This paper addresses a significant gap in scholarship on the ancient Tamil paṟai frame drum. Existing ethnomusicological research has primarily focused on the instrument’s performance practices in Tamil Nadu, where it is closely associated with the Tamil Dalit community, addressing topics such as anti-caste oppression, social justice activism, and identity empowerment. Conversely, few studies examine how the paṟai’s role is repositioned when it circulates beyond South India and enters diasporic and multicultural contexts. This study responds to that gap by examining paṟai practice in Singapore, a cosmopolitan city-state in Southeast Asia. Drawing on participant observation, interviews, and documentation of drumming workshops and staged performances, this paper examines how the paṟai’s role has been reconfigured in Singapore under the direction of Thirukumaran, a leading Tamil drumming pedagogue and founder of Damaru Singapore. Thirukumaran combines performance styles from Madurai, Tanjavur, and Chennai, which are usually kept separate in Tamil Nadu, into a single Singapore paṟai style. He further develops an ensemble performance format inspired by Brazilian street percussion, integrating layered rhythmic patterns and coordinated dance movement. In Singapore, paṟai drumming has only recently been revitalized, and the absence of gatekeepers or learned audiences has given Thirukumaran the freedom to experiment with blending regional paṟai drumming styles. This makes Singapore a distinctive site for examining how paṟai drumming is reshaped beyond its place of origin in Tamil Nadu. The study contributes to the discourse on how musical practices acquire new meanings as they cross borders.