Parai beats Down Under? Yes, you heard it right!
At one of the Black Lives Matter meets in Australia to protest the killing of George Floyd, a man was seen playing the grand-old Tamilian drum, encircled by an energetic group who were egging him on with claps and even whistles.
He was Thirumeni Balamurugan, a professional parai trainer in Australia.
Balamurugan along with Mutharasu Kochadai and Aravinth Guruswamy played the instrument at the protests.
"We were part of the rally and we played the parai as we walked," Aravinth Guruswamy told The New Indian Express. They took turns playing the instrument and their beats stayed in tune with the slogans 'Black Lives Matter' and 'We need justice'.
When asked why they took part in the protests, Aravinth said, "We joined because even in India also we have had caste supremacy and race supremacy issues. Every oppressed person needs to support this. The blacks have been oppressed based on colour, we have been oppressed too."
And the parai?
"We wanted to take our art along with us. Parai became an instrument to carry a message across - carry it across with power," explained Aravinth.
With the video of their performance going viral on social media, this goal was certainly fulfilled.
The parai, the mother of all skin instruments in Tamil Nadu, is used both at funerals and weddings, and other important functions. It has held a position of significant importance in Tamil culture since the Sangam era.
Later, the instrument was played mainly at funerals by men from the oppressed Dalits, but social changes have brought it to the centrestage. Today, the parai is seen as a symbol against caste stigma and oppression.
The instrument is made using a wooden ring and a calfskin membrane. It is played using two wooden sticks. In ancient times, the drum was used to announce important messages or the orders of the kings or serve warnings about the oncoming danger. This was called Thandora.
Balamurugan, Mutharasu and Aravinth made their tryst with the parai in 2018, when they joined almost in the same week to learn the instrument.
In their own words, parai is 'Precious'. Their passion for the parai made them attend various rallies, events, and exhibitions.
The trio wishes to take the instrument to the people.
This was also why they took it along to the protest.
"One, we had also faced their constraints. Two, we wanted to play it in the rally to take it to people - and bring in a multicultural aspect,” says Mutharasu Kochadai.
The trio began their training with a broken parai and now they practice for 4-5 hours together and teach as well at The Australia Tamil Art and Culture Development Centre's Sydney chapter.
They have been training in various places since 2018.
"It is so hard to get the parai here in Australia, it is precious. There are so many restrictions to bring in skin-related products. It will be quarantined and fumigated. It is a long process and expensive, it costs 150 dollars, around Rs 8000, but in India, it will be around Rs 2500," says Mutharasu Kochadai.
It is not just the parai, their thirst for ancient Tamil music has made them go in search of instruments that find a mention in Tholkappiyam, the oldest known document of Tamil literature.
"We found Tamil music instruments like thakkai, thimilai, udal, udukkai, and thamurugam which are almost extinct. Some of these may be there in one or two temples but they’re not at all played now. We then procured them from a maker in Madurai and displayed it in an exhibition. Those exhibitions left people astonished," Mutharasu Kochadai elaborates.
Drums a "calming influence" at protests
The use of instruments at protests and their role has often come under question. Some say such music instigates the crowd. To these critics, Balamurugan's answer is simple.
"In any protest, when there is an abnormal crowd and the spirits rise even in a peaceful protest, there are chances of things going wrong. To calm the spirit, the instruments are played as it helps to release the anger or hate, if any. That’s why people play it in the end. The body muscles react to the beat, it makes you attain tranquility," he said.
He also cites the example of African drumming in Melbourne. They use drumming therapy for anger management - the beats and rhythm help stimulate the body and calm the mind down.
"The same sessions are conducted for prisoners as well, to help them conquer anger by the time they are released. The vibration of the parai is powerful. In olden days, when the body of a deceased person was taken to the graveyard, the parai was played in front as the final journey takes place.
"If the body doesn’t get up for parai beats, the person is dead for sure. It is something like CPR,” he says, while explaining the tradition.
What about the response at the protest? Was that better than CPR for their art?
Aravinth quips, "Nearly 50000 people looked on and cheered for us. I had goosebumps. In the end, a black man (aboriginal) said that this is what we all want, to be together and be happy. We are all brothers."