Traditional Indian Music Performers In Demand For Thaipusam

By Kenny Teng Khoon Hock GEORGE TOWN (Penang, Malaysia) Jan 25 (Bernama) -- The ‘urumi melam’, a traditional Indian musical instrument will continue to mesmerise the people during the upcoming Thaipusam, a festival observed by Hindus as a day of penance dedicated to Lord Murugan. Without fail, the ‘urumi’, ‘thavil’, ‘jaalra’ and ‘thappu’, will make a grand appearance during Thaipusam to accompany devotees to fulfill their vows to Lord Murugan. The urumi is a double-headed hourglass-shaped drum, thavil a barrel shaped drum, jaalra a pair of clash cymbals and thappu a round-shaped drum. A. Kalimuthu, 45, one of the founders of the Sri Nagathamman Urumi Melam, said their performance was in great demand during Thaipusam and that they had been fully booked for this year. He said they were the first group in Penang to form a urumi melam group in 1990 and the performance, which originated in the state of Tamil Nadu in southern India, was first performed in Penang in 1991. "Thaipusam will never be complete without the rhythmic beats performed by the drum ensemble accompanying the ‘ kavadi’ bearers as they dance their way in a trance to Lord Murugan in fulfillment of their vows," he told Bernama here Thursday. Kalimuthu said all the instruments were imported from India and he learned to play the instruments through observing others play. "In those days, Penang did not have a urumi melam group and we had to import the group from Sitiawan, Perak, to perform for us on special occasions and during Thaipusam," he said. Kalimuthu said his son, Munishwaran, 17, was one of the members his group which had about 30 members. One of the group’s leaders, P. Jonathan, 26, said his interest in playing the traditional Indian music instruments started during his primary school years because of the vibration and uniqueness of the music. "I play the urumi because it’s my cultural music and I learned the skill from my seniors in the group. It requires one to really master the skill for about one year and today I can play all the musical instruments and sing accordingly," he said. He said the group had stopped accepting bookings for the coming Thaipusam as there were not enough members to cope with the demand. "We have already received a lot of bookings for the ensembles for this year's Thaipusam and we are having a tough time meeting the demand," he said. Hindus celebrate Thaipusam on the full moon day of the Tamil month of 'Thai'. This year, that date falls on Jan 31. The festival commemorates the day when Lord Murugan received the 'vel' (lance) from his mother, Goddess Parvathi, to annihilate the wicked demon, Soorapadman, to restore prosperity and well-being for the people. -- BERNAMA