A bride, dressed in the traditional red silk sari and ornaments, is not on the stage of a wedding auditorium, as the norm is in Kerala weddings. She is on the floor with a bunch of percussion artists, a chenda tied around her, beating it in sync with the others, smiling all the way. Clearly Shilpa Sreekumar is having a wonderful time, soon after her wedding with Devanand Chelot in Guruvayur of Thrissur district. Joining the couple is Shilpa's father, Sreekumar Paliyath. Both father and daughter are trained artists, and have performed together in Dubai, where they are settled.
A video of this cheerful performance has predictably gone viral, and two days after her Christmas wedding, Shilpa is surprised by the attention it has gotten. She says she is a mechanical engineer, but her real passion is the chenda. “I have been learning chenda for 12 years now and had my arangettam eight years ago. It was a last minute plan to perform during the wedding,” Shilpa told TNM. The band she was performing with is called Ponnan’s Blue Magic, and she has previously performed with them for the film Kuttanpillayude Sivarathri, starring Suraj Venjaramoodu, Asha Madathil Sreekanth, Remya Suresh and others.
“Ponnan's Blue Magic, the band of percussionists I played with, suggested performing at the wedding. We didn't get time to practice but they had sent me a video. At the wedding venue, when we began performing, my husband Devanand joined with the thalam. My father Sreekumar also joined us,” she told TNM.
Watch videos of Shilpa's performance:
A marriage function in guruvayoor temple today. The brides dad is Chendai master and the daughter plays it enthusiastically with her dad also joining at the end. The groom also seems to be participating. pic.twitter.com/VgoQbIhwhh
— BRC (@LHBCoach) December 26, 2022