Popo grew up in a musical family. Both his parents were musicians; his mother was a singer and his father was an accomplished tassa drummer. At the age of 15, he began singing at bhajans at church and weddings in his hometown of Monkey Town. Bahora worked as a watchman at a Barrackpore factory, and trained under Ustad James Ransawak. In 1969, at a mattikoor in Princes Town, he met Moean Mohammed, a radio host and promoter. After listening to "Nani and Nana", a song with lyrics in both Hindi and English, describing the affairs of an Indian grandmother and grandfather, Mohammed got maestro Harry Mahabir to record the song at Television House, accompanied by the BWIA National Indian Orchestra. The song revolutionized East Indian music in Trinidad & Tobago. After the success of Nani and Nana, Bahora devoted more of his time to his singing career. He followed "Nani and Nana" with an album combining Trinidadian folk songs with traditional Hindu material. In total, he recorded more than fifteen albums. He is best known for his song Scorpion Gyul which spoke about love, death, and happiness. His other hits include "Oh My Lover", "Don't Fall in Love", and "Saas More Lage (also known as I Wish I Was A Virgin)". His songs were covered several times by the Indian duo Babla & Kanchan, who had a major success with a version of his "Pholourie Bina Chutney", bringing him to a wider international audience, and leading to tours of Europe and the United States.
It was through the production and promotion of Mohan Jaikaran and his JMC music empire and later with Masala radio that Sundar Popo became recognized as the pioneer and founder of Chutney music. There wasn't a chutney show in Trinidad or New York City promoted by Jaikaran that Sundar Popo wasn't a part of. Jaikaran's Mother's Day concerts were always headlined by Sundar Popo.
Popo won many awards during his career, and in 1995, Black Stalin won the Trinidad & Tobago Calypso Monarch title with his "Tribute to Sundar Popo".
In addition to his solo albums, Popo has also released collaborations with Trinidadian performer Anand Yankaran, and JMC Triveni.
While Popo had recorded and performed prolifically since the early 1970s, failing health and eyesight forced him to slow down. At the 2000 Chutney Monarch competition, his performance had to be cut short after one song, and he played his final concert on 1 April 2000, in Connecticut. On 2 May 2000, he died at the home he had built in Barrackpore, from heart and kidney ailments relating to diabetes. His funeral was attended by Trinidad & Tobago Prime Minister Basdeo Panday.
Don't Fall In Love
Sundar Popo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When we were children you did promise me that anytime you fallin you fallin for meX2
Promise me gyal yuh something you should do one thing, so come to me my darling to make love again
Yuh fallin from a plane gyal, yuh from above, Listen to meh darlin and doh fall in love
The lyrics to Sundar Popo's song, "Don't Fall in Love" speaks about a love that is forbidden. The first verse warns the woman from falling in love, with the use of the metaphor of falling from a plane. Falling in love is not a safe thing for her to do, and the singer is attempting to guide her to safety. The second verse shows that the woman has made a promise to the singer since they were children that she would fall for him. The singer is telling the woman to keep that promise and come to him, so that they can make love again.
The lyricist used the metaphor of falling from a plane to show the dangers of falling in love. He also added the promise made during childhood to emotionally connect with the audience. The song shows that love is a dangerous game and that one should be careful who they fall in love with.
Line by Line Meaning
Yuh fallin from a plane gyal, yuh from above, Listen to meh darlin and doh fall in love
You're coming down from a high place, my dear, so heed my advice and don't give in to love
When we were children you did promise me that anytime you fallin you fallin for me
When we were young, you vowed to always be there for me, no matter what happens
Promise me gyal yuh something you should do one thing, so come to me my darling to make love again
Keep your promise, my love, and come back to me so we can rekindle our love once more
Contributed by Kaylee A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Kenny
cannot forget this icon, we work together in monkey town estate and also went to monkey town school as little boys