PUTRAJAYA – In a bid to ease “racial tensions” on social media, a Malaysian percussion group that plays traditional South Indian drums put together a special performance of traditional Hari Raya songs Suasana Hari Raya and Seloka Hari Raya.

To the surprise of the group called Sai Naga Urumi Melam, its two TikTok videos touched the hearts of Malaysians, especially the Muslim community who recently celebrated Hari Raya Aidilfitri.

The songs were accompanied by the urumi, a double-headed hourglass-shaped drum that originates from Tamil Nadu, India. Urumi melam, which refers to an Indian folk music ensemble, typically comprises multiple drums and requires at least five performers to create vibrant musical compositions and rhythms.

Indian folk music is usually played in temples as accompanying music for religious ceremonies, weddings and traditional celebrations.

The videos were Sai Naga Urumi Melam’s first attempt at such a fusion performance.

A group member, Mr M. Logeswaran, 22, said that they got the idea for the performance after observing increasingly sensitive issues involving religion, royalty and race appearing on social media.

“The Sai Naga Urumi Melam team felt the need to do something and we believed that music could connect everyone, especially during the Hari Raya celebration,” Mr Logeswaran, who played the thavil in the videos, told Malaysian news agency Bernama. The thavil is a barrel-shaped drum that also originates from Tamil Nadu and is mainly used in musical performances in southern Indian states.

The instruments commonly used by the band are the thavil, urumi, pambai (a pair of cylindrical drums), and thalam (a pair of clash cymbals).

Mr Logeswaran, who hails from Kajang, said that it took more than five hours to record a TikTok video that lasted just over a minute.

“We started recording around 2am. I can’t recall how many times we tried to get it right.

“Sometimes the singer, N. Lachman, missed the lyrics, or we missed the musical beat, or there were car noises that forced us to redo the recording.

“However, the final result was worth the effort,” he added.

At the time of writing, the two videos had been shared about 30,000 times and received many constructive and positive comments.

Some people even requested for them to perform at open house events.

A TikTok user said: “We are all Malaysians, regardless of race and religion.

“We remain as one Malaysia, respecting each other. Well done, bro!” THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK