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Sem Mann

Updated: Jun 27


We hold on to what we can..


This is the theme of the latest production that Shastram has ventured into. In January of 2025 we had the pleasure completing the first staging of this immersive theatre production in Chennai named Sem Mann - Red Earth.


It was quite a venture with over 140 people coming together from 7 or 8 different countries to tell this story which took around 2 years to develop. An immersive theatre production combining the stage and several screens. The very first staging did not come without challenges but as a team we over came them and certainly put on a show. The whole experience of creating Sem Mann is something I believe all involved will never forget..




One might wonder why I would start such a mammoth project? To that I respond, why start any of Shastram's projects? It all happens in the spur of a moment when the creative juices over flow and artists align like the stars in the cosmos, ready to create. Then comes the mind bending task of pulling it altogether and I have a crazy habit of just running with it!


But with Sem Mann.. the story had been brewing in my mind for several years. The theme of it is something I had been witnessing all my life as a member of the Tamil diaspora and wanted to pay homage to.

I grew up watching my parents and their friends come together and dedicatedly organising community concerts, events and theatre shows. As I travelled to other states in Australia and internationally, I started to notice a pattern. In most instances other than the US, where there were temples outside of India and Bharathanataym schools, it would be Ilankai Thamizhar who were in the forefront adhering to the language and specifically Bharathanatyam and Carnatic music. I often wondered why this was?

(Note: I say Ilankai Thamizhar instead of Sri Lankan Tamils because of the sentiments attached to that terminology. I also don't say Eezha Thamizhar only because I am not from Eelam, I am part of the Mazhayaha Thamizh (Upcountry Tamils) community in Sri Lanka and I share my lived experience of the genocide and displacement my family and I underwent in the 1980s. So in order to be inclusive of my own experience I write Ilankai Thamizhar)

After many years of research through Shastram, where I was trying to trace my roots, my identity, through Indian Classical dance, I discovered the following:

  1. Through Paatra , I realised that women in the diaspora are assigned the role of being the carriers of culture

  2. Through conversations with artists and researchers such as

    Dr Gnana Kulendran,

    Anusha Subramaniyam.

    Shriraam Theiventhran

    Bhavajan Kumar

    to name a few.

    I understood for Ilankai Thamizhar, Bharathanatyam was not taught for the sake of the art, but for the sake of instilling identity within the next generation.

  3. In my own search for a sense of belonging and creating pieces like

    Becoming Kala

made me understand the migrant journey of fragmentation and displacement.

  1. I also noted the significance of Tamil cinema in the lives of the Tamil diaspora. This was again something I explored through Becoming Kala and have further explored in Sem Mann in depth.

    Another pattern I noticed was the music that we all loved and cherished within our community was 80s Tamil music. It was more than just music, it gave us a sense of belonging and a feeling of home. I found that this traces back to the mass migration that occurred from Sri Lanka to India and other parts of the world in the 1980s after the 1983 riots. The culture that was transported to the diaspora by the Ilankai Thamizhar was the one portrayed in Tamil cinema at the time. Music played a big role in this. And due to cultural fossilisation, this music became a core part of our identity.

All of the above-mentioned ideas have been intertwined within the narrative of Sem Mann.

Sem Mann for me is presented in a way that it is a moving immersive art instillation with a narrative to create a deeper engagement. This Immersive theatre work is designed for the audience to metaphorically experience the fragmentation and displacement that us migrants undergo, especially when we come from war torn countries with a past of genocide.



There are many components to this piece of work.

  • Identity - A key part of this project is the idea of Identity and how Tamils who suffered from genocide have sustained their identity through art and language.

  • Fragmentation - Another major aspect is fragmentation that is associated with Identity. The concept of migrants feeling like 2 different people in 2 different spaces and countries. What we tend to call "code switching" has been explored with actors through this project, where the same characters have been played by multiple actors. The same story told using multiple spaces, stage and screen. Allowing for the convergence of all of these at one point to create a wholistic story, just how all our fragments form into one identity. We had a very dedicated team of actors who came forward to complete this complex challenge. And it was certainly a massive hurdle to break all the rules of theatre, and merge film and theatre techniques to first seperate and then combine, to create one narrative. But I'm over the moon that the experiment worked!

  • Bharathanatyam especially has been highlighted in this piece as a core element of identity and culture. We were blessed with a wonderful cohort of dancers who joined dazzled the stage. The choreographies by Shriraam Theiventhran and Shruthi Kezhakepuram Purushotham were focused on capturing the performative flare of Bharathanatyam as portrayed in Tamil Cinema in the 80s. I have also constructed the character of Vigna Teacher in line with the politics of Bharathanatyam as described within books such as Celluloide Classicism by Hari Krishnan.  A glimpse of Vigna Teacher played by Shruthi Kezhakepuram Purushotham below:

  • Music - It was through the dance songs we brought to light a lot of the Tamil literature. Each piece of the margam is based on a Bharathi poem and blends with narrative. Overseeing the choice of songs was Madhusudhanan from Aathma Academy. Songs were composed by Nadhini Sai Ghiridar, Harini Krishnan and Aashray Harishankar. Sheik Meera and Durai Srinivasan composed the instrumentation and mastered the songs. Nattuvangam and Jathi were set by Shriraam Theiventhran and Shruthi Kezhakepuram Purushotham and Madhusudhanan. I on the other hand made sure we maintained the mood of the entire piece and scene within these songs. Although we were producing a margam it was still important for us to maintain the cinematic feel inline with the whole piece.

