Could you talk about your fondness for the traditional knowledge systems of India?
Most of the traditional knowledge which our elders know is dismissed as superstition. We can say karanam. There is a karanam for everything. That is the knowledge I want to take to children. Most children think that thier mothers and grandmothers did not know anything. Traditional knowledge is there with grandmothers and mothers passed on from generation to generation. Many children think that just because they got a degree their grandmothers don’t know anything.
Could you talk about the Tamil goddess Mariamman?
Mariamman is the rain goddess. Most villages have Mariamman or some kind of Amman. They act as goddesses of the fort – Elaiswamy. The thiruvala for Mariamman is in summer. In Chitirai. This is linked to a festival where people got vaccinated through needles. Vaidiyars will give antidote and needles will be administered.
During summer people would offer neem leaves and neer more for the Goddess. And they would offer turmeric to the Goddess.
Could you talk about the traditional folk dances of Tamil Nadu?
Mayil Attam – The peacock dance
Thapattam – People dance to the beats of one sided drum.
The Horse dance or Poi Kal Kudhiray Attam
Villupattu – The traditional storytelling of Tamil Nadu were the artists would half sing songs and half narrate the stories. This has a long history.
Bomaiattam – Where stories are narrated with puppets
Kargattam – The dancers keep a pot on top of the head and perform.
Therukuttu – A play is performed in the streets.
For folk forms like Thapattam and Poi Kal Kudhiray Attam there are still families that continue the tradition. 45-50 families perform and enact these traditions.
