"Taala Tamate" is a dance production choreographed by Dayanand Akhilesh, is an initiative by Beru Art and Cultural Foundation in collaboration with Aravani Art Project, and Music by Adavi Collective and Damarugam

What is the piece about?

What if an instrument could actually talk to you? By pushing the boundaries between stage and space, and exploring the hierarchies of performance and people.

“Taala Tamate” is based on an instrument called the Tamate (also known as Parai), one of the oldest instruments in India. Despite its rich history, this instrument has long been looked down upon and given a lower place in the hierarchical structure of music and art. As performing artists, we wish to bring this instrument into the spotlight and showcase its beauty, essence, potential, as well as the depth of its art and histories.

“Taala Tamate” is all about the Tamate. The instrument is the inspiration, the visuals, the rhythm, and the movement for this dance production. Born of fire and earth, Tamate is raw, Tamate is loud. It is local, and colloquial. Within its rhythms (Taala) it creates space for the beautiful chaos of human existence. 

Tamate holds within it many stories. From womb to tomb, the sounds of Tamate mark the significant events of a person’s life; similarly the life of a place too, is celebrated with Tamate through festivals, processions, community gatherings, and so on. Finally, Tamate reiterates its own histories as well as those of the people it's so closely connected to - specifically the musicians and the transgender community.

Tamate is the living witness to many such moments, and thus becomes the connection between different communities of people, unifying us all in a moment of music, rhythm and movement. Yet neither instrument, its art, nor the communities associated with it receive the respect and admiration they deserve.