Twenty-year-old socio-political activist Nikhil Sankar is known for his posts on social media and writing letters to various newspapers, but he is also a singer, writer and poet, whose name was recently buzzing after he performed his patriotic poem, “Motherland” on the Guyana Learning Channel.
When the creative team at the Guyana Learning Channel reached out, Nikhil said he thought to himself that many of the works on Guyana already speak of its beauty. While “Motherland” was written in the same vein, he also provided a balance with Guyana’s history and lifestyle.
As such, the piece speaks of three of the 14 indentured servants killed at Rose Hall, Cuffy and others who became martyrs fighting for freedom and their rights. According to Nikhil, this was his way of immortalising our heroes. “If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be a free man to walk those places….” he said.
A former Queen’s College (QC) student and an aspiring doctor pursuing his degree in medicine at the University of Guyana, Nikhil lost his father to cancer in 2013. He shared that his mother is the backbone of their family. The eldest of three boys, Nikhil’s exposure to the arts began with music when he was just four years old. He plays the piano, which he is still trying to master, but boasted that his youngest brother is quite the expert in this area.
“My mother has been the biggest motivator for everything I have done. She has always pushed me to put myself out there and get it done, with regard to singing, poetry and public speaking. I have to really credit her as the driving force,” he said. “When I was nine and attending Mae’s School, there was the Guyana Festival of Musical Arts which I could care less about back then, but she pushed me to get involved in dramatic poetry. She worked with me on my elocution and my gesticulation and since then I’ve never looked back. I placed third the first year I competed.”
With the encouragement of his mother, Nikhil returned to the Guyana Festival of Musical Arts the next year competing and placing in several categories.
By the time he was in fourth form at QC, more opportunities presented themselves and Nikhil’s mother could not see him pass them on, even though he was still struggling with his father’s death around this time. It was Phagwah, he distinctly recalled, and his mother encouraged him to participate in an event at the school. Still grappling with loss, he felt that the Bollywood song “Kal Ho Naa Ho” was a fitting emotional piece for him to share with his schoolmates. Shy and uncertain of what the crowd before him would make of his performance, he was pleasantly surprised when the auditorium broke out in cheers.
“Kal Ho Naa Ho”, is his favourite Hindi song, Nikhil said, adding that even today when he sings the soulful piece, it always gives him a “great sense of meaning”.
He enjoys doing renditions of both Hindi and English songs, stating that Phil Collins’ “Another Day in Paradise” is one he enjoys singing and listening to. However, he quickly added that were he to choose a favourite, it would be “We Are the Champ-ions” by legendary rock band, Queen.
Besides his mother, Nikhil said the director of Success Elementary School (which he also attended), Wilfred Success, his QC English teacher and piano teachers from Dewar’s Music School Andrea Mentore and Marilyn Dewar were people who motivated and encouraged him at varying times in his life. Two of his other inspirations in music are Freddie Mercury and Michael Jackson, both of whom, according to Nikhil, were great examples of people who gave 100% in their performances. As it relates to poetry, Nikhil is inspired by the works of Guyanese poets, Mahadai Das and Martin Carter, the latter, he noted, is known for his resistance poems.
Meanwhile, regarding his influence in social and political issues, the activist said he draws inspiration from the works of the late Cheddi Jagan. Nikil said Jagan’s story of fighting from the plantations to become the president is an incredible one and he believes anyone who has read about the late president’s life would agree.
In 2020, Nikhil recited a poem at President’s Irfaan Ali’s inauguration. It was sheer luck as, according to him, the team looking for someone to write a poem bumped into a piano teacher who had mentored him and recommended him since she knew he performed dramatic poetry. Initially, he was supposed to write the poem, but in the end it was decided that he would perform a similar one that was already in the archives. Reciting a poem in celebration of the new president, Nikhil said, will always remain a day special to him.
Nikhil also journals often and shared that he would best describe himself as an impulsive writer. To date he has penned about 17 poems.
“My creative mode sometimes finds me immensely stressed and as I would write, I would feel the stress and the anxiety melting onto those pages and I would feel renewed,” shared Nikhil.
Sometimes, he suffers writer’s block. That was what happened in the runup to writing “Motherland”. Nikhil spoke of sitting down day after day looking for inspiration and not quite knowing where to begin. He had two weeks to complete the piece but it wasn’t until the last five days that inspiration came. He recalled writing and deleting and writing again. The last two days were when the words flowed, he said.
