Browsing by Author "Nithyanandan, Jotsna"

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Composing the Malaysian: Reflecting on Shared Spaces in Malaysian Contemporary Compositions and Composers
(Department of fine arts, University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka, 2023) Nithyanandan, Jotsna
Malaysia is a country that is diverse and hybrid in its ethnic make-up and culture but steeped in an ethno-national ideological rubric through which everything is sieved or evaluated, resulting in binary constructs of the centre-periphery and state defined notions of what (or who) belongs and what (or who) doesn’t belong. This presentation explores the process of music creation and production by selected Malaysian contemporary music composers, Bernard Goh, Jillian Ooi and Samuel J Das as well as myself, as a platform for identity presentation and representation. It posits that Malaysian-ness transcends constructed ethnic boundaries, is not defined by this categorization alone, and discusses how the permeability of boundaries, intersections and overlaps of cultures translates into music. On a deeper and more personal level, it delves into the composer’s Malaysian identity related anxieties and how he/she articulates these issues via music and performance. Thus, through the processes of music creation and production, the composers negotiate their multi-layered and multicultural experiences that stem from their day-to-day social interactions and activities. Therefore, this presentation aims to present these composers as social actors who through the medium of music and performance, articulate their “everyday-defined” social reality and thus hope to provide an alternative method to the authority driven reality, in order to negotiate the status quo and opposing viewpoints in Malaysia’s contemporary social environment in relation to the country’s national identity that is currently framed to favour the centre (majority) and under-representing the periphery (minority). It also takes into consideration Malaysia’s geographical and historical position as an important seaport that was fuelled by the Spice trade, and that over time resulted in the formation of a pluralistic society, thus giving rise to the propagation of many cultural exchanges, hybridised communities as well as art forms.
Identities of Diaspora and Translocality: Music and Minorities in Malaysia
(Department of fine arts, University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka, 2023) Santaella, Mayco A.; Nithyanandan, Jotsna; Chih, Samuel Tan Hsien; Shah, Abdul Azeem
Malaysia is a multicultural nation located at the nexus of “mainland” and “island” Southeast Asia. Through maritime links, communities from the region, Asia, and Europe participated in mercantile activities and eventually settled in British Malaya. Despite the cultural diversity, the British developed racial classifications that were institutionalized after independence in 1957. Thus, Malaysia was increasingly divided into racial categories of Malay, Chinese, and Indian and agglomerated numerous cultural groups under the category of “other”. Revisiting governmental regulations and national cultural policies, this panel examines diaspora, ethnic vis-à-vis national identities, and translocality in relation to music and minorities in Malaysia. In the first presentation, Santaella examines a Javanese performance heritage in Johor, Malaysia as an early diaspora and contemporary translocality. In the second presentation, Nithyanandan looks at the cultural intersections of Malaysian composers of diverse backgrounds and the ways in which they navigate personal identities within national categorizations. In the third presentation, Samuel Tan investigates the Malaysian Chinese art song as a genre that is product of multiple diasporas and reflects alternative forms of translocality. Finally, Azeem Shah discusses the dabus heritage as a genre that emerged from an earlier diaspora and was adopted by the Malay national majority to celebrate state cultures. The panel addresses all Malaysian racial categorizations and discusses the production of (trans)locality through the performing arts in the 21st century.