18 to vie for Guyana’s Chutney Monarch

On January 31, reigning Chutney King, Pooran Seeraj will defend his title when the National Chutney Competition is held at the Anna Regina Community Centre ground, Essequibo. He is expected to compete against 17 other contestants, including five overseas artistes. The talented young man will be performing “I Love My Country”.

The other contenders are Bunty Singh with “Facebook Girlfriend”, Halima Khan with her tune “Dulha Dulhin”, Steven Ramphal with “Playa Days”, Haresh Singh will be performing “Dulhin Run Away”, while Roger Hinds is set with “Looking For A Larki”. Savithri LI with sing her tune “Bangra Nache” and Ravi D Mohan will perform “Free Again”.

Veteran chutney singer Harvey Gobin will tease the judges with “Chutney Music”, Dennis Tatpaul will do his rendition “Niomoi Gyal” while Vanita Willie will perform “Why”. Closing off the local performers are Sonia Narine with “Guyana Gold” and Damar Singh with “Me Come From D Water Side”.

The overseas contestants are Anant Hansraj and he will be performing the “D Ring”, while Chris Ken will sing “No Stress”. Jay Lall will be performing “When I was A Little Boy” and Sexi Marissa will entice the judges with “Ah Pleaser”. The final contestant, Bow Tie will also perform a contemporary piece.

The grand prize in the competition is $600,000 while the second place winner will receive $420,000 and third place $265,000. The best new comer will collect a whopping $115,000. All of the winners will also receive trophies.