The word is ‘Bond’…. With Britain
Over three hundred people came together on the 6th of July 2019, for a spectacular cultural event organised by the Leicester Tamil Sangam. The aim was to create awareness about the Tamil culture, one of the oldest historical cultures in the world (over five thousand years old). This event called ‘Bond with Britain’ took place at Judgemeadows Community College, in Leicester. Supported by the Big Lottery Fund, the main purpose of the called project was to foster a greater understanding of the Tamil culture and to enhance friendship with other communities in Leicester.
Leicester Tamil Sangam (LTS) is a friendly association that has been successfully running for over a decade. Their aim is to bring together and foster understanding amongst Tamil speaking people from diverse backgrounds in Leicester and the East Midlands. Although their history goes back a long time, they have carried out countless activities in the past which has been shared with the wider community in Leicester.
The event’s turnout was a true testament to the organisation’s stand within the community. People from diverse backgrounds were invited to the event which kicked off with a cultural exhibition containing various themes. One of the stands promoted the health benefits of asian food by creating awareness on the general diet that takes on a rich ayurvedic influence. In another stand, a very talented young man, who although was born in Leicester, has taken a significant interest to a dying Tamil art from called Tanjore, originating from the 16th century.
A music stand offered a chance for people to have a go at some Indian instruments displayed as well as to have discussions about the plethora of instruments that are important to the Tamil Culture. These include the sitar, tabla, mridangam, veena, tanpura and the nadaswaram to name a few. One stand made a fascinating comparative display of old traditional Indian living and modern living. This included how people cooked, how they slept, the structure of a house, where they got their basic resources from such as food and water. It was interesting to note that many traditional practices are still the same reflecting an advanced civilisation that existed for hundreds of years. Another stand promoted Tamil celebrities from the UK and across the world. Some of the British celebrities included Romesh Ranganathan an up and coming stand up comedian and Television personality as well as MIA a British rapper who has received an MBE from the Queen for her services to music.
This stand also aimed to promote awareness of the English connection to Tamils in Tamil Nadu in India. G.U Pope (1820 – 1908) who did the first English translation of Tamil literary and modern classic Thirukural and wanted part of his tomb (in Oxford) to be paid for by Tamils as a mark of his love. Robert Caldwell (1814 – 1891) an Irish man whose contributions to Tamil and its people should not be left out. Both of them honoured with life size statues in the most important landmark of Tamils in Marina Beach, Chennai. Not to forget another famous son of Leicestershire, Thomas Babington Macaulay and his contributions to Indian education in general which has enabled a lot of Tamils to migrate to various parts of the world to be come global citizens.
It is quite evident that the British brought rich resourceful methods during the most recent colonial era which changed India in many ways.
T However, it is interesting to note that the Tamils were once rulers in a very distance imperial past around 250 BCE. Tamils originated from a state called TamilNadu in the Southern part of India. Although a very long time ago, this ancient Tamil country known as Tamilakam, was divided into kingdoms. The best known among them were the Cheras, Cholas, Pandyans and Pallavas. This was known as the Sangam period and the Tamil culture began to spread outside India between 600 BCE to 300 CE. During this time Tamiḻakam was ruled by the three Tamil dynasties: the Chola dynasty, the Pandyan dynasty, Satyaputra dynasty and the Chera dynasty. Up until the 15th Century these kingdoms spread their power and influence in Southeast Asia and established trade, cultural and political relations with Burma, Thailand, Indonesia, Malay Peninsula, Cambodia and Vietnam. In these areas the Hindu-Buddhist influence was absorbed by local politics.
It is apparent that the Tamil culture has centuries of history behind it and is essential for the revival of our ancient culture to showcase it. Anyone having a bit of interest in the Indian culture would be easily enamoured by this rich history. This exhibition facilitated the interaction of the cultural activities which
really promoted so much engagement ad community cohesiveness.
Masala Tea and Indian snacks were also served during the exhibition. Many people reported to have enjoyed this cultural insight, one mentioning it to be a “A wonderful evoking showcase of cultural activities promoting the Tamil culture”.
This compelling exhibition didn’t end there, what followed on from this was an array of performances to entertain the guests. Dance and music features heavily in Tamil culture. Performing arts has its origins from one of the Veda’s which is a document written thousands of years ago. The stage was
adorned with beautifully themed Tamil inspired decorations which wowed the crowd and complimented the show stopping performances that night. We had two groups of children who performed an English and Tamil fusion dance piece which dazzled the audience. Another group of teenagers who were semi and classically trained dancers also performed a similar fusion between Tamil folk music and Urban pop. A local professional Barathnatyam dancer graced the stage with a stunning performance. Barathnatyam is also one of the oldest classical Indian dances originating from Tamil Nadu. We were very lucky to have a very talented Saxaphonist who won Leicester’s got talent twice in 2016 and 1017 to perform a medley of Tamil and Urban pop songs. A beautiful six piece
Indian orchestra performed a live music fusion. This really gave the audience a taste of Indian classical music.
We were very honoured to have our local MP Keith Vaz, come to our event. He gave a very inspiring and supportive speech and enjoyed the event. We also extended our invite to The Queen who although could not attend, her Lady in waiting very kindly thanked us for the invitation and wished us well which we are very proud of.
The evening ended with a sumptuous evening meal catered from a local Tamil restaurant in Leicester. Many popular food items were included such as Idlis, vada, sambar, string hoppers, chicken curry and much more!
Our history goes back a long time and our aim of sharing this wonderful culture with the wider community was a success. We believe that by doing this, we had enriched our bond with Britain which we now call home. We plan to facilitate and foster more interaction through expression of ongoing work in the form of cultural activities which will hopefully promote engagement and further cultural exchanges in Britain
