I
read with interest, the bi-lingual print in English on the poster that announced:
‘Suvarna Fine Arts and JB Drums present A confluence of cultures – An
endeavor to translate Indian classical rhythms through traditional Chinese
drums.’
 |
From L to R: Master Ajith Bhaskar, Lim Shao Xi
@ Sreehari and Lim Yu Kai @ Eshwar
presenting, A Confluence of Cultures |
The
promotional poster featured three Chinese young men – Lim Shao Xi, Lim Yu Kai
and Gan See Shyan – who trained with Dr Ajith Bhaskar, the principal and
artistic director of Suvarna Fine Arts and an Indian classical dance virtuoso
in the art of Bharatanatyam.
Under
the tutelage of his Master Ajith, Lim Shao Xi excelled in performing the art of
Bharatanatyam. His Master gave him a stage name, Sreehari, which sounded
like his Chinese name and matches with the first and last syllables of his
Chinese name.
 |
The event promotional poster
|
In
May 2024, I had the pleasure to witness the Rangapravesham presented by
Shao Xi, a debut performance of a student of Indian classical dance after years
of training with his Master.
I
first met with Shao Xi in March 2023 when he was with Ajith to enjoy the Drum
Up JB! show presented at the Permaisuri Zarith Sofia Opera House.
We
met again at the Coffee Talk in June 2023, an event organized by JB Drums in
conjunction with the anniversary celebrations for the art of 24 Festive Drums,
where Ajith was part of the panel of speakers while I was moderator for the
Talk.
This
Coffee Talk was also where Ajith met with Lim Yu Kai and Gan See Shyan of JB
Drums and had their first conversation about a collaboration of the Chinese
drums with the art of Bharatanatyam.
 |
Introduction presented in Mandarin and English
|
I
was, in fact, not aware that arrangements were made for the Chinese drummers to
meet with Ajith and his students at Suvarna Fine Arts for their first
experience of Indian classical dance to the beat of Chinese drums.
This
experience developed into something that Ajith and Lim were keen to show me and
in July 2023, I was invited to join them at a lesson with Master Ajith at
Suvarna.
 |
Lim Shao Xi in his element, dancing
classical Bharathanatyam
|
Fast-forward
to August 2024, when Lim had completed 20 lessons with Master Ajith and mastered
the art of playing Indian rhythms on the Chinese drum, that Suvarna and JB
Drums were ready to present a showcase in, A Confluence of Cultures.
Incidentally,
the 24 Festive Drums were holding their National Drum Competition in various
regions over these few weeks and senior drummers with more than 20 years of
drumming experience, like Lim and Gan See Shyan, travelled to oversee these regional
competitions.
 |
Shao Xi [Left] and Lim [Right] demonstrating
how the tala system works
|
It
happened that Gan was travelling back from the competition held in East
Malaysia and was enroute to Johor Bahru for this showcase but he was
unfortunately, delayed.
Meanwhile,
guests trickled in and suddenly, the back of the hall at Suvarna was packed while
many youngsters sat down comfortably in the front row on the parquet floor,
waiting for the event to start.
Among
the invited guests were familiar people like co-founder of the art of the 24
Festive Drums and cultural activist, Tan Chai Puan, and supporters of Indian
art and culture, Datuk L. Krishnan and Mrs Thanam Visvanathan-Suresh.
 |
Tan Chai Puan sharing his comments
|
When
the event opened with a brief introduction, Lim explained that Gan was delayed
due to unforeseen circumstances but the show will go on as planned.
It
was interesting to observe that at the start of the showcase, not just Shao Xi
but also Lim, paid their respects to Master Ajith, keeping the Indian tradition
of how students paid respects to their Master at the start of each performance.
 |
Datuk Krishnan giving his comments
|
Lim
shared that he trained under Master Ajith since June last year and even though
it was challenging, had completed some 20 lessons in drumming Indian rhythms on
the Chinese drum.
He
was also pleased to share that Master had given them stage names, Lim Yu Kai @
Eshwar and Gan See Shyan @ Shyam.
