The Vayali Folk Group: India’s First ‘Bamboo’ Band

A melting pot of folk music, dance and tradition, the countryside Vayali Folk Group have been turning heads with their unique bamboo-centred music. Photo: Ajay Menon

On a placid afternoon, we arrived at a sun-kissed paddy field in the outskirts of Thrissur, Kerala, to see a band perform with their peculiar bamboo instruments. Some of them looked familiar””there was a rainmaker, a marimba and something that looked like a bamboo version of a xylophone””and some quite strange. That’s when we figured if you’re searching for the ideal DIY project, there’s no need to look any further than the example set by the Vayali Folk Group.

A melting pot of folk music, dance and tradition, the countryside Vayali Folk Group have been turning heads with their unique bamboo-centred music. The band’s inspiration to form a bamboo music group came about following a tour of Japan in 2007. Back then they were an indigenous folklore group formed by artists who kept their day jobs as carpenters, electricians and farmers but were also intent on keeping their Valluvanad (a region in South Malabar) traditions and culture alive.

My tryst with the bamboo ensemble happened during a recent project to document the thriving and dying cultures around Bharatapuzha aka river Nila with responsible travel group called The Blue Yonder. The river (second longest in the country) flows through three districts in Kerala, namely Thrissur, Palakkad and Malapuram.

The eight-piece band was being led with the progressions played by the flautist. Only one instrument stood out as metal-based, a cymbal-like instrument called the kaimani which is for keeping time since bamboo cannot create that tone for the rhythm.

“In 2007 we went to Japan and performed alongside a bamboo band there,” says multi-instrumentalist, Pradeep KV, a member of the band who is a house painter by profession. “We thought why not start a band like that here in Kerala, especially when bamboo and its variants are a part of our culture.”

Most of the members are familiar with all of the instruments and keep shuffling their duties. Photo: Ajay Menon

It took four years to set up the band. With an initial count of 14 members, the band went through several modifications over the years. “Things became difficult because most members have their day jobs to keep, plus the logistics and hassles of bringing together all the members for practice and shows,” says Pradeep, who is joined by band mates Rajesh K K, Manoharan K V, Sanoj, Sajeev, Vishnujithu and Sujil Kumar T P.

The Vayali Folk Group fuse intense dance and percussion routines and perform warm hinterland tunes with occasional folk renditions of Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On” or a Bollywood track like “Jia Jale” thrown into the mix. What truly makes them unique however is their dexterity and knack to invent new bamboo-based instruments. So far they’ve designed and crafted nine new instruments, such as the kikkera and bumbe (percussion instruments) and thambor (a bass instrument), and are working on two more pieces.

Of course, designing and creating instruments is no mean feat.  “It’s costly to get professionals to design and buy bamboo instruments. Also, these pieces usually not available in shops,” Kumar explains about why they continue despite the challenges. “We didn’t get the sound we were looking for. That’s when we decided to do it ourselves.”

With over 500 shows to their credit, the band has been toiling with the idea of scoring for films as well. “We do around eight shows on an average in a month. We are looking forward to take this innovative music outside and expand our learning,” says band manager, Vinod Arangode, of their plan to push their music on a global scale. Elaborating on this he says, “We have few offers in place to do bamboo music for films. We are looking into that. It’s an innovation and it takes time to create new instrument or music.” They are also keen on popularizing their instruments and music.  “We don’t want to keep these instruments as our own property. We believe in the philosophy of open exchange,” adds Arangode.

Most of the members are familiar with all of the instruments and keep shuffling their duties. The band is also keen to expand their repertoire outside the realm of folk. And as much as they’d like to work on an album, financial constraints have so far prevented them from pursuing that goal. Says Arangode, “People are mixing Western and traditional instruments and creating fusion kind of compositions. But, we only perform with bamboo instruments. In that sense, it’s safe to assume we’re the only such folk band in the country.”

Watch the Vayali Folk Group perform live at Sahaj Parab below: