Sundar Popo

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Sundar Popo, born Sunilal Popo Bahora^[1] (November 4, 1943-May 2, 2000) was a Chutney musician from Trinidad and Tobago. He popularised Chutney music, beginning with his 1969 hit Nana and Nani.

Popo grew up in a musical family. Both his parents were both musicians; his father was an accomplished tassa drummer. At the age of 15, he began singing at bhajans at temples and weddings in his hometown of Monkey Town. In 1969, at a mattikoor in Princes Town, he met Moen Mohammed, a radio host and promoter. After listening to Nani and Nana, Mohammed got maestro Harry Mahabir to record the song at Television House. The song, sung in a mixture of English and Hindi, described the affairs of an Indian grandmother and grandfather. After the success of Nani and Nana, Bahora devoted more of his time to his singing career. In total, he recorded more than fifteen albums.

[edit] Awards

• Four-time winner of the Indian Cultural Pageant
• National Award for Excellence
• Local Song category Indian Cultural Pageant (1976)
• Top Indian vocalist (1988)
• 1Sunshine Award for first place in Indian Soca (1993)
• King of Chutney in Fort Lauderdale, Florida (1993)
• Humming Bird Medal (silver) (1993)
• "Caribbean Bachanal" trophy (1996)

[edit] References

• "SUNDAR POPO - PIONEER IN ETHNIC CROSSOVER MUSIC", Trinidad Guardian, January 1, 2000. Retrieved on March 23, 2006.
• Bowman, Wayne. "SUNDAR POPO", Trinidad Guardian, May 4, 2000. Retrieved on March 23, 2006.
• Sookram, Caldeo. Sundar Popo. Retrieved on March 23, 2006.
• "SUNDAR POPO 1943-2000". Retrieved on March 23, 2006.