When one hears the word tabla, one commonly gets reminded of the Indian classical musical instrument or Ustad Zakir Hussain.
But, for some Indians in Singapore, the word also symbolises a gateway to the Indian community and culture of the city-state. In the future, tabla! aims to grow in such a way that it becomes almost synonymous with the musical instrument, both in Singapore and globally.
One of the first steps towards that direction is its relaunch event at SPH Media’s new auditorium on Nov 19. The event featured a dialogue with Minister of State for Culture, Community, and Youth (MCCY) and Manpower (MOM) Dinesh Vasu Dash, moderated by me.
While the dialogue with Mr Dinesh was only about 45 minutes, many pertinent topics and issues were raised.
Questions around integration both within the Indian community as well as Indians with other ethnic communities; manpower needs for Indian businesses; the unifying power of the arts to integrate the community beyond barriers of race, religion, or language; impact of artificial intelligence on the future of jobs; mother tongues and the structure of Singapore’s education system, were all put forth before Mr Dinesh who addressed them in a composed manner.
As the moderator, I cheekily took the liberty to ask a question that has been on my mind for some time, and I’m sure on many others too: how does Mr Dinesh find the time for so many things? This is given his attendance at many events, including Indian community events, and his management of two major portfolios at MCCY and MOM.
While Mr Dinesh has had an illustrious career in the Singapore Armed Forces, the Ministry of Health, and in the Agency of Integrated Care, politics is a fairly new game for him since his victory in the general election in May 2025. But despite this, he answered each question with the poise and charisma of a politician who had been in the scene for decades.
It is precisely because of his active involvement in events and interactions with people that he is able to get a pulse on on-ground issues, and is able to bring those back to his ministries to look into.
In a very parallel way, that is also what tabla! strives to do. With its latest push for digitalisation, both through its revamped website and social media, we intend to capture the sentiments of the Indian community as much as possible through our platforms. This can’t just be achieved through good content alone, but also through good marketing, content amplification, and opening channels for community content contributions.
Expectations from the community on us are now higher, and we will deliver, one story at a time.
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18 Nov 2025 15:26
