Harry Panday

Harry Narine Panday was a Guyanese-Canadian singer, musician, songwriter, arranger, producer and Hindu pandit whose recordings bridged bhajan, Hindustani devotional music, calypso, soca, reggae and Caribbean dance music. Born in Mahika, Guyana, on February 22, 1949, Panday lived in Grove until his late twenties and began performing at a young age, including early work with The Indian Merrymakers.

Panday married his wife in Guyana in 1971 and moved with his family to Toronto, Ontario, in 1976. It was in Toronto that his recording career began, first with the devotional album Petals for the Altar, recorded with Dr. Budhendranauth Doobay and released in 1979. The album brought Panday together with a circle of musicians and collaborators who remained important throughout his career, including Karamchand Maharaj, William Balgobin, Paul Sharma, Dr. Doobay and Anjanie Mangal.

Over the next several years, Panday moved easily between devotional recordings and dance-oriented Indo-Caribbean popular music. In 1980 he released the single “Shadee Karo (A Wedding Wish)” backed with “Take Me Home (Eternal Love)”, followed by the album Hot-O-Hot Harry. His early-1980s catalogue also included Yaad Sangeet, A Dance Explosion and later Sangeet Maala. His music reflected the Toronto Indo-Caribbean community of the period, combining Hindi film melodies, bhajans, chutney, soca, calypso and Caribbean party rhythms with Panday’s own arrangements and stage personality.

A Dance Explosion, released on Vistra International Productions, presented Panday in a more upbeat dance setting. The album included versions of “Sookoo Sookoo,” “Suhani Raat,” “Dilsay Mela” and other Indo-Caribbean favourites, arranged, written and produced by Panday and recorded at Kinck Sound in Toronto. The back cover described him as a versatile entertainer who had spent years performing across Canada, the Caribbean and the United States, and noted his role in the annual Guyanese Carnival Show presented by West Indian Showcase.

Throughout his career, Panday performed widely at stage shows, community events, mandirs and fundraisers, including events connected with Vishnu Mandir in Toronto. He shared stages with major Caribbean and Indo-Caribbean performers including Sundar Popo, Drupatee, Ramdew Chaitoe, Anand Yankarran and Davendra Pooran.

In 1990, Panday and his family moved to Orlando, Florida, where he continued making music while devoting increasing energy to Guyanese and Hindu cultural life. Along with his father, he helped found the Sri Hanuman Mandir and organized numerous cultural shows, fundraisers and community events.

Harry Panday died on December 9, 2013. Remembered by his family as a singer, poet, philosopher, jokester, community builder and spiritual figure, he left behind a body of recordings that remain important within the Guyanese, Indo-Caribbean and Hindu devotional music communities.

-Robert Williston