| MALOYA: A Rich Musical Experience |
A crescendo of drums summoned the singers on stage. As the lead singer Granmoun Lele came on, the drums toned down and he sang what appeared to be an invocation, something very much in line with South Indian tradition. The surprises began right then because the names of Vinayaka and Shiva featured in the song and that was something the audience did not expect of an African band from the Indian Ocean Island of Reunion.
Actually, Maloya music, as it is called, bears a strong South Indian
 influence as descendants of the Tamils and Malabaris who went to work in that French territory a couple of centuries ago form a good part of the island's population. If the music, presented to a small audience in Chennai on Monday, was Indian in substance, it was certainly African in sound. Besides a pair of Congo drums, there were an 'orouler', a large drum played in Reunion, and 'kayal', a hollow instrument partly filled with rice, which makes a sound like that of the waves on the seashore. Played at an exciting pace, the music had a power and sound that more than matched those of modern digital instruments.
The rhythm was rich and pulsating. The song, with Lele leading a chorus, had a natural breeziness. The drums reached great heights, matched step by step by the singers. In the mainly Creole lyrics, an occasional Tamil word like. 'thirumanam' (marriage) and 'theepandam' (torch), along with names from Hindu mythology like Arjunan, kept popping up. The insistent rhythms turned irresistible as the tempo of the drums soared and some in the audience could hardly hold themselves in and keep from breaking into dance. It was in such an atmosphere of good spirits that a section of the audience seemed to go overboard. Perhaps, the simplicity of Maloya, its messages of love and romance and its fine rhythms were not for them.
 The music of the Granmoun Lele band was full of energy and indicated a cultural proximity, though separated from their roots by language and miles of sea. The proximity can be traced though the background of the lead singer. His grandmother left the shores of Malabar about a century ago, taking with her a legacy of traditions rich in culture and rituals. The band is touring India from May 3 to 17. Apart from Chennai, it will play in Delhi Mumbai and Tiruvananthapuram and finally in Hyderabad before returning home.
By L. Subramani
|
