Drumming up a storm: new life for Malaysian Indian folk music
(Artdaily.org)

Malaysian Indian musicians bang drums on a stage shrouded in smoke, singing in Tamil, as dancers wearing shimmering gold outfits adorned with peacock feathers gyrate to the pounding rhythm. The `urumee melam` ensemble are performing a traditional form of folk music brought to Malaysia generations ago by Indian labourers but which is now enjoying a revival among the country`s South Asian community. Malaysia is home to more than two million ethnic Indians who live among a predominantly Muslim Malay population of some 32 million. They are descendants of Indians who came to Malaysia during British colonial rule in the 19th and 20th centuries to work on expansive agricultural plantations. The labourers, mostly from the southern state of Tamil Nadu, brought with them the `urumee melam`, which would be played at Hindu temples on the estates. `It was the music of the working class -- entire communities played it with every