By Samudri
In the scenario of cultural globalisation, with boundaries between cultures blurring, the Tamil Nadu Government considers it a matter of prime importance to not only preserve and propagate the rich Tamil culture, but to also create awareness among the youth. Towards this purpose, it has announced specific schemes in the fields of dance-drama, theatre and folk arts.
The Tamil Nadu Eyal Isai Nataka Manram has been entrusted with the responsibility of executing these schemes. It is calling for applications towards the production of new dance-dramas rooted in Tamil culture, and towards new theatre productions based on historical and mythological themes. Bharatanatyam exponent and guru Chitra Visweswaran, who recently assumed office as the Member-Secretary of the Manram says, “We would like this information to reach a large section of the artist community so that they can apply and benefit from the following schemes.”
- Five dance-dramas and five theatre productions will be selected and given a grant of Rs. 1.50 lakh each. The selected dance-dramas / theatre productions will be staged in a festival which will be mounted and conducted by the Tamil Nadu Eyal Isai Nataka Manram.
- In the field of folk arts, the Tamil Nadu Eyal Isai Nataka Manram is calling for applications towards costume and instrument – as one-time grant of Rs. 2000 per individual and Rs. 6000 per group, in order to promote traditional folk artists / folk troupes.
The last date for submission of applications is 15th December 2014.
Applications can be downloaded from www.tn.gov.in/tneinm and www.tneinm.in or collected from Tamil Nadu Eyal Isai Nataka Manram, 31, “Ponni” P.S. Kumarasamy Raja Salai, Raja Annamalai Puram, Chennai - 600 028. Phones: 2493 7471, 2493 6848, 2493 9062. Fax: 044 – 2493 7471. Email: tneinm@gmail.com& tneinm@tn.gov.in.
The Tamil Nadu Eyal Isai Nataka Manram also proposes to create a ‘Data Bank of Artists’ – dance, theatre, music, and folk. The Manram invites artists to send their detailed bio-data and a short DVD of 15 to 20 minutes to the Manram.