CHENNAI: A month ago, in October, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his monthly radio programme, Mann Ki Baat, alluded to this writer, who is 40 years into preserving the tradition of storytelling, researching folk arts and temple history of the state. Releasing almost 100 books on them, born in the village of Parakkai in Kanniyakumari is AK Perumal, an author, professor, and historian. “I feel honoured about the mention and that my work is nationally acknowledged. This makes me happy,” says Perumal.
Parakkai, which was formerly a part of Kerala is rich in lakes, mountains, and farmlands. During the 1950s, the people of the village, due to the lack of electricity, came to the streets and performed traditional ‘Naattar’ folk arts, an art form that was practised during the reign of the Pallava and Pandya dynasties. Perumal was nine years old then and he grew up watching these folk arts. This served as an inspiration to follow, research, and write about the art form in his later years.
Folk fervour
After pursuing his under graduation in Tamil literature from South Travancore Hindu College in Nagercoil, he went on to complete his Master’s from Government College in Chittur. Working for the print media, initially, he later took on the role of Tamil language professor at Arignar Anna College in Aralvaimozhi, a town in Kanniyakumari. In pursuit of his doctoral degree, he went back to folk arts and submitted a research paper on the topic Nanchil Nadu Villisai Paadalgal — an ancient form of musical storytelling (villisai paadalgal) in Kanniyakumari (Nanchil Nadu).
He was awarded his doctorate from the Madurai Kamaraj University. United with his passion for folk art, he went on to explore other art forms in the south of India. “It all started as an interest in one art form. Researching about it, I found there are other folk arts, which are not formally documented. No one has done that,” says Perumal.
His first book, Naattar Kadhaigal Part 1 came out in 1978 and it was a compilation of 15 folk stories. Often working on a couple of books simultaneously, he releases at least three books a year, published mostly by the New Century Book House and Kalachuvadu Publications. Covering all the districts of Tamil Nadu, he brought out an “encyclopedia for folk arts, comprising 100 of them.”
Following that, he wrote a detailed book on the Kaniyan Koothu, a dance form performed by the members of the Kaniyan tribe. Perumal interviewed and visited the folk artistes in Kanniyakumari, Thoothukudi, and Tenkasi for the book. He also received a grant from the Central Institute of Classical Tamil (CICT) to prepare a report on the folk arts practiced in the Southern districts of the state.
Temple tales
Apart from exploring folk arts, he also delved into the world of temples. Having brought out eight books on temple history, working on Adikesava Perumal Temple and the 12 Shiva shrines in Kanniyakumari are the author’s favourite. “Be it temple, scholars, or folk arts, I write on them depending on the availability of information and are located close by,” points out the author. Beyond the boundaries of Tamil Nadu, Perumal’s books have been translated to other languages for a better reach. History of Kanyakumari, published in 1995, was translated into English, and three of his essays were translated into French.
The author was also awarded a couple of state government awards — The Story of Tenkumari, published in 2003, which was presented with the Best Book published in Tamil in the same year by the Department of Tamil Development, and Dholpa in South India, published in 2002, was adjudged the Best Book of the Year 2002, in the Folklore category for his book. Dholpa is an art form performed using leather puppets. “I travelled to southern districts, all the way to Madurai, then to Kerala and Karnataka. I met the artistes there, and collected firsthand materials from them,” shares Perumal. Though language was a barrier in Karnataka, it was easier in Kerala. “Because of where I was born, and my schooling, I am good with the Malayalam language.”
While his latest published work was co-editing a collection of essays on the classical link between Tamil and Sanskrit with S Rajaram, he continues to work on other folk art stories. Perumal is currently working on the art of leather puppetry in Kerala and plans to release it in six months.
As we near the end of our conversation, he reminds us of his age, but his zeal to guard the folk art of south India remains intact. “Ippo vayasaiduchu, munna mathiri vela panna mudila (I am getting older, I am not able to work as I used to earlier). I don’t know how much more I will be able to travel and write. I am 73 years old now and my body is not supporting my passion,” he signs off.