Rakesh Yankaran, nicknamed ''The

Raja ''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested f ...

'' (; born 03 December 1959) is an

Indo-Trinidadian Indo-Trinidadians and Tobagonians or Indian-Trinidadians and Tobagonians, are people of Indian origin who are nationals of Trinidad and Tobago whose ancestors came from India and the wider subcontinent beginning in 1845. Indo-Trinidadians and ...

musician. He is the son of the late

Indian classical music Indian classical music is the classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as '' Hindustani'' and the South Indian expression known as '' Carnatic''. These traditions were not ...

ian, Isaac Yankarran and brother of the late Indian classical and chutney musicians Anand, Suresh, and Sharm Yankaran. His grandfather came from

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

during the indentured labour times. He is a self-taught musician. As a child, young Rakesh loved to listen to his father sing. As a teen he started to play music himself. Today he is a professional chutney artist. He can play the Indian instruments tabla, dholak, harmonium, dhantal, and the tassa drum. Rakesh Yankaran was born in Brickfield,

Carapichaima Carapichaima is a town in central Trinidad, Trinidad and Tobago. Communities and villages in Carapichaima include Orangefield, Waterloo, Brickfield, and Korea Village. Name The name Carapichaima is said to be derived from the native Amerindian ...

and is of

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

and

Bhojpuri Bhojpuri (;Bhojpuri entry, Oxford Dictionaries
, Oxford U ...

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

descent. He began his career in 1974, but first gained national acclaim in 1991 with ''Dadiyya Moday Lay Lay''. Other hits include ''Mousie'', ''Dulahin Chale Sasural'' and ''Naroro Ray''. He won the National Chutney Monarch competition in 1996 and 1997 and 2008, and the National Traditional Chutney Monarch in 2008.

References

20th-century Trinidad and Tobago male singers Chutney musicians Trinidad and Tobago people of Indian descent Trinidad and Tobago Hindus Living people 1959 births {{Trinidad-bio-stub