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| Tan Chai Puan [Right] and I at the live-streaming event as part of the 32nd anniversary celebration for the founding of the 24 Festive Drums in 1988 |
From its humble beginnings celebrated in the forecourt
of the Johor Old Temple, this art of drumming which started as a school
activity, has since developed into a national and global drumming performance
artform.
It started with a single drum troop in Johor Baru’s Foon Yew
High School, and now drum troops have been established in schools, colleges,
and universities, not just nationwide but also in various nations around the world.
While the 24 Festive Drums Association Malaysia had
grand plans for their 32nd anniversary celebrations, the Movement
Control Order (MCO) throughout the country compelled the organisers to make
necessary adjustments and changes.
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| The event poster for the live sharing session on July 2. |
Then Tan Chai Puan, co-founder of the 24 Festive Drums,
told me about how the MCO created an opportunity for them to consider creative
ways to celebrate their 32nd anniversary.
While there were limitations to physical gatherings,
there was virtually no limit to the number of participants to meet online or
during live-streaming sessions.
The MCO, in fact, had opened an avenue for the
Association members to connect online for the celebrations!
Tan said the organisers then planned a schedule of
online activities for sharing short videos of drumming demonstrations and
performances, talks and interviews that involved drum troops and drum
enthusiasts nationwide.
With the support of several corporate sponsors, these events
were conducted mainly in Mandarin and were even broadcast in China.
 |
| R & F Group Chairman, Richard Hu, [Right] overseeing the event held at the R & F Sales Gallery |
Tan was pleased that co-organisers
R&F Group and R&F Princess Cove in JB, have provided their support for
the broadcasted events, since June 11.
The Facebook live-sharing session planned for July 2,
however, was in English and arranged in a two-part event.
Tan explained that in Part One, he would speak from
Johor Baru on the topic, So, what is 24 Festive Drums?
And in Part Two, featured speakers will speak from
Kuala Lumpur on the topic, Rhythm of the Nation, with theatre director
and actor, Ghafir Akbar, as Moderator.
The panel of speakers were founder and artistic
director of Hands Percussion, Bernard Goh, founder of Geng Wak Long, UiTM
Faculty of Music senior lecturer, Kamrul Hussin, and Temple of Fine Arts, Head
of Tabla Department, Prakash Kandasamy.
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| Richard Hu [3rd from Left] with Liew Chuen Chi, [2nd from Left] setting up the live-streaming session |
Tan felt that it would be ideal if I could join him in
the presentation as Moderator because I was familiar with him and the founding
of the 24 Festive drums, and had even featured Tan in my 2017 bestseller, My Johor Stories: True Tales, Real People, Rich Heritage.
Tan, a Johor cultural activist, was an exclusive story
featured under the Portraits section in my book, and I remember being
absolutely thrilled when Tan presented my books to the VIP guests at the 5th International Drums Festival in 2018.
When the Museum of the 24 Festive Drums was opened on January 1, 2020, I was deeply honoured to see my book – opened to the pages
that featured Tan – displayed among the valuable exhibits in this unique
museum.
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| Tan Chai Puan and I getting comfortable in our seats |
Tan felt strongly that the audience would enjoy
watching two Johor personalities (Tan and I!) having a chat on the 24 Festive
Drums, an authentic Johor story.
He was sure that a dialogue would be more interesting than
his monologue presentation.
Looking back on my long and eventful working
relationship with Tan, it was interesting how we have supported each other in
our Johor cultural and heritage journey … to where we are now!
I had a flashback to when Jalan Tan Hiok Nee was
declared a Heritage Walk in 2009 and the regular weekend cultural events
organized by the Heritage Walk Committee headed by Tan, to which I was often invited.
Because Tan was bi-lingual in Mandarin and English, he
made every effort to provide me with relevant information in English so that I
could share accurate stories about the cultural events for readers to better appreciate
Johor Chinese culture-heritage.
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| I'm pointing to a photograph of Tan and the original drum troop at the forecourt of the Johor Old Temple, taken in 1988 |
A proud achievement for the 24 Festive Drums’ art of
drumming, was its recognition as a Malaysian National Intangible Cultural
Heritage in 2009.
Tan had worked tirelessly to establish the 24 Festive
Drums in Johor and in 2010, the inaugural bi-annual International Drums
Festival was held in JB.
I had the pleasure to be part of every one of the Drums
Festivals, which were held at an increasingly large scale in every event, with
the most recent in 2018 being the 5th International Drums Festival, held
in the Pasir Gudang Indoor Stadium.
