We are planning to release it in a month,” he said.Tradition of drums (Bera=Drums) in Sri Lanka is believed to go as far back as 2,500 years, reference to which are found in some of the classical literature as Poojawaliya, Thupavansaya and Dalada Siritha.Īlthough there had been about 33 types of drums, today we find only about 10 and the rest are confined only to names. This is the beginning of an important song, which speaks about the glory of their old days. “Irular musicians have named the album Emtu Nadu Male Nadu (My Country Hill Country). They have recorded more than 20 songs, of which 10 will be released as a CD, said Lakshmanan. They also have plans to train people in kogalu, says Lakshmanan.
Once there were 15 of them, but now only a couple of people, such as Andi of Senguttai, play it. We have taken the trouble to include the instrument in the recording,” he said. It is the kogalu player who sets the tune and leads other performers, including the singer. “There was an attempt to record Irular songs in Attapadi, but they recorded only the lyric and percussions. Irular songs talk of customs such as marriage, emotions such as love and events such as honey gathering, and also yearning for the good old days, says R Lakshmanan, a writer, and collector of Irular songs, who facilitated the initiative. Thulasi of Senguttai village was the main singer. Some songs are duets and some are solos with chorus. This took them around three days to record a song. We had to convince them and train them before we could record,” said Selvan, who is a singer himself. But the musicians refused to perform solo. “At the recording theatre, we had to record each instrument separately. This proved to be a hassle during recording. At their real settings, the songs are also accompanied by dance. The songs are always accompanied by the instruments and nothing is played solo. Irular songs are accompanied by wind instrument kogalu, percussion instruments porai and tavil, and cymbals known as jalra. As there is no script for our language, we have been preserving our culture and memories through them,” he told TOI. “These songs must have been in vogue for around two centuries. R Selvan, 35, of Alangandi Irular village in Karamadai, says he grew up hearing the songs. This is set to change with tribal culture enthusiasts and Irular musicians planning to record the songs and release an album. Coimbatore: While members of the Irular tribe staying in settlements in and around the district have a rich collection of songs on their customs and collective memory, the musical pieces have not been recorded in their pristine form.
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