Velu Aasaan
A Madurai parai drummer who learned at 10 and has trained thousands and taken the folk drum to stages abroad, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2025.
The parai is an ancient Tamil drum, once used for announcements and still heard at festivals and the famous Alanganallur jallikattu. Velu Aasan has spent his life reviving it. In 2025 he was named for the Padma Shri in the field of art, from Tamil Nadu [1].
Drumming from childhood
Velu was born on 20 May 1970 [2]. His family was poor, and he left school after Class 4 [2]. At 10 he began playing parai with his father at the Alanganallur jallikattu, temple festivals and funeral processions [2].
The teacher
As interest in parai grew, he began teaching it to students, colleges and folk groups, and came to be called “Aasan”, meaning teacher [2]. The dance that goes with the drum, which began with 52 steps he knew from memory, now has more than 110 [2]. He also makes drums, and has produced thousands [2].
He has given more than 1,200 performances and workshops, travelled to the United States, China, Malaysia and Singapore, and appeared in more than 35 Tamil and Telugu films [2]. In 2001 he started an association of parai artists in Madurai [2]. In 2021 he received Tamil Nadu’s Kalai Nanmani award [2].
Sources
- [1] Padma Awards 2025: list of awardees — Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Accessed 11 October 2026.
- [2] Padma Awards 2025: citation for Velu Aasaan — Padma Awards, Government of India. Accessed 12 October 2026.
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