Indian Journal of Tamil
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'Staying True to Theatrical Life': Bicycle Theatre Group in Northern Sri Lanka
Get PDFDuring the war in the northern part of Sri Lanka, theatre committees functioned on a monthly allowance basis. This activity has been going on continuously for many years. These theatre groups have travelled relying on people. The people have fed them. Here the salary allowance was not paid according to the quality of the actor in the theatre group, but according to the number of his family members. Instead of 'qualified wages', the allowance of 'wages as per requirement' has been given. A group of equal numbers of women and men have cycled and staged plays. The play has been staged in at least three places every day, travelling day and night continuously for 22 days in a month. The actors, who went on bicycles professionally and staged plays, performed real life on stage. They saw the reality of the stage in life. There are no differences between fiction and reality in this theatre journey. The real story becomes a drama. A drama story becomes a reality. Here the dramaturgy fits in with many true stories and becomes visions of realities. At the same time, after a play is over, more plays are created. Moreover, more and more have evolved. Here, the play has helped the affected people reach the stage of 'despair'. It leads to a state of repentance, collective empathy, gaining confidence, and a desire to live. This study is based on the stage definition of liberation, on the basis of the ethnographic point of view, on the basis of which the researcher himself lived at a given time, and on the basis of witnessing the plays. But there are gaps in this study. To further enrich the study, the fonts of the plays produced by the theatre groups recorded sound, and cinematography is also required. Observation studies are also required. They are limited in the context of a military crisis
The Tradition of Othuvar in Temples - A Cultural Musicology study based on the Saiva temple tradition in Sri Lanka
Get PDFThe early Siva community identify the Singing is the easiest way to pray to God and reaching his salvation. From the earliest times in the Saiva tradition, the Nayanmars and Alvars who descended from Karaikkalammaiyar, followed this way and dissolved with the power of God not only this, with the help of history of Saiva we can understand, these Nayanmars and Alvars were not only practice this style of praying in their own life, as well as they insist the community to follow this method of their religious life also. In the Saiva tradition, those who greet the Lord with music are known by the special name of 'Oduvars'. This Oduvar tradition, which originated from Karaikkalammaiyar in the history of Sivasim, has continued in Hindu temples in Sri Lanka up to now. As far as Sri Lanka is concerned, history has maintained a close relationship with Tamil Nadu for a long time in culture, religion, customs and many other social contexts. It would not be an exaggeration to say that even though Sri Lanka has been under foreign rule for a long time, it is the work of these readers to preserve Sivasim and Tamilism and pass it on to the next generation. This article describes the work done by the Oduvars in Jaffna, the place where Saivism flourished in Sri Lanka
A study of the Dathan Inscription
Get PDFThe biographies and historical identities of the Tamils are given prominence in the form of inscriptions, manuscripts and pottery. There are many inscriptions and manuscripts in Batticaloa and Tamil Nadu in Sri Lanka. Thus, the Dathan inscription is one of the major inscriptions referring to the Batticaloa Prehistory and the Batticaloa Manmiyam. This inscription identifies Dathan who came to Batticaloa during the reign of Ethirmannasingan, the Kalinga king who ruled Batticaloa. Dathan, who came from Kongu Naadu in India and belonged to the Vaishnava religion, came here to teach the Pandavas about the exile. The Pandiruppu Thiraupadi Amman Temple is a continuation of this. In such a context, the Pandiruppu Thiroupathi Amman Temple is the first temple in Sri Lanka. Following this many Thiroupathi Amman temples were established in Batticaloa Tamil Nadu. Bharatanatyam is spread in the background of this Dathan inscription and one can also see the rhymes associated with the story of bharatha Ammanai that have arisen here. Following that, the goddesses are also beginning to write Bharat Goddess Ammanai, Vaikuntha Goddess Reading. All these goddesses have arisen in Batticaloa Tamil Nadu with the input of story of bharatham. It also shows the history of the Sinhala king Vimaladharmasooriya I who ruled Kandy and clarifies the grant given by the emperor to the Pandiruppu Thiroupathi Amman temple
The Legacy and Noble Life of Siddhas
Get PDFSiddhas are full of supernatural powers. They can even be said to be the reincarnation of God on earth. It is because of their grace, devotion, and spiritual feelings towards the great deity. Moreover, the way they alleviate the suffering of the people and the living realities that happened and are happening in their lives are projected before their eyes. They have lived with the power to permanently remove people's diseases, abandoned by doctors. That is why the Siddhas are considered to be the reincarnations of God. The Siddhas are those who have suppressed the will and studied the movement of the world, the universe, the power of God, the philosophy of life, and the secret of the universe. So, Siddhas are those who live naturally with nature and know nature completely
Biological virtue embodied in Mayuram Munsif Vedanayakar's book of justice
Get PDFMorality is one of the fundamentals of human life. It is this morality that separates man and animals. When an individual is ethical, the society and country that are dependent to him become moral. But human beings do not follow the moral code at all times and in all circumstances. Murder, robbery, rape, alcohol, prostitution, lying, and fraud have been indelibly imprinted on mankind since time immemorial. Our forefathers have long sought to make man aware of their evils and to bring him to the right path. In that sense Munseep Mayuram Vedanayakam Pillai (1826-1889 AD) wrote a book of justice, that was a magnificent book that taught the Tamils the morals of human life. He is the celebrated son of Goddess Tamil. He was the great person who introduced new literary techniques in the world of Tamil literature after the arrival of the British. Until today, it seems that whole-hearted recognition has not been bestowed for the contributions he has made Goddess Tamil. The reason for this is still not understood till today. The book of justice written by that great person with social concern is a wonderful book that teaches the Tamils, social morals, virtues and well-being. This article explores the virtues of human life that it embodies
