Deoraj Seunarine (Dr. Abracadabra)

The Legendary Deoraj Seunarine rose out of a very humble beginning in Debe, South Trinidad to become Dr. Abracadabra, a Cultural Activist, a Teacher, a Principal, an Actor, a Superb Ventriloquist and Magician Extraordinaire. He was born in Debe in 1929 to Seunarine and Ramdaie Maharaj, where he spent his childhood and as a young man he moved to Port of Spain to continue his education. His father Seunarine was an exceptional Dholak and Sarangi Player who was always involved in Music. He is one of eleven children, all of whom were involved in the art form in some way or another. Growing up in this musical atmosphere had a great deal of influence towards his love and appreciation for music which grew immensely as the years went by. He also attended Hindi classes at the home of the much respected Pandit Janki Persad Sharma of Debe. He learnt many songs, bhajans and patriotic songs from his late father as well as from listening to the neighbours Gramophone which he played religiously everyday. Deoraj together with his sister Prabhaavati was actively involved as youths in the Ram Leela and Krishen Leela presentations in their community. They did performances throughout Trinidad together with their troupe. After attending the Naparima Teachers College, he was employed as a teacher with the Sanathan Dharma Maha Sabha (SDMS). He taught in Hindu Schools at Clarke Road, Suchit Trace and Woodland. He was the Principal at Guaracara and retired as Principal at Happy Hill Hindu School. As a Teacher or as a Principal at all of these schools he was deeply involved in teaching the children Indian Culture, Hindi and Singing. From a very early age after attending a Magic Show by a Magician called Cleopatra he was simply awestruck by the performance and was instantly inspired to learn magic. This love propelled him in all the right directions to learn magic, most of which he did on his own. He started performing as a Magician at a very early age. In his performances he incorporated very simple ways of teaching Hindi to his audiences and singing Indian Songs. To date he has done and continues to do hundreds of shows throughout Trinidad and Tobago and many foreign countries such as The West Indies, Venezuela, Suriname, USA, Canada, UK and India to name a few. He was Master of Ceremonies for numerous programmes. Dr. Abracadabra has performed alongside the legendary Mohd. Rafi, Geeta Dutt, Suman Kalyanpur, Minoo Purshottam, Subir Sen, Enoch Daniels, Roosevelt Beharry and The Pendragons. He was recognized by many different facets of society, including the Medal of Merit Silver in 2003 by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago for Outstanding and Meritorious Service. Dr. Abracadabra has entertained all of the sitting Presidents and Prime Ministers of Trinidad and Tobago. This great artiste and performer, who is simply one of a kind, have been entertaining us for more than 60 Years with his enthralling performances leaving his audiences in awe. We have added an Audio Sample of the voice of this Great Artiste for the listening pleasure of the many fans of Deoraj Seunarine across the globe, taken from our library. It is with great sadness we inform you of the passing of our dear friend Dr. Abracadabra, on March 28, 2022. Our deepest condolences to his family, friends and his many fans. He will be greatly missed. His passing leaves a great void in the entertainment industry. (Copyright Nisha Sharma 2023).