Malaysian family’s catchy Hari Raya song goes viral after drawing inspiration from restricted celebration under MCO (VIDEO)
PETALING JAYA, May 27 — A Malaysian family did not imagine that their creative Hari Raya song would become viral after posting it online, which was what happened during the muted Aidilfitri celebrations.
Using musical instruments such as tabla (small drums), mridangam (barrel-shaped double-headed drum) and a bass guitar, the family who belong to a Negeri Sembilan arts and culture group posted the video of them singing the Raya song last Saturday.
Negeri Sembilan Unique Arts, Culture, and Heritage Malaysia artistic director Savithri Vellaithan told Malay Mail that she composed the lyrics of the song as she missed the feel of the vibrant Raya celebration.
“The Covid-19 pandemic halted our family’s routine of visiting houses of Muslim friends and heading to Ramadan bazaars made me do this video to share about how low-key this year’s celebration was and to also entertain viewers,” said the 52-year-old.
While the lyrics of the song came from Savithri herself, the tune of the Hari Raya song was taken from the 1956 Hindi film Bhai Bhai that she had listened to when she was a child.
“My dad who is also a musician played a number of old Hindi hit songs when I was growing up and I remember the melodies of these songs till today.
“The lyrics that include rindu dengan sahabat (missing my friends), tak dapat berjabat (cannot shake hands), took me two days to brainstorm aided by my knowledge of Malay poetry in figuring the right words for the song.”
In a span of two days, the team of six went from preparation to performance accompanied by the musical instruments before posting it on Raya eve on their Facebook page.
The video has already been watched by 8,000 times with numerous positive comments and liked by over 200 people, with multiple reuploads and featured on TV.
“Most of the comments that came from my close friends and netizens was how good this Raya song was and I felt so glad that many positive comments came pouring in,” said Savithri.
“I am also glad that a lot of my friends acknowledged and thanked me for the video as it is also a way to promote unity among races in the country.”
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