The Charity of Jainism to Tamils based on Naladiyar
Get PDFJainism spread in Tamil Nadu in the 3rd century AD. Jains aim to show love and grace to all. The people of Tamil Nadu embraced Jain religious ideas. Jains contributed to Tamil by composing many books, ranging from Sangam literature to grammar books. In this, the Jains have emphasised many virtues, such as wealth, impermanence, the impermanence of the body, not desiring other women, friendship with virtuous people, and tolerance of mistakes made by friends. The purpose of the Jain religion in Tamil Nadu was to spread their religion among the people. Although on one hand, they tried to spread the Jain religion, on the other hand, they composed various books in Tamil for the Tamils and in the Tamil language for the people to cherish in their minds. In the books composed by them, generally how an individual should live in society, the virtue of not causing suffering to even a small life, and the principles of justice such as morality and dharma are emphasized
Philosophical dialogue in Arabic diaspora literature with special reference to Kahlil Gibran’s poems
Get PDFPhilosophy regulates the functioning of human life. Good philosophies are the cross-cutting faces of human life. This theoretical thinking in Arabic literature dates back to the Jahiliyya period. Arab literary figures that, have appeared throughout history, have made significant contributions to the regulation of human life by conveying philosophical ideas in their literary works. These philosophical dialogues have the potential to elicit a positive response in solving the various social, economic and political issues of human life. In this manner, the Lebanese Arab diaspora poet Khalil Gibran is one of the foremost contributors to the Arabic literary world. The research tries to introduce Arabic diaspora literatue and poet Khalil Zibran and to express the theoretical and social ideas expressed in his poems. For this purpose, descriptive and analytical methods were used and studied. The poet Khalil Gibran writes in these poems all his philosophical thoughts and social views, and speaks in it with the senses of nature and its details, arguing that nature is the cause of complete happiness and that the world is free from hypocrisy. This is what he describes as the characteristic of souls who strive to achieve their distant goal behind perfect human life away from the false world of materialism
Totemism in Religious Theories: A Social Anthropological Perspective
Get PDFFrom the point of view of Social Anthropology, the rituals associated with religion and its upright modes of worship convey something to each individual and society. Among the rituals, the totemism propounded by the author explains the origin of religion and explains in detail how its effectiveness is established in society. In particular, this study includes the issues of religious rituals, the origin of Totemic religion, Totemic worship, its characteristics, and the position of Totemic worship in society. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explain the performance, characteristics, and stability of Totemic worship, which is one of religious worship, from a social and anthropological point of view
The Role of a Confident Woman in Sangam Literature – Friend (Female)
Get PDFThe Sangam literature guides us to live the lives of our forefathers with tradition and culture. The Sangam literature is divided into Akam, and Puram, and clearly depicts the love/family life and the social/war life. Out of the 18 books in Sangam literature, there are 8 books related to the Akam, 8 are Puram books and 2 are related to both Akam as well as Puram. The role of a friend is very important in the Akam part of the Sangam literature. Friend's eloquence, intelligence, and selfless high character are seen to excel. The friend appears as the storehouse of love and the abode of character. If she is seen in the woman-lead’s home, she would be working but treated as a daughter. She is a messenger among the man and woman leads, but she is the backbone of the Akam texts. In the Sangam literature, there is more to the statements of the friend (female), the supporting character, than the statements of the woman-lead. The main characters in Sangam literature are the man-lead, the woman-lead, the friend (female), the foster mother, the birth mother, and the friend (male). The purpose of this article is that the female character who is the most trusted of the characters found in the Sangam literature is the friend of the woman-lead
The Problems of Survival for the Diasporic Sri Lankan Tamil Society Depicted in the Sri Lankan Tamil Diasporic Literature
Get PDFDiasporic Literature becomes a prominent place in the field of literature. So is to the Sri Lankan Tamil Diasporic Literature. It is because the Sri Lankan Tamil diasporic literature speaks about the identity of the Sri Lanka Tamils who are in the verge of losing their language and culture in the hosting countries where they seek political asylum. The present study analyses the challenges faced in the life of the displaced Tamils. Also, this study explains not only the emergence of the new life condition when the large number of Tamils displaced from Sri Lanka during the ethnic conflicts broke out after 1980’S and the challenges, and oppression that they underwent in the aspect of family, profession, education, language, and culture as they have been put into the new life condition as political refugees, but also asserts the fact that the diasporic literature is the social documentation to expose such vulnerabilities of the diasporic victims. Therefore, the present study arrives at a conclusion that there