ALTHOUGH she was born and raised in New Jersey, United States of America, 29-year-old Sandhya Sugrim represents a blend of Guyanese and Surinamese cultures.

Sandhya’s father was her first teacher, drummer and the person who she said introduced her to traditional music which by age five, she was already singing.

She revealed that she focuses on a musical genre called, ‘Bhaitak Gana’, a Surinamese style of music which is similar to chutney.

The young singer said she sticks to older music and folk music more. “The big thing about me is that I’ve always liked to sing the traditional things. Very old school vibes. I like staying really close to my roots. I obviously encourage and I love that other artistes are adopting to the new styles and trends, but I always found that doesn’t really suit me. I always felt like every time I stick to traditional things, that’s what kind of shapes me the best,” she stated.

Sandhya’s most recent song, ‘More Rama’ was described by the singer as a “very old traditional poetry song”. It was also a special song for Diwali.

She explained, “So ‘More Rama’ is a very old traditional-like poetry song. And like I said, I like to sing to a very old traditional style of music. And this song is also like a special song for Diwali because it speaks about Lord Ram’s return back to Ayodhya. The song pretty much gives off that very happy vibe; festive sides, happy moments. Because obviously in that story, it was a happy time when Lord Ram came back to Ayodhya.”

The video for the song took approximately one month to shoot, and premiered on YouTube on October 23, 2024. The video was made at Temple in the Sea in Trinidad and Tobago and the videography was done by Enhanced Media Systems Limited (DJ Din).
Sandhya said the support for her music is there. “I’ve been very blessed. Everyone that I’ve come across, they’ve congratulated me. They loved it. They’re very happy that I am recording, and putting myself back out there again. And it definitely feels nice. It feels very supportive. I’m very thankful. It does give me the motivation to continue to go forward.”

In 2023, Sandhya was able to meet one of her idols, Savita Singh from Trinidad and Tobago, who encouraged her to record music.

The artiste revealed that Guyana has many artistes she would like to collaborate with in the future. While there isn’t anyone specific, she said she believes that collaborating with other artistes is something that will help to bring together two different minds to create something beautiful.

Apart from collaborating with an artiste, she also aims to have her songs produced by a Guyanese producer.

Sandhya’s music can be found on YouTube under SandhyaS_Music. To follow her, persons can check her out on Facebook @sandhya.sugrim, Instagram @sandhyas__ and Tiktok @sandhyas__.