Portrait of Per Ajie
Chitra Singh is a singer/songwriter and a nursing aide. She is the co-founder of the Rajkumari Cultural Center, an Indo-Caribbean arts and culture organization in Queens.
"Per ajie," the great-grandmother of the Singh sisters, who arrived indentured in the Caribbean in the 19th century.
Days of the Sahib Dedication Page
Chitra Singh is a singer/songwriter and a nursing aide. She is the co-founder of the Rajkumari Cultural Center, an Indo-Caribbean arts and culture organization in Queens.
Dedication page for Days of the Sahib
The poet dedicated her collection to her parents, Jung Bahadur Singh and Alice Sitalpersad Singh, who are shown here in pen portraits by Pritha Singh.
Days of the Sahib Poet Bio
Chitra Singh is a singer/songwriter and a nursing aide. She is the co-founder of the Rajkumari Cultural Center, an Indo-Caribbean arts and culture organization in Queens.
Here, a biography of Rajkumari Singh is accompanied by a portrait by pen done by her daughter Pritha Singh.
Rajkumari Singh
Rajkumari Singh was a poet, playwright, activist and cultural producer who presided over a movement by artists in Guyana to reclaim the slur "coolie." She suffered from polio and died while receiving treatment in New York City in 1979, at the age of 56. She was the mother of eight children, who carried on her artist legacy through dance, song, theater and literature.
Days of the Sahib Poet Bio
Here, a biography of Rajkumari Singh is accompanied by a portrait by pen done by her daughter Pritha Singh.
The second page of Rajkumari Singh's biography includes the initials R.M., which could stand for Guyanese short story writer Rooplall Monar, who was part of her artistic collective The Messenger Group.
Coolie Art Forms of Guyana Front and Interior Panels
Rajkumari Singh produced an evening of dance, song, poetry, plays and art to celebrate the reinvented cultural traditions of indentured Indians in Guyana. "Coolie Art Forms of Guyana" included a reading of her poem "Per Ajie." The program contained an ad from rum-maker D'Aguiar's, which promises a "bellyful of happiness."