Today's Google Doodle, Saturday (10/22/2021), commemorates Ellya Khadam's 93rd birthday. He is one of the figures who are considered the pioneers of dangdut in Indonesia.
Ellya Khadam's real name is Siti Alya Husnah. She was born in Jakarta in 1928. During her teenage years, Ellya was next door to a Malaysian pop music style singer known as deli.
Ellya developed her musical talent by imitating the genre, which allowed her to make a name for herself by singing at weddings. He then joined a local band.
Ellya Khadam's name rose to prominence as a singer in the Kelana Ria Malay Orchestra during the 1950s, a band that drew much inspiration from Indian culture and music.
Khadam's career reached its peak with the release of his 1956 hit song "Puppet India" (Dolls from India) which is now considered the standard of the dangdut genre.
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She expresses her love for Indian customs not only by using Indian tabla rhythms in her songs, but also by wearing a traditional Indian sari and wearing a sindoor on her forehead.
Ellya Khadam album cover Photo: Wikipedia
In addition to his musical output, which popularized dangdut and inspired young people to take the genre to new heights, Khadam starred in dozens of films by the late 1970s.
Today, dangdut is able to showcase the nation's culture on a global scale as one of the most popular musical styles in Indonesia. Even earlier this year has made a historic debut on stage in New York's Times Square.
"Happy birthday, Ellya Khadam-thank you for voicing a new wave of Indonesian culture!" wrote Google.
Ellya Khadam's Google Doodle was created by an artist named Fatchurofi Muhammad. Working on Ellya Khadam's doodle is nostalgic for her,
Because he grew up listening to the radio as a source of entertainment and news. At that time his family did not own a TV until he was 9 years old. And Ellya's songs must be heard over and over again because she's so popular, especially "Beautiful Doll From India".
"So now, working on this Doodle and listening to the songs again, brings up all my childhood memories," said Fatchurofi.
In making this doodle, Fatchurofi was inspired by Ellya's stage identity.
"His pink saris are widespread, the object of which is the basis of his career, from music (recording) to acting (film roles). Tambourines, tabla, and flute-musical instruments from Orkes Melayu, the genre that popularized them. And there are strong visual and color cues from India to represent the main source of inspiration and stage identity," explained the man from Semarang.
Fatchurofi hopes that through doodles, netizens can imitate Ellya Khadam's fighting spirit in his work.
"Be productive. Great works live forever. Inspiration comes from everywhere," he said.