I also had the pleasure to be at the 4th Iskandar
Malaysia Social Heroes Awards (IMSHA) in 2017, where Tan was recognised for his contributions with the Arts & Culture (Individual) Award.
It was my joy to witness Tan receiving this well-deserved award,
especially since I had featured him in my book that was just launched earlier
that year.
2018 marked the 30th anniversary of the founding of the 24 Festive Drums in JB and I remember that Tan gave me advance notice to
meet him at the JB Old Temple on June 21, for a special reunion celebration.
It was indeed a special celebration when the original drum troop
of Foon Yew High School 30 years ago, gathered again to reminisce.
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| Tan spoke passionately on the subject close to this heart! |
And they even gave an impromptu performance – albeit a little
out of practice – but I was more than pleased to witness this special
reunion.
It was a double celebration for Tan that year when he was
declared a Living Cultural Heritage of Malaysia by the Ministry of Tourism and
Culture, in October.
This was timely because Tan received his award exactly 10 years
after co-founder of the 24 Festive Drums, the late Tan Hooi Song was honoured
by the same award in 2008, just before his demise.
And in October 2018, when the 30th anniversary national level gala celebration was held in Kuala Lumpur, I was more
than happy to be Tan’s guest at this special occasion.
I have indeed been on an eventful journey with Tan and
the 24 Festive Drums, so when Tan proposed that I joined him to talk about the 24
Festive Drums in the live-streaming session, I did not hesitate to say, “Yes!”
So Tan and I, accompanied by photographer, Kenny Seah,
met with Chairman of the R&F Group, Richard Hu, who escorted us to the
R&F Sales Gallery where a VIP room was set up for this event.
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| It was my privilege to share about My Johor Stories... |
While the tech-team from the 24 Festive Drums
Association helped to set up Tan’s PowerPoint presentation, Tan and I got
comfortably seated on armchairs for the lighting and sound checks.
Tan was provided with a clicker to use with his
PowerPoint presentation (flashed onto a screen behind us) while a super-strong
mini-microphone (which picked up our voices very clearly!) was placed on the
table between our two armchairs.
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| More light on me while I was sharing about my experience with the 24 Festive Drums |
Liew Chuen Chi, the tech-guy coordinating the
live-streaming in JB with his KL counterpart, told us to wait for his cue in a
3 – 2 – 1 countdown by his show of fingers and to pause two seconds before we
started to speak.
Meanwhile I heard a Mandarin-speaking lady’s voice
from Liew’s laptop making some comments – which I vaguely understood – until
she mentioned “Peggy Loh” in English followed by “My Johor Stories” and a
barrage of more Mandarin words.
My eyes widened in surprise and Tan confirmed with a
smile that she was introducing the next two personalities: Tan and me.
And then we were live!
Tan opened by introducing me and My Johor Stories,
declaring that the 24 Festive Drums was truly a Johor story that we were proud
to share.
I read: “To many, Tan Chai Puan is synonymous with the
24 Festive Drums because he and the late Tan Hooi Song founded this dramatic
art of drumming in 1988.”
While making sure we covered the key points that
explained, So, what is the 24 Festive Drums? Tan and I had agreed to
keep the flow of our conversation casual and natural.
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| One for the album: Tan Chai Puan and I. |
Supported by visuals in his PowerPoint presentation, Tan,
an eloquent speaker clearly passionate about the 24 Festive Drums, was in his
element as we discussed various points in a casual conversation.
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| Tan was in his element, sharing about the 24 Festive Drums! |
While I was familiar with all that Tan shared, I was
pleasantly surprised by something new when he talked about the latest
developments – the formation of a drum troop in Africa!
He explained that the drums were already shipped to
them but due to the travel restrictions during this global pandemic, it was not
yet possible for a trainer to go there.
Tan was, however, optimistic that this African drum
troop may be ready to participate in the next International Drums Festival!
As our discussion drew to a comfortable close, Tan
hinted about his next collaboration with My Johor Stories: a book project to
document in English, the proud heritage of the 24 Festive Drums in Johor.
Then we watched for the countdown from Liew who indicated
by his finger-counting that we were no longer live after he passed the control
over to his KL counterpart.
Liew then turned his hand to show a thumbs-up sign and
smiled widely in affirmation as he congratulated us with, “Well done!”
Note: Behind-the-scenes photographs are courtesy of
photographer, Kenny Seah.
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