The Sound Of The Fury

How an ancient art form became a symbol of resistance

- Nikhil Latagajanan

On a Sunday morning at the usually crowded Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai, the loud beating of drums began echoing through empty streets. It was a group of youths from Dharavi, the largest slum in Asia, who had gathered for their weekly practice of parai attam.

The youths, part of a group called the Neelam Kalai Kuzhu—Blue Arts Collective—began by chanting a Tamil slogan:

Parai ongi olikatum

Idhu uzhaikum makkalin viduthalaikai

Engal parai mulakam savukaga alla

Uzhaikum makkalin valvukaga

Onki adipathil kiliyatum

Paraigal alla suya sathiya perumai

pesuvor mugathiraigal

Let the parai sound loudly For the freedom of the working people Our parai shouts not for death But for the life of the working people By beating loudly Let the veils of proud casteists be torn apart

Parai attam refers to a performance of the parai—a hollow drum made of a wooden frame, with cow skin stretched over one side, played with sticks of unequal size and thickness—accompanied by a folk dance. The parai is said to be one of the oldest percussion instruments in human history. It has its origins in ancient Tamil society, where it had several uses: gathering people, broadcasting announcements and warnings, celebrating weddings and festivals, as well as invoking divine spirits during funeral processions.