    The BGM composed by Sheik Meera and Durai Srinivasan cradled us throughout the story, leading us into the nostalgia of the1980s.

  • In terms of literature, a lot of inspiration was drawn from texts such as Kalki's Sivakamiyin Sabhadham, Sangam literature such as Kurunthokai and Bharathi's poetry. I have always found Tamil to be extremely romantic and I wanted to portray that in the script.

  • There was also an idea of Sringaram which was explored through various characters and relationships within the story, such as Vigna teacher and Kala and Arjunan . These Ideas of srigaram which I will be exploring in the upcoming months through sringaram podcast

  • Language and specific dialect - We also spent a lot of time and effort to ensure that the specific dialects of the Tamil language were spoken properly throughout the narrative. Films such as Funny Boy by Deepa Mehta had dealt with the 1983 riots but failed to actually represent the language in an authentic manner. I recall this caused a upheaval among the Tamil diaspora world wide. I too had felt disappointed. The specific dialects of Thamizh have such different histories and politics attached that its important to portray it accurately. We had a Team assigned to just reviewing and correcting the language from script to voice recording stages. The team includes on Dr Shaantha Jeyaraj, Dr Gnaana Kulendran, Tharmeega Manimaran, CJ Germany and Swetha Jayashree.

  • Representing the History of Ilankai Thamizhar - there was also emphasis on the accurate documentation of the history of Ilankai Thamizhar. We relied upon research presented in books such as "Tamils in Sri Lanka - A comprehensive History (C.300 B.C - C.2000 A.D)" by Dr. Murugar Gunasingam and other articles to reference and document the accurate history of Ilankai Thamizhar

  • The entire piece cross referenced 1980s Tamil cinema, which as I mentioned was not only a healing world of escapism for Ilankai Thamizhar but also served as a blue print for Tamil culture. I especially cross referenced a lot of dance films such as Salangai Oli and Khadal Oviyam. The melodrama and vivid story telling of the 1980s dance films were a true inspiration behind this piece. Directors such as SP Muthuraman, Mani Ratnam, K. Balachandar, K Vishvanath, Bharathiraja and especially Balumahendra were celebrated through this. The colour schemes and designs were an ode to Thota Tharani. The art created by Iyal was also designed to create the mood of the 1980s Cinema posters which were iconic to the era.

  • Costumes and make up played a huge role in bringing the flavour of the 1980s. This was lead by Gayathri Anand and supported by many including some of the actors involved. The whole team came together to create this vibe and time jump between 2000s 1980s 1970s and 1950s in various countries.

  • To me these film makers and films created a home within the screen and to that I pay my respects. It was also a massive honour to have presented this initial staging in front of SP Muthuraman sir.


Innovation and Collaboration _ Artist Development and Community Engagement

One thing I definitely enjoy is that within Shastram projects, the process of creation never ends. This is a platform created to experiment with ideas and innovate through collaboration and research. Sem Mann is most definitely one such project. Large teams lead by very talented artists bringing their knowledge, and ideas onboard, with a lot of trial and error, to tell an epic tale of love, loss and identity. Many artists among this team have forged life long bonds and a sense of family with other members of the team. This project was able to bring together artists from various parts of the world to collaborate, exchange knowledge and innovate. I am especially grateful to Raging Bull Actors Studio specifically, Kalaiarasan Rajendran and Sethuraman and of course Jack Prabhu! who have stood by this project from the get go. They have provided so much support, man power and a base in Chennai for the Sem Mann team.

We are also grateful for all the other organisations including Victorian Tamil Sangam (Melbourne) and Poochu's Productions (India) and Tharmeega Manimaran (especially who went all out and lived and breathed her role as Kala and coordinated in Toronto) and Zennith Entertainment (Canada) who came onboard to help us with this production. We have also been blessed with the community support we received during the shoot and staging and that we continue to receive for this project.

I am still overwhelmed that so many people from various parts of the world connected and brought this to life. Do check the Sem Mann website to see the calibre of artists we were blessed with on this project.

I am also extremely grateful to all our well wishers and patrons who aided in one way or another, let it be through locations, networks or even financially, to help this project come to life.

So far we have completed the first staging in Chennai and we are planning further stagings in India. We also look forward to sharing this piece in Australia. As a migrant in Australia who felt lost when it came to identity, through works that I do in Shastram, I feel I am piecing the puzzle of who I am, where I came from and what my identity is, together. Sem Mann is a crucial piece of this puzzle. It is not just me however, who is in this position, almost all migrants have this sense of displacement. Works such as Sem Mann if staged in the main spaces of Australia will provide our younger generations of migrants a sense of belonging. When their histories are presented as part of the history of Australian people they will feel validated and accepted as part of the fabric of this country. It is important especially as a migrant to share this story among all of our fellow Australians. Our back story is important to provide some context about our culture and sentiments so that there is greater understanding and harmony within this diverse community that we are all a part of. Not only that, this project was born in Australia and funded by Australian dollars and so belongs to this land. I will be talking further on this topic in the upcoming episodes of the Australian Social Experiment


on a final note, I'd like to share that, in the heart of this project is one concept, the importance of art and language to sustain identity especially among the displaced. Art can be an effective tool to counteract erasure and Ilankai Thamizhar are a living example of this. This important message should be shared world wide for all communities who have and are experiencing erasure. I will certainly endeavour to do just this. If you are interested in contributing to Sem Mann please do reach out to me and we can certainly see how you can lend a hand to make this ship sail to various parts of the world..


Explore the Immersive world of Sem Mann

Picture Credit - Priyaa Praveen
Picture Credit - Priyaa Praveen

 
 
 

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