All women folk group Dindigul Sakthi Drummers will perform at the Sounds of Freedom concert. Its member Sister Chandra tells Karan Bhardwaj how their skills empowered them to become self-reliant
How does your performance reflect the idea of the concertIJ
Sounds of Freedom stands for celebrating the freedom of creative expression. We encourage women to nurture their talent and express themselves and their identity through music and dance. Fourteen of our 25 members will be performing at the concert. The message is for women, to be comfortable with their self-image and identity and to portray that through their performance.
Can you tell us about your activities with Sakthi Centre and how do you empower women through music and danceIJ
The Sakthi Centre aims at empowering women in order to make them independent, economically and otherwise. It encourages them to take up leadership roles. It helps women build a positive self-image through life orientation programmes and capacity-building project. To help young Dalit women lead a life with self-dignity, a specially designed training programme is conducted for a year. The life oriented Sakthi training programme provides a solid foundation for our trainees to equip themselves with multiple skills. To help them recognise the energy within and develop their potential to fullest, we teach them yoga to gain awareness, street theatre exercises to shed their fears, folk dance and music to nurture their talent, taekwondo and silambam for self-defense techniques.
Tell us about your performances. How does it reflect spirit of women empowermentIJ
Our music is powerful. Our dancing energy is dynamic and vibrant, this vibrant energy has created dignity and self-respect in millions of people who have witnessed our performance. Our band consists of young women from the oppressed section of society. Through their music and dance, they can change their lives. They are empowered by their traditional music and dance.
There are multiple issues concerning women globally. How do you look at problems that hound women in IndiaIJ
There are problems ranging from discrimination on the basis of gender, caste, race, religion etc. We believe that artists need to be humanist and should be able to reach to the people and promote harmony. Our members promote the spirit of togetherness through music and dance.
How did you form this groupIJ Please share some inspiring stories of the band membersIJ
For the first time in my life,I saw the dance Parayattam in a village in Dindigul district. I greatly enjoyed the rhythm. This beautiful dance was performed by men. They were performing difficult adavus like Bharatanatyam. I was amazed to see them dancing the whole day and night. They danced whenever they were asked to, during those two days. There were eight members in their group and they were paid a remuneration of Rs800 only. However, one evening, another group, consisting of only four members, that was dancing on film songs and imitating film actors, was paid Rs4,000 for two hours.
This incident made me discover cultural oppression in society. People do not think very highly of their own art forms and prefer other types of music and dance. Why is this beautiful art form rated so lowIJ This question deeply disturbed me and gave me the inspiration and courage to work for the Dalits and the recognition of their art. I, therefore, decided to learn Parai with the group who were in leadership training.
When the first group of young women learned the form, it was an eye-opener. This happened in 1993 and I have been working on it ever since.
How difficult is it for you, as women, to play drumsIJ What is the symbolic gesture behind playing drumsIJ
It is very difficult to play the drum. But it is a a symbolic gesture of women empowerment, as well as coming out of their oppression with their own music and dance.
Have you performed abroad as wellIJ
Sakthi drummers have performed in South Africa (2001), South Korea (2005), Japan (2008 & 2009) and in South Carolina, US (2011).
How is it important for women and the world to stand up against oppressionIJ
It is very important for women to stand up against oppression. It is important to build a positive image for oneself, nurture talent and develop skills in order to be independent and be able to support oneself economically.
Other Highlights
Farhan Akhtar will also enthrall music lovers at the concert on March 3, produced by Teamwork Arts. The concert is a celebration of the freedom of creative expression through music. Farhan will be joined by Madboy/Mink, Raghu Dixit Project, Tritha and more artists at Amity University.
Artist Seema Kohli will also display her installation Chimes of Freedom. It is a 12-feet huge elegant fixture laced with the gentle echo of spiritualistic purity. The size of pipe of the outer frame is 10’’ diameter while the chimes-height is 8ft x 10’’ diameter. It is made of aluminum, airbrush on stencil and drawing using pen and ink, iron, metal, wood and metal paints. A softheaded hammer is also kept at the audience’s disposal to strike the tubes with.