Rakesh Yankaran, nicknamed ''The

Raja Raja (; from , IAST ') is a noble or royal Sanskrit title historically used by some Indian subcontinent, Indian rulers and monarchs and highest-ranking nobles. The title was historically used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. T ...

'' (; born 03 December 1959) is an Indo-Trinidadian musician. He is the son of the late

Indian classical music Indian classical music is the art music, classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It is generally described using terms like ''Shastriya Sangeet'' and ''Marg Sangeet''. It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as ...

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 (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

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. History Carapichaima had been a sugar producing village that expanded afte ...

to a Hindu family and is of

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of South India ** Telugu literature, is the body of works written in the Telugu language. * Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Tel ...

and

Bhojpuri Bhojpuri may refer to: * Bhojpuri language, an Indo-Aryan language of India and Nepal * Bhojpuri grammar, grammatical rules of the language * Bhojpuri nouns, nouns of the language * Bhojpuri people, people who speak the language * Bhojpuri region ...

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

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 20th-century Trinidad and Tobago singers Chutney musicians Indo-Trinidadian and Tobagonian people Trinidad and Tobago Hindus Living people 1959 births {{Trinidad-bio-stub