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SOUTH AFRICA, September 29, 2003: Chatsworth, South African musician Kevin Pillay is determined to keep the Indian culture alive. Pillay, a percussionist, spent two years in Chennai, India, learning the art of playing a South Indian drum. He was offered a scholarship by the Natal Tamil Vedic Society to study under Indian drum guru Shri Karaikudi Mari. This week, Pillay’s work and skills paid off when he released a CD, Kadavul, meaning God in Tamil. “It demanded a lot of discipline and attention. I stopped eating meat completely because I wanted to be sincere in the way I make the music. “It’s very calming and it is made for the soul,” said Pillay. His CD conveys a message to the Hindu community in South Africa that they must ensure the culture does not die. It contains 10 tracks of South Indian devotional music. Pillay said his father, Ariseela, also a musician, inspired him in his music career. He has been playing music since he was 11 years old and has played with South African artists such as Nadarajan Naicker. He and a friend, Rajive Mohan, worked for two months putting the CD together. Pillay did the beat work and vocals, while Mohan added keyboard and took care of all the musical arrangements. Said Mohan: “It was one of the most exciting projects I have worked on. It’s a great contribution to the Hindu community. It has a lot of devotional and semi-classical music.” Pillay’s dedication to uplifting the Hindu culture has led him to leave his job as a digital document systems operator. He is now devoting his time to teaching young Hindu children South Indian music and how to play the drum. “Some of them are really into it, but, unfortunately, some are forced by their parents to attend classes,” he said.

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