Tamil Nadu   

Japanese drummers mesmerise audience

Staff Reporter

Barnala inaugurates festival at the Music Academy

CHENNAI : "When you get excited, please don't hesitate to clap your hands or kick the ground," the Japanese compere announced. And when the Wadaiko, the Japanese Drum Festival, began at a packed auditorium at The Music Academy, the audience did not forget to clap to the beat of the rhythms.

Giving expression to the art of Wadaiko, the drummers began beating the instruments with wooden sticks, producing different notes on the big drums. With the sound of natural elements doing the rounds, there was a united rhythm of clapping of wood, leather and hands as the performers themselves moved around the drums in synchronised meditative movements. Earlier, Governor Surjit Singh Barnala, inaugurating the festival, said that the tradition of friendship between Japan and India was centuries old. Since the introduction of Buddhism in Japan in the 6th Century, the two countries had nourished a profound friendship both historically and culturally.

R. Veeramani, President, Indo-Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the two Asian countries were spiritually linked.

Thanks to its geographical location and its policy of isolationism, Japan and its Asian neighbour, India, have not got closer over the years but had always maintained cordial relations, he said. Yoshiaki Kodaki, Consul General of the Consulate-General of Japan, welcomed and Sakura Ozaki, Vice-Consul, proposed a vote of thanks. M.R. Ranganathan, chairman of the ABK-AOTS Dosokai, Tamil Nadu Centre, also spoke.

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