Walk into Tan Chai Puan’s office and you will be greeted by a life-sized framed Chinese calligraphy, a mark of a person who appreciates the arts. As a child in the 60s, Chai Puan’s interest in the arts grew when he fell in love with the Chingay parade, and always looked forward to the annual event. He loved the dances, the music, and most of all, he loved the excitement of the festive mood.
So you can imagine the joy he experienced when he was tasked to write a theme song for the 9th National Chinese Dance Festival in 1988. In this theme song, he wanted to evoke the same feelings of anticipation and exhilaration that he felt as a spectator of the Chingay parade as a child. To demonstrate this, he showcased nine drums and nine dances as the opening performance for the event. The crowd was moved. Chai Puan started to wonder if drums could be a more regular feature in Johor.
Inspired by the 24 Solar Terms, an ancient Chinese agricultural calendar, Chai Puan saw meaning in gathering 24 drums into a performance, each drum representing one solar term. The 24 Solar Terms were created in ancient China for farmers to know when to sow and harvest their crops. Only the ancient Chinese emperor could read the constellations and he would give out instructions to gathered crowds – an event that became a monthly festival. Chai Puan shared his idea with his friend, the late Tan Hooi Song, a music teacher at Foon Yew High School, and together they formed the first 24 Festive Drums Club in the school.
Today, over thirty years later, the 24 Festive Drums Club has spread all over the world, making its mark in countries like UK, USA and China. While many have the misconception that the club was formed in China, the club educates its audience that the actual birthplace of the artform is Johor Bahru. In 2009, the 24 Festive Drums became our National Heritage and in 2016, the 24 Solar Terms was inscribed in UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
24 Festive Drums is not only a musical percussion performance, but it is also a visual art consisting of dances and synchronised movements of the drummers. Competitions between schools are held yearly, and since it is a relatively new form of art, the creativity of the choreographer and musician are maximised to showcase new beats and moves.
Chai Puan hopes to see drums from other ethnicities and cultures in our country perform together in the International Drums Festival, a display of diversity and harmony regardless of race or language.
He feels that the Iskandar Malaysia Social Hero Awards is a beautiful idea for the community, as NGOs need to come together towards a common goal for the betterment of communities as a whole.
