Sathiya enjoys repairing old folk drums because he gets to breathe new life into the vintage instruments. Photos: The Star/Azlina Abdullah
Hindu religious festival Thaipusam is about a week away and technician Sathiya Moorthy Kandasamy, 50, has been working round the clock to repair 50 South Indian folk drums.
They include the urumi (hourglass-shaped drum), thavil (barrel-shaped drum) and pambai (cylindrical drum). These drums, together with the jalra (small hand cymbals), are part of the urumi melam, a set of traditional instruments played at religious occasions like Thaipusam and Chitra Pournami, a full moon festival.
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Drumming to the beat
Sathiya enjoys repairing old folk drums because he gets to breathe new life into the vintage instruments. Photos: The Star/Azlina Abdullah
Goat skin is washed and sun dried before it is fitted onto the drum head.
Metal rods and strings are used to tighten the skin on the drum to raise it to the right pitch.
Sathiya is happy his only son Havinash is interested in learning to play traditional Indian folk drums.
Sathiya is one of the few urumi melam repairers in Selangor.
