Wedding beats prove a big hit
IN INDIA it is customary for a groom’s wedding procession to arrive at the bride’s home with a string of musicians thumping a doubleheaded drum.
This may not be widely practised in South Africa, but the stylish Drum Punditz, who lead bridal parties into wedding venues with their custom-made drums, or dhols, is fast gaining in popularity.
Cousins Amith Balgobind and Aveer Dayal, both 34, pull out all the stops to ensure locals experience a touch of this Indian magic as they pummel the instruments with gusto.
The musicians, who strive to keep their Indian culture alive, started performing together in 2007.
“We were sitting around and decided to do something to keep the Motherland tradition alive and decided to try this out,” said Balgobind, a logistics and warehousing specialist.
He said his dad, Rodgers, shared his musical knowledge with him at the age of five, while Aveer’s father, Prakash, noticed his flair for drumming at age nine. “Our dads are our biggest supporters and mentors,” said Balgobind, who added that they wore traditional attire when escorting in the bride or groom.
“Guests not only love our look, but the authenticity of our music, which connects them with India.”
They sourced their collection of dhols from Punjab and treat them with the utmost respect, said Dayal, the director of an IT company.
“All our instruments are custom-made and imported from our musician friends in India. Once we receive a drum and take it out to play, we say a little prayer to Ma Saraswati and take blessing of our instruments, so the hosts of the functions and their guests enjoy what we have to offer.”
When asked about their name, Balgobind said: “It just popped up during a brainstorming drum session.”
The cousins, whose videos are proving a hit on social media, aim to pass on their knowledge to youth with their motto being “don’t do drugs, do the dhol beats”.
Their most memorable performance was during the Indian Premier League in Durban in 2009 when they led cricketers from Bollywood actress Preity Zinta’s Kings XI team on to the pitch.