Chenda player sets out to drum up youth empowerment, beat stigma

Chennai: Chenda player and autorickshaw driver Ashok Kumar shut his windows to block out the stench and noise. Some people are smoking and drinking outside his house in a narrow alley in VOC Nagar on Saturday afternoon. “Not all of us drink, smoke or take drugs,” said the 23-year-old as he lit an incense stick inside his house and awaited his band for practice. This Kerala drum has become an instrument to beat the stigma that taints their neighbourhood — one of the city’s oldest ghettos.“The world outside thinks everyone from Pulianthope is a thug,” he said, hitting the drum repeatedly to tighten the leather straps on the sides to tune it. Many youngsters are denied jobs and stereotyped as drug addicts when they reveal where they stay. “But my fix is beating the chenda,” said Ashok, who gets to perform at 20 to 25 events a month, including weddings, inaugurations and even political campaigns. He gets ₹600-900 per gig. Before the elections, they were hired to play for the Central Chennai BJP MP candidate’s campaign in Island Grounds. After learning to play the chenda three years ago, he started giving free lessons to 20 sixteen- to twenty-year-olds in Pulianthope, to keep them from endangering their health and future. They practise regularly after school. In 2023, he convinced some parents to send their children for chenda training. “Ashok anna promised my parents that he would ensure that we would not get into drugs or alcohol,” said A Rakesh, 16, who has been part of the band for the past four months. He goes for gigs during weekends and holidays and gets ₹500 each time. But it is not just the money that motivates the boys to play the drum. If not for the chenda, they would not have travelled across India, said the boys. They have gone to Kanyakumari, Kolkata and Bengaluru for gigs. “I might not be earning much, but I am doing well for a school student. With more experience and skill, I aim to do world tours, meet new people and learn new percussion instruments,” said Stephen H, another 17-year-old band member. “I have not seen a youngster in my area, who is into drugs and liquor, get a job and see the world. I do not want to be like them.”Last week, some boys asked Rakesh to try drinking.He immediately told Ashok. “Stay away from them,” Ashok replied.“If ‘my brothers’ have talent, how can a locality’s name mar their chances in the job market,” Ashok asked while picking the tempo up. His boys began to follow, drowning out the noise of traffic and drunken scuffles.
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