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"Ways the Dravidian Movement has Used Stories to Communicate Its
Messages" was
discussed (via Zoom), 7:30pm-9:00pm
(India time) on
Sunday 25th Feb 2024 The
recording (93 minutes) is here. This
was a Session in Chennai Storytelling Festival
2024 (the
Festival's 12th annual edition), All Free, All Zoom! Regarding this Session: For the past 100 years, south
India has generated a tremendous mix of drama, professional storytelling
(Villupaattu, etc), music, dance, fictional literature, cinema – and politics. Much of this work has drawn upon the
society and culture of ancient south India as evidenced and portrayed in
Sangam literature (written especially between 2,600 and 1,700 years ago). People are invited to send in
writings and recordings on the topic of "Ways the Dravidian Movement has Used Stories to Communicate Its
Messages". This material
would be discussed during the Zoom session on Sun 25 Feb, 7:30pm-9pm. Three items received in advance
of the discussion were: 1) A video recording by Mr. TKS
Elangovan is here (18 min). 2) An essay by Mr.
Namachivayam. The 6-page version is here. The 10-page version is here. 3) An essay by Ms. Uma Vangal on
the short stories and novels written by former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa
relating to the empowerment of women in the context of the Dravidian
movement. The essay is here. *** Contact: Email, info@storytellinginstitute.org Phone and whatsapp, 98403 94242 Thank you! - Dr Eric Miller, Festival Director PS A brief description of the
Dravidian movement is here. ____________________ The Chennai Storytelling Festival
2024 homepage (with a link to the Program, which is on the weekends of Feb
2024) is at https://storytellinginstitute.org/CSF2024.html The theme of CSF 2024 is
Storytelling and "Personal Growing and Maturing (and Community Growing
and Maturing)". To receive the Zoom link for all
of the Festival's English-language sessions, please
send a request to info@storytellinginstitute.org The Dravidian
political-cultural movement From the early 1900’s onward, the
Dravidian political-cultural movement has been composed of a thorough mix of
the arts, and the civic-political.
Dravidian politicians developed a grand and sweeping style of political
oratory: highly alliterative and rhythmic, with extensive parallelism
(repetition with variation, of phrases, sentences, etc.), and other verbal
arts. In the 1930’s, N. S. Krishnan, a star
comedian, created and toured widely with modernized-Villupaattu (“bow song”
folk group-storytelling performances) about various topical subjects. Numerous recent leaders of Tamil Nadu have
been cinema actors, writers, and producers.
South India has seen a mix of drama, music, dance, cinema, fictional
literature, and politics, to a degree unequaled elsewhere in India or beyond. The ancient Tamil tradition of
humanism was invoked by E.V. Ramasamy, leader of the early Dravidian
movement, in his promotion of rationalism (atheism). E.V.R. and his followers claim that
mythology has been used to confuse and subjugate Dravidians. a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a
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