There is an Indian flavour with Trinidad and Tobago. Read on to find out more.
As a 23-year-old, Rabindra Ramanarayan Singh came to Madras in 1986 to further his education. He had played cricket for Trinidad and Tobago alongside Brian Charles Lara. But the Princes Town born boy wanted more from life.
Rabindra felt the need to grow and learn more. His first love was cricket, but he wanted something more from life. And he got just that during his stay in Madras. He stayed on, studied and played cricket as well.
Today we all know Rabindra as Robin Singh, the man who played for India and Tamil Nadu. Now, the 46-year-old is a proud native of Chennai with his roots firmly entrenched in Trinidad and Tobago. Long after his playing career ended, Robin is now the fielding coach of the Indian national team. He still cannot speak Hindi, but today is a proud Indian.
Cricket, India and the twin islands of Trinidad and Tobago have traditionally been entwined. This bond started way back in 1845 when the British colonial rulers ferried a large group of Indian indentured labourers to the Caribbean Islands especially, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and Suriname.
These labourers, from parts of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, stayed on in the islands because there was just no way they could be back to their native land. Now, around 164 years after they left, the descendants of a few of those labourers return to India to compete in the Airtel Champions League Twenty20 tournament.
The Trinidad and Tobago cricket team travelling for the tournament includes 8 players of Indian origin. The team is even led by one of the players of Indian descent, Daren Ganga. Daren's brother Sherwin Ganga, Sunil Narine, Adrian Barath, Denesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul, Dave Mohammed and Samuel Badree make up the rest of the list.
While a win in the tournament is the main focus, Ganga & Co will also try and reach out to their roots if possible.
``The Indian [origin] players have always been proud of their roots. It has helped carve out an identity for themselves in our cricket. The Indian players always try to involve the African players in their culture,'' says Omar Khan, a veteran Trinidadian cricket administrator.
Ganga & Co are proud of their Indian roots and celebrate Eid and Diwali in the dressing room with their teammates. ``The players of Indian descent often get their teammates to enjoy rotis and vegetables [Indian diet staples]. It is a great part of the cricket now,'' says Omar Khan.
Not part of this group, a young opener Tishan Maharaj is a sitar and tabla player. Currently out of the side, Tishan's main focus in the dressing room was to entertain the teammates with his Indian musical instruments.
These cricketers, much like most of the population in India, are devout Hindus, Muslims or Christians. Some of the players carry their own temples along with them and can be seen setting them up in their rooms.
One of the most devout Hindus, but tracing his roots to Guyana, is West Indies batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul. The left-hander carries his Lord Shiva temple with him everywhere and also has a photo of the god with him at all times.
Guyana, much like Trinidad and Tobago, has a strong Indian population, in fact they are in a majority there.
Indians form nearly 50 percent of the population in Trinidad and Tobago. No wonder then they play a key part in every walk of life from politics to cricket to media et al. Omar Khan, who has been part of the set-up for more than 40 years, feels Indians bring a lot of ``credibility and commitment'' to the sport in the region.
But despite the strong influence, the number of Indian players who have finally made it to the West Indies team has been small. Much of the Indian origin players making it to the West Indies team come from Guyana.
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``Guyana has a stronger Indian connection because they have a lot more players,'' adds Khan.
Over the years, the Indian connection with Trinidad has grown stronger because of various cricket tours to the region. Bollywood too has played a strong role in cementing the bond. In 2006, there was a Bollywood Music Awards Night in Trinidad with cricketers like Ganga, Dave Mohammed being the ushers for the event. To add to it, there are six Indian radio stations which help them keep in tune with their culture.
``At any point you can keep listening to them singing latest songs. Hindi movies are a big part of their lives, but they also actively participate in the Afro-Caribbean culture by taking part in the carnivals. Another reason is that unlike in other Islands, Indians here are very affluent,'' reveals Khan.
Proud as they are of their Indian roots, being called a Caribbean or a Trinidadian is what makes them most happy.
There have been many instances of the Indians in Trinidad using the help of one Kamaluddin, who has taken it up on himself to help trace their roots. Not part of the government, Kamaluddin has official sanction to help maintain records. In Jamaica, the small population there still has access to the ship records, but in Trinidad and Tobago, Kamaluddin himself traces the records. Many Indian families have searched for their roots this way.
Trinidad and Tobago's ex-Prime Minister Basudeo Pandey was helped by the Indian government. But of the cricketers, it is believed that only the late spinner Sonny Ramadhin has used this method. Ramadhin was the first Indian-origin cricketer to play Tests for West Indies.
True to their heritage, most Indian cricketers in Trinidad are either wristy batsmen or delightful spinners. But there are some exceptions like Tim Gopeesingh and Ravi Rampaul who turn out to be fast bowlers. Now 67, Gopeesingh is a member of parliament. He was in the news recently for raising the question of racism against Indians in Trinidad and Tobago. But none of that is ever heard about in cricket.
In fact, in the only case of role reversal, India's greatest leg-spinner in the 1960s, Subhash Gupte, married and settled down in Trinidad. His family, stays on in Port of Spain and are proud Trinidadians. Son, Anil Gupte, is a qualified doctor with the Ministry of Health. While cricket is the single source of bonding for now between India and Trinidad and Tobago, in the years to come, it could all change.
``Cricket was a big part of Dad's life, he even coached for a bit here. Even I played a bit of cricket till school. Then I moved to Jamaica and Barbados for my degrees. Now my son (Rohan, 19) is very interested in football.
He wants to be one of the Soca Warriors (Trinidad footballers),'' says Anil .
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