There's a distinct possibility that if you travel to Ato Boldon Stadium, Couva, this Saturday, you may hear, as well as see an entirely new phenomenon in T&T: Girls beating men; or at least girls beating with men.
This is not a gruesome new development in domestic abuse but the first time an all-female tassa group will compete in the national Tassarama competition.
The female Sweet T&T Tassa group–comprising sisters Lennita (26), Lenora Kumar (24), Kristen Bachan (22) and Taneeka Parasramsingh (21)–is one of three groups led and tutored by tassa virtuoso Lenny Kumar of Mt Stewart Village, Princes Town, which will be competing come Saturday. Alongside the girls, there's a male group from Trinidad and another male group from Tobago.
Whether on the streets of St James at Hosay, at a Hindu wedding procession, or a soca fete, the distinctive rattle and roll call of the tassa drum is irresistible. The high pitch of the cutter rapping staccato bursts over the melancholic boom of the bass dohl, recalls the tassa's origins as accompaniment to originally solemn Shi'a Moslem festival commemorating the martyrdom of the prophet Mohammed's grandsons Hussein and Hassan.
The defiant stance of the bass player, legs apart with body leaning backwards to balance the drums' weight complements the heads-down style of the cutter and foul� drummers, reminding us of the war drums of the Battle of Karbala, at which Hussein was beheaded. Brought to the Caribbean by indentured labourers from India in the 19th century, both the sacred festival and its unique drum have become creolised, to such an extent that some refer to Hosay as "Indian Carnival".
The drum itself, now constructed from modern materials (metal body with synthetic skin replacing the traditional clay body and goatskin head) has become a recognised feature of mainstream T&T culture, as familiar in a carnival band, soca fete or private function as is steelpan.
And just as pan has been developed from its ping pong prototype into a sophisticated electronic instrument known in concert halls across the world, tassa is heading the same way, thanks to the passion and dedication of Lenny Kumar.
A fifth generation tassa drummer, Kumar has been beating since the age of five. The small boy from Santa
Flora, near Siparia, now 49, has emerged as a tassa pioneer, not only for his all-female group (formed in 2006 and competing for the last two years) but also for researching the history and development of the instrument and leading workshops both at home and abroad.
It was Kumar who tutored the Birdsong tassa group with its two Afro-Creole female cutter/foul� players, which performed at the recent vacation camp-closing concert at Queen's Hall. Locally he's also tutored at Valsayn Teachers' College, Naparima boys and girls, Grant Memorial Presbyterian and Preysal High schools. He also runs a free class for underprivileged children from his Mt Stewart home.
Kumar's academic achievements abroad on behalf of tassa are impressive. Last year he gave a master class (The Anatomy of a Suite of Tassa Hands) and assisted with Dr Chris Ballengee's lecture From India to Indo Creole-Identity, Multiculturalism and Indo-Trinidadian Tassa Drumming, at North Illinois University, where Liam Teague teaches. In 2012 with his T&T Sweet Tassa group, which he founded in 2002, he gave a lecture and demonstration at The West Virginia Percussive Arts Society Day of Percussion. In 2011 he demonstrated technique and repertoire at Indiana University; in 2010 he gave performances and lectures at Florida University's Center for World Arts, School of Music and Center for the Study of Hindu Traditions.
Competitively, T&T Sweet Tassa made a name for itself at the 2010 World Championships of Performing Arts in Hollywood, walking away with 12 gold medals. The group has also performed at events in Miami, Orlando, London and Mysore in India, as well as numerous local public and private functions, including welcome homes for both Brian Lara and the Soca Warriors. Besides accompanying chutney singers Rooplal Gildhari, Rasika Dindial and Trisha Hamilton for the Chutney Monarch competition, Sweet Tassa have played with both Iwer George and Rikki Jai and took part in this year's Panorama, playing with Siparia Deltones in the Small Band category and PCS Nitrogen Silver Stars in the Medium Band category.
While Saturday's competition is an opportunity for Sweet Tassa to repeat their 2009 victory, it's only one of Kumar's objectives. His dream is to teach and lecture tassa technique and history, as well as drum making and manufacture. Despite approaches made to Maha Saba and the Ministry of Culture regarding establishing school tutoring programmes, he feels "the artform has been neglected too long." He's well aware that tassa is both under utilised as an educational tool and neglected as a dynamic example of Creole culture, with foreign scholars and experts showing more interest.
Now sponsored by NGC, T&T Sweet Tassa have some surprises for patrons and fellow competitors at Saturday's finals. Kumar won't be performing himself, as he's confident his students can now go it alone.
However, the passion ("It's the vibes not just the technique; you play with feeling and every performance is different") which informs his working relationship with his unique percussion instrument and which has already resulted in a digital version, seems as boundless as the rapid fire succession of beats he summons up every time he plays his hand.