Mangai
Lecturer
Department of English
Stella Maris College
E/ avvamma@yahoo.co.in
Performing Gender and Culture: Performing Arts in
Tamil Nadu
Saturday, June 2nd
| 3:00 - 5:00 PM
Tamil has a hoary past of performance traditions, as old as or even
older than its literatures. At a time when Tamil as a Classical language
has been legitimized by the Government of India, it is interesting to
lay bare the dynamics of gender and culture permeating in the
performance traditions in Tamil Nadu. Bharata Natyam, considered a pan- Indian classical dance form, is a relatively recent form that consolidated itself with the advent of colonial debates. Sadhir or Dasi Attam, linked to the temple economy was brought to the civil arena, sanitized and Indianised. (Avanthi Medhuri)
On the other hand we have the Isai Natakam or popularly known as ‘Special Drama’, which came into existence with the influence of Parsi Theatre. It brought artists from different communities together. The unique organisational aspect of Nadigar Sangam, in particular, deserves special mention. (Susan Seizer)
The dynamics of the construction of caste and gender in both these forms in the context of various other dance, narrative and dramatic forms will be explored in this paper. Alternate efforts made in forms like Tappattam, Devarattam and Theru-k- Koothu will be highlighted. Personal experiences of experimenting with some of these forms and with the artists practicing these forms would be foregrounded in the discussion.
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Mangai is the pseudonym of Padma Venkataraman, who teaches English in Stella
Maris College, Chennai. She has been actively engaged in Tamil theatre
as an actor, Director and Playwright for over two decades. She was one
of the Founder- members of Chennai Kalai Kuzhu, Shakthi, Palkalai
Arangam, Voicing Silence and Marappachi. Her fields of interest are
theatre, gender and translation studies. She writes in both Tamil and
English. Her recent publications include entries in
Oxford Companion to Indian Theatre (2004), translation of her play
Pani-t-Thee as Frozen Fire in
Staging Resistance: Plays by Women (2004), translation of Ngugi wa
Thiongo’s Decolonising the Mind as Adaiyala Meetpu:
Kalaneeya Oomail Agarral (2004) and Penniya Arasiyal: A
monograph on Feminist Politics (2005).