Beena Sangeet in Tobago for Indian Arrival festivities
Sunday, May 29 2011

TRINIDAD NEWSDAY - By SEETA PERSAD - POPULAR local East Indian orchestra, Bermudez Beena Sangeet (BBS), will be performing at Bon Accord, Tobago, during Indian Arrival day festivities tomorrow.

The orchestra, led by the versatile Jeewan Charlie Soogrim, will be doing local chutney, classical and Bollywood tunes during its performance.

An accomplished musical director and producer, Soogrim said there is huge a demand for East Indian music in TT.

“When I grew up I wanted to do more for the society. I wanted to preserve the music of yesteryear and that is why I spent a lot of my time perfecting this art form,” the talented drummer said.

Soogrim’s musical expertise earned him gigs playing drums for India’s top playback singers, among them Anoop Jalota, Sunu Nigam, Abhijeet, Alka Yagnik and Nitin Mukesh. It was those opportunities, he said, that gave him the exposure and experience he now applies to his leadership of the orchestra.

According to Soogrim, although the East Indian music industry has evolved significantly in recent years, there is still an audience for traditional gazals and love songs from the 70s and 80s and that is a niche he and members of the band regularly explore.

The other musicians of BBS are Kemal Ali (keyboard), Denni Alfonza (guitarist), Denis Bissoon (base guitarist), and Vijay Gildharie (dholak player). The singers include Dave Sarran, Saraswati Maharaj, Sunita Narine, Ian Small, Akash Kissoon.and Ricky Kandhoo. The band is managed by Ramlal Mahabir.

Khandoo will be doing songs made popular by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan.

The orchestra’s repertoire includes popular songs from movies of yesteryear, as well as songs from more recently released Bollywood films. The band has listed songs from the movies Om Shanti Om, Sawariya, Taare Zameen Par and Stranger, which they regularly perform for weddings and local shows.