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Controversial siblings celebrate with Deepavali video
IRSHATH MOHAMED
Deepavali this year was an occasion for the Nair siblings to celebrate following their controversial rap music video.
Preeti Nair and her brother, rapper Subhas Nair, were given conditional warnings by the police on Aug 14 for the video, which questioned the use of “brownface” in an E-Pay advertisement
“We came up with a video that celebrates Deepavali and shows how to make the popular south Indian delicacy murukku,” said Preeti, who goes by the moniker Preetipls on social media. In the video, named Murukku, the pair sing a song which describes how to mix flour, water and spices and make murukku.
“Every year we help our mother make murukku for Deepavali,” said Preeti, 25,
“So we thought, why not make a video on that.”
The video, which was uploaded on Oct 27, had almost 48,000 views within 10 days on Facebook alone.
People from all races shared positive comments on the thread.
Both Preeti and her brother Subhas said Deepavali celebrations have been integral to their household.
“Deepavali is such a multi-cultural celebration in our house. There will be so many international friends and people from possibly all walks of life. It’s a celebration for everyone,” said Preeti.
Added Subhas: “Deepavali is about family. It is also about abundance. No matter what happens in the year, it is a blessing, as we celebrate with lots of food and lots of fun.
“We invite friends to our house and my mum will cook all the dishes. I must say that she is a fantastic cook.
“I cannot remember ever going to bed on the eve of Deepavali. We prepare for the day-long festivities throughout the night. Up to 100 people usually visit us.”
Their mother, Madam Sellam Nair, hardly sleeps as she prepares all the dishes they like.
“It’s an entire buffet spread,” said Subhas.
“She bakes all the cookies too. She starts preparations almost a week before Deepavali.”
Added Preeti: “My mum makes as many as 500 murukkus and many other kuehs, such as tarts and suji.
“Most are not even Indian delicacies, but it’s a norm for Deepavali at our house and many of my friends have started to think that these are Indian delicacies.
“We give murukku to everyone. My mother will pack it for everyone she can think of. She will pass it to the workers who clean our corridors and even the cashiers at the supermarket she visits.”
Deepavali is also an occasion for the close siblings to celebrate and forget the numerous challenges they faced in their teenage years.
They grew up in hardship after their father left them when Preeti was 15 years old.
Their mother brought them up single-handedly and Subhas had to take up as many as five part-time jobs to support the family who lived in more than 10 different homes over the years, moving from one to another.
The siblings paid for their education through the various financial assistance schemes available.
As a prelude to the Murukku video, Preeti released a “make-up tutorial”, which was her first attempt at speaking publicly in Tamil.
The siblings studied Chinese as their second language in school.
“Initially I did not know why we had to study Chinese in school. We just accepted it,” said Preeti.
“Later we asked our parents and they told us that learning Mandarin will be useful for our future.”
Subhas even took up Higher Chinese during his Junior College days at Hwa Chong Institution. He later went on to Yale-NUS College where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Urban Studies.
Preeti studied at Raffles Girls’ Primary School and then went on to New Town Secondary where Subhas also studied. After that, she studied Mass Communications at Ngee Ann Polytechnic and learnt skills like video editing.
The siblings pointed out that they were not subject to personal attacks in the aftermath of the controversial video they produced.
“I often get nods from people in the street,” said Subhas. “I reckon that it is an acknowledgement for what we stood for.”