Lim
and Gan who started drumming since they were in Primary School, were used to
drumming the Chinese drum in rhythms quite similar to Western rhythms. But they
soon discovered that Indian rhythms were interesting but complex because Indian
rhythms were counted in odd numbers and in colourful rhythmic patterns.
 |
Madam Thanam managed to elicit laughter
with her sincere comments
|
As
Lim spoke in Mandarin with a smattering of English, Shao Xi helped to translate
into English for the audience that comprised a mix of Chinese and Indian
Malaysians with one English young lady, my niece Melanie, who was visiting from
the UK.
It
was an eye-opening session for many in the audience as the tala system
of the meter in classical Indian music was explained and demonstrated by Shao
Xi and Lim.
A
tala literally means a clap, tapping of a hand on the arm or a musical measure
in a rhythmic beat that measures musical time.
 |
A section of the audience at the back of the hall
|
Master
Ajith clarified that instead of using a metronome, in Indian classical music
they were the human metronomes who kept perfect time in various cycles and
patterns.
The
beats were typically counted by hand clapping, waving, touching fingers on the
thigh or the other hand, verbally, and the striking of small cymbals or a
percussion instrument.
In
this showcase, the Chinese drum was the percussion instrument used to
demonstrate the Indian rhythms.
 |
A few words of encouragement from me...
|
I
believe, many in the audience (like me!) were in absolute awe as we observed
how the drummer (Lim) played Indian rhythms on the Chinese drum while the
Indian classical dancer (Shao Xi) gracefully danced the Bharatanatyam steps.
I
could not help having flashbacks to my first experience of watching Lim at his early lessons with Master Ajith, and how the Master guided him to envision
numbers and to turn the counting into poetry.
Ajith
later clarified that it was not only the Chinese but also many Indians in the
audience who were unfamiliar with hearing, “Tak Kit Ter” or “Tak Kit Ter Dim,”
the repeated recitation of the Indian classical rhythms being counted verbally
by the human metronome.
 |
One for the album: A Confluence of Cultures
was a milestone event recorded in history!
|
As
I witnessed Lim drumming Indian rhythms and Shao Xi translating the beats into
graceful dance movements, I was choked with emotion and my eyes filled with tears
of joy.
At
the close of the performance, there was a brief Question & Answer session followed
by feedback comments invited from honoured guests like Tan Chai Puan, Datuk
Krishnan, Madam Thanam and a few words from me.
I
was encouraged when Tan declared that he was deeply moved by this performance where
[and I quote]: “Chinese drums spoke the Indian language!”
 |
A special memento: My niece,
Melanie Mullard with
Lim Shao Xi and Lim Yu Kai
|
Tan
emphasized that cultural communication was very important and looked forward to
more such collaborations to stage for a wider audience to appreciate.
Datuk
Krishnan agreed with Tan on the beauty in such diversity but lamented that art
and culture activities in this city was not administered by people with passion.
Thanam,
who was familiar with Non-Governmental Organisations in her role as Chairperson
of the Iskandar Malaysia Social Heroes Award (IMSHA), agreed that funding was
sadly lacking for art and culture activities.
She
was however, very pleased to have witnessed this showcase and hoped that the
authorities as well as audiences will have a more educated view of the arts.
As
for me, I was proud to witness this milestone event along with Tan Chai Puan of
the 24 Festive Drums and Ajith Bhaskar of Suvarna Fine Arts, two Johor
personalities whom I featured in my 2017 MPH Non-Fiction Bestseller, My
Johor Stories: True Tales, Real People, Rich Heritage.
I
congratulated Ajith, Shao Xi, Lim and Gan for their achievement through a
clever collaboration to present such an entertaining and educational showcase
in A Confluence of Cultures, and was looking forward to their next
performance.
Suvarna
Fine Arts is located at Nong Chik Riverside, No. 17, Level 2, Jalan Kolam Ayer
2, Kampung Mohd Amin, 80200 Johor Baru, Johor.
