SARANYA DEVAN
Musical genius AR Rahman, known as the Mozart of Madras, has unknowingly helped Stellenbosch University (SU) in its efforts to shed its racial tag.
The university has been historically associated with the Afrikaner community and was seen as a bastion of white Afrikaner culture and language. It was the alma mater of some of the most diehard “Apostles of Apartheid”, including Hendrik Verwoerd, Johannes Vorster and Daniel Malan. During apartheid it was one of the universities that played a crucial role in maintaining racial segregation in education.
After the ushering of democracy in 1994, it still hung onto prejudicial practices. Even now, less than a quarter of the academic staff are black. It was only 21 years after the demise of racial segregation that Afrikaans, the language of apartheid oppressors, was removed as the official teaching language at SU.
In recent years, there have been several incidents of white students urinating on the bags, laptops and desks of black students. Videos have circulated of Black students being put through horrifying initiation rituals, such as being locked up like slaves in cages.
To address issues of racial inequality, an internal investigation resulted in the controversial residence on campus being shut down. Mercifully, slowly, very slowly, SU is undergoing transformation.
To help promote diversity and inclusion on the SU campus, enter ARR. Not the Grammy Award-winning music composer himself, but Balleilakka, the Tamil song Rahman directed for the 2007 hit Rajnikanth action thriller movie Sivaji: The Boss and rendered by SP Balasubramanyam.
What a sight to behold white (mostly Afrikaner) and black students standing side-by-side as the SU Choir, and singing “Sooriyano chandirano, Yaarivano sattunnu sollu…” As of this past weekend, the YouTube video had more than 61 000 views.
The SU Choir, one of South Africa’s most accoladed cultural treasures, is playing a key role as a catalyst in healing SU’s racist wounds .Audiences have been entranced by the energy, talent and musicality of this student choir. Recently the choir performed Miriam Makeba's all-time classic Pata Pata and the South African 2020 gospel-inspired house track Jerusalema.
While singing Balleilakka is an avant-garde move by SU, it is certainly a progressive step, using the university’s arts space to address the past injustices of the colour bar.
The choir version of Balleilakka, which fuses opera and symphony typical of the classical era of European culture, has been arranged by Ethan Sperry, the Director of Choral activities at Portland State University in USA. It is conducted at SU by Andre van der Merwe.
With some percussion backing and groovy choreography by Jordan Cridland and Chulu Makapela, watching this video has the ability to warm the cockles of your heart with the realisation that music has the power to transcend racial intolerance and bigotry.
The term Balleilakka is a playful expression in Tamil, and it doesn't have a specific meaning but is used to add flair and excitement to the song.
From the students’ smiles and body language, it is clear their near flawless rendition of the song is nothing less than an exuberant and celebratory delivery of another facet of Tamilness.
It is spellbinding that the SU choir’s understanding of the song's intricate rhythms, melodic nuances, and expressive phrasing reveals a deep reverence for the original composition - yet their execution brought a unique level of sophistication and energy that deeply lacks amongst Tamil choirs today in South Africa.
The local Tamil eisteddfod movement which once served as a vital space for celebrating choral music, should have performed "Balleilakka" long before it came under the baton of master conductor Andre van der Merwe.
Watch the Balleilakka video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8cHLlHm1VM
Saranya Devan is a theatre-maker, dance performer, academic and proud Tamilian. She holds an MA in dance from UCT, and a MA in Bharatha Natyam from the University of Madras.