To the beat of the
An all-girls parai group from a school in Chennai drums up a beat that is impossible to resist
he wardens and teachers of Avvai Home TVR Girls’ Higher Secondary School in Chennai are insistent about preserving the sanctity of lunches and dinners at this school-cum-boarding.
On days when food is delayed by a few minutes though, a concert of cacophony brews. Students like A Kaviya, hold their plates as one would, the parai, and begin with simple beats. Their vaai paadu (vocal rhythms) spill out through spoons, and ngers become their kutchi (sticks).“I have broken pots at home because of banging a tune on them,” she says.
During moments like this, the canteen hears booming percussive sounds — thaku-ku-tha, being the most basic of the vaai paadu holding the instrumentalists together. A symphony ensues.
The school has meticulously groomed a group of 20 young women to form the only regularly performing all-girls parai attam group in Chennai. For two days a week between 3pm and 5pm, the foray of this school resembles a concert venue.
N Deepan, their parai aatam teacher, says that three such teams of ‘Avvai Home Girls’ have graduated from the school. “Don’t buy their shy demeanour. They are all
TY(Clockwise from above) Fardeen Khan returns to the screen after 14 years; Aditi Rao Hydari; Sonakshi Sinha; and Taaha Shah Badussha. NETFLI◣
Sonakshi has played romantic, long-suering types in period lms like Lootera (2013) and Kalank (2019). In contrast to those roles, Fareedan is a rebel and an underdog, and the closest Heeramandi comes to oering an antagonist. “Fareedan is driven by rage, anger and vengeance,” Sonakshi says. “These are not good qualities but they are human qualities. Sanjay has a way of portraying his characters, especially women, as thoroughly human, emotional beings. That’s why we resonate with them.”
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School.
Parai attam performers from Avvai Home TVR Girls (chatterboxes),” he
vaaiadis says.
Deepan, who runs the popular Nanbargal Gramiya Kalai Kuzhu out of Korukkupet says that he has seen this group blossom over time. The instrument, for the longest time, was only played by men. More recently, mixed groups of men and women play together. However, it is rare to see a team entirely of girls.
“Adding a cultural programme to their education has increased their condence signicantly. You should see the number of cups they have won over the years. Everyone knows what to expect from the Avvai Home Girls — a great performance. That is something
Another fascinating gure is Aditi Rao Hydari’s Bibbojaan, who leverages her position as a courtesan to gather intel for the revolutionaries. Courtesans played a crucial if undersung role in India’s freedom struggle, from the Revolt of 1857 to the Non-Cooperation Movement in the 1920s. “My mother, Vidya Rao, is a we continue to deliver,” he says. Charulatha, a student of Class ◣II, has been playing the parai since Class VII. “I’ve learnt over time, so much so that I have blisters from playing the instrument. I wear them with pride,” she says.
Students from the group have gone on to play at a number of events organised by the Department of Arts and
Culture of the Tamil Nadu Government.
Charulatha says that she is leaving school soon and the opportunities to play the parai will signicantly diminish. Does this mean she will have to give up playing the instrument? “I have already booked a spot with Deepan anna’s group. The beat is a part of us. It isn’t going anywhere,” she says.
Hindustani classical singer trained in thumri and dadra,” Aditi says. “She also received a fellowship from the Ford Foundation to study gender and musical form. I have heard stories from here about the courtesans and their role in our Independence struggle.” The language of Heeramandi is old-world Hindustani with an