Beating The Norms

Music has been an integral part of our country’s culture, and while we’ve heard fantastic local musicians and artists, an all-female percussion group is a rare find. Young and inspiring, the women that make up the group, Thuraya, is the first of its kind in Sri Lanka. This group of drummers is extraordinary in their own way as they are committed to creating their own type of beat! I sat down with Sithara Maduwanthi, the group’s leader for a one-on-one.

- Sumaiya Shuaibdeen

Q/ WHAT IS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE YOU FACED IN MAKING IT IN AN INDUSTRY WHICH IS COMPLETELY NEW IN SRI LANKA?

A/ We have been facing an array of challenges since we started. The initial challenge was to find potential drummers for the team as it was only me and my director, C.M.B.Sriyan Chandrasekara. pushing this entire idea forward. Right now, we have 7 members in the first row and 6 in the second, and we’re planning on having more auditions in the future.

The other struggle was making our mark in an industry where hardly any women go. The percussion industry is male dominated, so to make our way here, we had to think up a different type of strategy. The plan was to create our own kind of art by mixing the thaal (music in Sinhala) system from Sri Lanka, India and the western side of the world. Another tough milestone was money!