Plantation Life : As it was

We’re honoured to be featured in The Star’s article, “A year of soulful renewal for Klang Valley’s arts scene in 2025.”

What began as a modest endeavour to revive Tamil folk songs from plantation histories has evolved into a cultural movement that bridges memory, music and lived experience.

Once relegated to the margins, these songs now resonate openly. Araro Ariraro affirms why these stories matter, not only to one community, but to Malaysia’s collective cultural memory.

Our sincere thanks to Ilham Gallery and Sheau for creating a platform where these voices could be heard.

This is renewal, through remembrance.

Read the full article: https://www.thestar.com.my/lifestyle/culture/2026/01/01/a-year-of-soulful-renewal-for-klang-valleys-performing-arts-in-2025

As we approach the end of the year, we take a moment to reflect on what has shaped our journey.

This year, Araro Ariraro came to life, a project that began with the support of countless individuals who believed in the stories we aimed to share. From crowdfunding efforts to long days of filming, every moment was filled with trust, care, and collaboration.

As the year concludes, our hearts are filled with gratitude for everyone who made this journey possible. And we can’t wait to share the documentary with you in 2026! ❤️

Wishing everyone a bright and beautiful Deepavali! 🪔

May your days be filled with light, laughter, and love. From all of us at Araro Ariraro, here’s to celebrating togetherness and the spirit of community that shines brighter than any lamp. 💛

We are honoured!

At the 26th Annual Miss Malaysia Indian Global Grand Finals, Plantation.Life received the Community Impact Award under the newly launched Community, Environment & Leadership (C.E.L.) Awards for our project Araro Ariraro.

This recognition is a tribute to the voices and stories of our ancestors, whose songs carried strength, memory, and identity through generations. 💛

✨✨ awesome day sharing songs at Ilham Gallery 🥰🙏🏽💛

We were privileged to be able to host the incredible singers Mu. Athi Raman, K.P. Ambikapathy and M. Santhirasekaran from Chennai last Saturday. Our thanks to them, Gogularaajan Rajendran and his team for such an uplifting and moving performance. #IlhamGalleryKL #lIhamGallery #ArtExhibition #artgallerykl #ilhamperformance #ThePlantationPlot #Folksongs

We did it, together! ❤️

Araro Ariraro crowdfunding has officially exceeded our target, reaching 104.93%, raising a total of RM125,921! 🙌

This incredible milestone was also made possible by :

• Preloved Items Sales: RM2,081
• Storytelling Workshop with Melizarani : RM1,050

This journey is proof that every act of giving, big or small, creates ripples of change. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for walking with us, for believing in Araro Ariraro, and for making this possible. ❤️

🎥🎶 Araro Ariraro’s feature on The Star !

Our deepest thanks to everyone who joined Paati Sonna Kathai // Grandmother Stories. 💛

Together with Melizarani T. Selva and our director Gogularaajan Rajendran, we held space for memories — of mothers and their cooking, grandfathers and the houses they built rituals, songs and stories that might have slipped away.

Your presence, your words, and your support mean everything. Each story shared brings us closer to keeping these voices alive through .

🚨ATTENTION🚨 to Araro Ariraro supporters! We’ve got some fun BTS updates to share with you very soon as we start the next phase of documentary-making. 🎥

Make sure you don’t miss out on it by adding [email protected] to your email contacts!

Ever clapped your way into a story?

That’s what Kummi is. A Tamil folk dance where rhythm, song, and community collide.

On the plantations, Kummi was not just a dance. It was a heartbeat, voices rising, palms meeting, feet moving in circles of joy and defiance.

This 14 Sept (4–6PM) at GMBB KL, step into the circle.

With our director Gogularaajan Rajendran and musician Santosh, we’ll sing the songs once heard on the plantations and move to the oldest rhythm there is: the clap.

No fancy footwork needed. Just bring your voice, and your energy. 🙌

💃🏽 Sing. Clap. Dance. Repeat.

We are deeply grateful!

Thanks to the incredible generosity of our supporters, Araro Ariraro has reached 90% of our crowdfunding goal. (slide 2 &3: the list of our latest backers)

Only RM11,284 more to go before we can bring this film to life. Every ringgit given has carried us closer to preserving our stories, our songs, and our history. 💌

Let’s take this final step together.

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Find out more about our Crowdfunding Campaign : https://linktr.ee/plantationlife

Help fund Araro Ariraro : https://www.omsakthifilms.com/support-araro-ariraro

We’ll see you there!

ILHAM Performance

🗓️Date: Saturday, 20 September 2025
🕒Time: 3:00 PM
📍Venue: Level 5, ILHAM Gallery
🎟️Entry: Free

In 1998, a collection of Tamil folksongs was posthumously published in Chennai. Compiled by Dr. R. Dhandayutham of the University of Malaya, it contained hundreds of folksong lyrics once sung on Malayan plantations. Over two decades later, filmmaker Gogularaajan Rajendran stumbled upon the archive, struck by its raw, unfiltered account of Tamil workers’ lives. Working with folk singers and experts in India, he began a process of reconstruction. 

Join us on Saturday 20th September at 3pm as three singers from Chennai - Mu. Athi Raman,
K.P. Ambikapathy, and  ⁠M. Santhirasekaran perform  these reconstructed folksongs. accompanied by the Parai drum.

Spaces are limited. Pls email [email protected] a seat. Admission only by confirmation of email.