Sound Mani, who performed at the Dubai 2022 Expo, is fascinated by all kinds of ancient Tamil acoustics, and in particular, parai. The expo, which had around 243 pavilions, provided Mani with the ...

A five-year-old struggles to lift his drum, despite the one kilo instrument being too heavy for his little hands. Nearby, a woman slings it across her shoulder, keeping a sharp eye on her baby, asleep ...

A performance group from Bengaluru is trying to remove the stigma surrounding the parai, an ancient percussion instrument primarily used in Tamil Nadu. Traditionally, the parai was played to gather ...

When software professional and parai music trainer V Shakthi launched Team Nimirvu Kalaiyagam (TNK) in Coimbatore in 2011, his mission was not just to safeguard the traditional folk dance parai attam, ...

On weekends, the premises of Tamil College in Perur comes alive to the beats of the traditional music instrument, Parai. At the helm of affairs is V Sakthi, founder of Nimirvu Kalaiyagam, a group ...

“When you hear the beat of the parai and are instantly jolted to move, it isn’t you, but your ancestors dancing inside you,” says parai artist and teacher Manimaran. For the last two decades, ...

Velu Aasan, the celebrated Parai artist from Tamil Nadu, expressed his overwhelming joy and gratitude upon receiving the prestigious Padma Shri award. Speaking exclusively to IANS, Velu Aasan said, “I ...

1993. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times for Dalit women to start performing Parai Attam, a traditional art form historically performed by Dalit men during funerals. Sister Chandra, ...

Buddhar Kalai Kuzhu, a group of parai aattam artistes, is on a mission to make the folk art secure a respectable spot among other forms of art. Perhaps one of the oldest of the folk arts, parai aattam ...