push the development of the art form in Guyana. He noted that this could only be achieved through corporate partnerships and the implementation of copyright laws.
“In Guyana, Chutney gets hyped before and during Mash, and after Mash, you get mash up; you do not hear local songs. Even the shows do not promote. I have produced songs over the years and yet I have not a dime from it. If you want to produce a video, it costs money and so we need some kind of protection through copyright laws,” he was quoted as saying.
The semifinals of the chutney competition is set for February 9th, with the finals tentatively scheduled for February 23rd.
