Dhol player playing the parai | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The parai is the only instrument to have been burnt by its own players. Restoring it as a symbol of resistance, the Bengaluru-based Adavi Arts Collective recently celebrated a year of workshops, shows and jam sessions. Adavi recently performed at the Shunya Centre for Art and Somatic Practices as part of a fundraising event organised by the Hank Nunn Institute.
Keela Naren, founder of Adavi and a parai artist by profession, explains that the parai is traditionally played at funerals to confirm a person’s death as no living body can resist swaying to its rhythmic beats. Sure enough, the infectious tunes brought the crowd to their feet, and most of the audience kept dancing till the end of the event.
AdavuIn Tamil it literally means rhythm, and adav For the forest, however, involves a deeper metaphysical dive into what it means collectively. Aattam It means dance, and can extend to movement; Avi It means animal. adav – Dancing creatures – is a combination of these words.
A stranger Photo Credit: Special Arrangements
The group finds its soul in the blend of these understandings, which it describes as “a harmonious nest where the swaying trees, sprouting leaves, animals and all beings dance in unison to the rhythm of nature without any boundaries.”
Adavi aims to help pass on folk and contemporary art forms to younger generations through a mix of community education and political discourse.
Along with a wonderful performance in the void, Keela also discussed the rich history of the parai. The instrument is usually played at funerals by socially disadvantaged people who have on many occasions protested the disrespectful treatment meted out to them. He elaborated that parai players hardly make any money and are often paid with alcohol.
While acknowledging its complex past, the Adavi believe that everyone should be allowed to play the parai. They consider it a symbol of equality, as it is an instrument that embraces everyone and play it not at funerals but as an expression of their love for the instrument.
The group also spreads the spirit of equality and belief in art as liberation across gender lines. Traditionally, parai has been played only by men. By encouraging women and members of the LGBTQIA+ community to play parai, Adavi strives to change this mindset.
Founder of Adavi Keela Naren Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
“I was happy to see so many women dancing in sarees. Usually, a lot of women come to our workshops, but they rarely perform. Today, we had the best attendance,” admitted Meghna Nataraj, one of the first women to join Adavi.
The members of the collective come from different walks of life. The group includes students, theatre artistes, dancers, teachers, a data analyst and a cable contractor. Advik, a life skills teacher, says, “A lot of different people attend the sessions regularly, and so, by the end of the day, you always learn something new. It has given me a lot of friends, happiness and satisfaction.”
Positive Vibrations
The frame of the parai is made from a strong wood such as the root of the neem tree. The stretched skin is usually glued together using a paste made from crushed tamarind seeds. The parai is played using two sticks: a short, cylindrical rod called the parai Addie Kuchiwhich is held loosely by the dominant hand, and a long, flat bamboo stick called a sindu kuchiwhich hits the upper part of the parai.
Some claim that the term stranger is derived from Araiwhich means to kill, while others believe the instrument was named after its function, strangerWhich in Tamil means to communicate.
Traditionally, it was played to announce the arrival of the harvest season, scare away animals, make public announcements, help fishermen coordinate and, interestingly, by bandits who used the rhythm as a code for their robberies.
Dhol players playing the parai | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