Another poem that had him stumped at the beginning was one dedicated to the late president Janet Jagan. The Women’s Progressive Organisation, Nikhil shared, had invited him to write and recite a piece at Jagan’s Memorial Monument at the Babu John Cemetery. All he had was a day, which he thought was enough. Yet, it was not until midnight that inspiration flowed and he began writing feverishly. The writing didn’t happen in order, Nikhil said. He explained he began writing the first verse but then he was stuck. He knew how he wanted the poem to end, so he started working on the last few verses, making his way to the middle then returning to the first stanza to complete the poem. “I’ve never written anything this way before,” he remarked.
According to him, his writing didn’t really kick off until after the controversial 2020 elections, which he wrote about. Every-thing was locked down owing to the pandemic and he had more time as he was studying at home rather than commuting. Nikhil used this time to focus on socio-political issues.
How is it that someone so rooted in the arts decides to choose medicine for his career path? Nikhil explained, “I’ve been conflicted over my career, being influenced by the arts. I’ve come to realise that life is too short…. I have a lot of passions. I want people to say Nikhil wears many caps. I believe I can have all these passions co-existing. At first I wanted to be a cancer doctor because of my dad dying as a result of the illness. But, then earlier on in medicine when we were learning about cancer, I said to myself, ‘Gosh, this is boring!’ I don’t want to say I’ve abandoned this but I want to move away from being a cancer doctor. I realise my career shouldn’t be defined by my dad’s illness but by me. I’m looking to get into the public sector these days as it relates to mental illness.”
Taking into consideration his passion for tackling socio-political issues and his career path, Nikhil was asked whether he intends on someday becoming minister of health. He chuckled as he replied, “Who knows; let’s see what the future holds.”
What he is certain of, is that he wants to bring about change. “When history is recorded, I would love to go down as more than just a man. I would like to have been an entity that impacted man through everything I did,” Nikhil avowed.
He remains focused on his studies with three more years in med school, following which he hopes to take a break before going on to further his studies. However, he intends to continue pursuing his passions in music, poetry and tackling controversial issues. “I’m sure there’ll be growth in these areas in time. Hopefully, there’ll be transformation in all these areas for me,” Nikhil said.
In his limited downtime, Nikhil volunteers at the Guyana Hindhu Dharmic Sabha events; he is a member of this organisation. He is also attached to Empower Guyana, and recently visited Lusignan Prison with other members to provide training for the inmates. Nikhil has been involved in activities hosted by the Progressive Youth Organisation as of last year as well.
He likes singing covers which he posts to his Facebook page, working out at the gym, attending mandir and he especially likes to hang out with his younger brothers and watch drama and action movies. He also likes watching Charlie Chaplin’s movies.
Nikhil can be followed on Facebook at Nikhil Sankar and on Instagram @nikhilsankarchaplin.
Motherland
Warm breeze from the Atlantic,
From the 5:30 magic,
Caresses my face
Like a long lost beloved,
The mind,
now flutters like a kiskadee,
with questions, questions, oh questions,
How far have we come?
How far will we go
In this country,
that we call Guyana?
Golden rays emanate,
the sun sets upon the Corentyne,
Marking the end of one day,
melting into tomorrow,
I walk a free man,
On these lush grasslands,
Because of Bholay,
Badrei and Gobindei,
Because of Cuffy and Accrabe,
Their bodies lined the ground,
which we now walk upon,
Their blood filled the river,
so we can be free,
Immortality they’ve now attained,
as we tell their stories,
continue their fights,
as we build this country,
that we call Guyana,
Here we go,
on the banks of Demerara,
bursting with faces,
factories and shops,
what better way
to romanticise life,
than gazing ,
at glistening Georgetown at night?
But how can we forget,
the forefathers?
their names,
the stuff of legend,
their stories,
a source of strength,
As we stand,
where they stood,
For Brother Quamina,
For Brother Gladstone,
this is our story,
from there we have come!
Our laughs and our cheers
now pack cricket stands,
Where we put aside conflict,
and celebrate holding hands,
From the mighty Roraima,
to the majesty of Kaieteur,
to the simple grace ,
of hibiscuses and water lilies,
I close my eyes,
and for a moment,
I take in the divinity,
and hold my breath,
Here we stand,
on the shoulders ,
of foreparents,
their spirits kept alive,
with each bond we make,
their spirits beaming on,
with each stride we take,
This is who we are,
this is my home,
this motherland,
my country,
that we call Guyana
