SINGAPORE, January 11, 2016 (News Asia): Live music will be allowed for this year’s Thaipusam street procession for the first time in more than four decades. The Hindu Endowments Board (HEB) and the police said yesterday that musicians, who have been given approval, can play specified traditional instruments at three points along the route.The instruments are the nadaswaram horn, the tavil drum and the Indian drum. The decision to relax the rules comes after 10 feedback sessions conducted by the board with 116 members of the Hindu community over a period of two months, ending in April. All participants shared that music is important to the festival with 65 per cent wanting traditional auspicious Indian instruments to be part of the religious event.
A ban has been in place since 1973 that restricts the playing of musical instruments due to a history of rivalry and fights between competing groups which disrupted the procession. The authorities have allowed music to be transmitted over broadcast systems at several designated points along the procession since 2012. Despite the ban, devotees have been playing instruments on the streets over the years.
HEB chairman R. Jayachandran described the Government’s acceptance of the board’s recommendations as a “historical first step”.”It shows that the authorities are taking the concerns and needs of the community seriously,” he said.