Chowtal and tradition mark Holika Dahan in Felicity

Freelance Contributor

The crackle of firewood and the rising cadence of chowtal songs filled the Pierre Road Recreation Ground in Felicity on Monday evening as the Pierre Road Ramayan and Chowtal Group (PRRCG) hosted its annual Holika Dahan celebration.

The ceremony serves as a prelude to Phagwa, which will be celebrated on Sunday. In T&T, the festival continues to grow in prominence within the Hindu community, drawing families and devotees who gather not only for ritual, but for remembrance and renewal.

Central to the evening’s observances was chowtal singing—the vibrant, antiphonal folk tradition associated with the spring festival of Phagwa, also known as Holi. This year’s programme featured the PRRCG alongside the El Dorado Bhuya Saaj and the Esperanza Shiv Mandir, each recognised for preserving and promoting the art form. Their voices, rising in spirited call and response, carried across the open field as dusk gave way to night.

Chowtal, brought to Trinidad by Indian indentured labourers, has endured across generations. PRRCG vice-chairman Bhavesh Maharaj described it as more than music.

“It is a memory, a heartbeat and a living link to the ancestors who arrived during indentureship,” he said.

“They brought chowtal with them not as entertainment, but as a piece of home.”

In the difficult early years on the plantations, Maharaj explained, chowtal became a source of resilience. It helped preserve language, sustain religious observances and strengthen community bonds. Rather than fading, the tradition took firm root in Central and South Trinidad, becoming a cultural stronghold. Today, temples, schools and cultural organisations continue to nurture the form.

“Cultures survive not because they are preserved in books,” Maharaj noted, “but because they are sung, shared and lived.”

The evening culminated in the ceremonial burning of an effigy of Holika, symbolising the triumph of good over evil. Holika Dahan, observed on the night before Holi, draws from the ancient legend of Prahlada and his father, Hiranyakashipu. According to the tale, Prahlada’s unwavering devotion to Vishnu saved him from the flames that consumed Holika, who had sought to destroy him.

As the effigy burned and sparks drifted into the night sky, the gathering was reminded that faith, like fire, endures—and that from ash can rise renewal.

Phagwa is not a public holiday in T&T but is traditionally observed on the first Sunday following the burning of Holika.