MADURAI: Both Madurai and Tamil folk art experienced one of the proudest moments in their history when renowned Madurai-based folk artist and researcher Vijayalakshmi Navaneethakrishnan was announced as a recipient of Padma Shri.
The artist, with her vibrant voice and thoughts, has made immense contributions in reviving the popularity and ethnicity of Tamil folk art and culture by collecting and documenting folk literature in its true form.
Seventy-two years ago, on this same day, she was born in Chinnasuraikaipatti, a small village near Rajapalayam in Virudhunagar district. She fondly remembers her childhood days. “I was 6-years-old. Even in that age, folk art never failed to amaze me. Mesmerised by it, I used to watch the Karakattam, Kavadiyattam and the Tamil drama in the street theatres all night. When I return home so late, my father used to beat me up,” recalled Vijayalakshmi, feeling nostalgic.“Folk music has the power to bring a child safely out from a mothers’ womb through normal delivery, something which even modern science cannot accomplish these days. This is why mothers, in ancient days, used to sing Tamil folk songs for their children for their good health.”