DEVELOPMENT OF FAVARMS PEDAGOGY

This section attempts to present the development of FAVARMS Pedagogy from its origin together with the various processes it underwent day by day till the date of its completion. It also deals with the actual lesson plan followed while teaching through FAVARMS Pedagogy. As a teacher in a middle school, the investigator used to teach history lessons through folk songs and dances, especially through villuppaattu (Bow- song), with the help of the upper primary students from 1987 to 2000. After becoming a teacher educator in the DIET, the investigator has continued and is continuing to teach history lessons through folk arts such as Villuppaattu, (dancing with rhythmic clapping), Kolattam (dancing with rhythmic striking of coloured sticks) , Oyilattam (dance of beauty), puppetry etc.

On 09.01.2003 the investigator got a chance to teach one history lesson -Sangam age of Tamil People, through folk song and dance to 50 students of IV standard in front of all the ninety teacher educators who were handling social science in all the then 29 DIETs of . The teacher trainees helped the investigator in the art of teaching through folk song and dance. It was they who took the role of different kings of Sangam age (From 3rd century B.C to 3rd century A.D). All the teacher educators appreciated the investigator and his troupe for having given them an innovative and interesting teaching model. The feedback letters got from them are with the investigator and were shown to the research guide and the samples of them are given in the appendix titled: Feedback from Teacher Educators.

In 2004, a mini experiment was conducted, adopting experimental method consisting of two equivalent groups by the investigator. The result was positive and it was exposed in the Inter DIET seminar conducted by the DIET, Aduthurai, Thanjavur on 19th and 20th of March, 2005 and in the National Seminar on ICT initiatives for Quality Improvement at Elementary Stage of Education at NCERT, New Delhi, on 29th and 30th of March, 2005.

A Two day workshop was conducted in the DIET, Kurukkathi, on 1.9.05 & 5.9.05 for all the 20 teachers who were handling social science for upper primary classes in Kilvelur union then. At first they were given orientation on folk arts in

general and villuppaattu, therukkooththu and oyilattam in particular by the experts from folklore department and the department of Educational technology.

Secondly the therukkooththu artists from Neiveli displayed two plays, namely the Mahabharatham and the Ramayanam in front of the teachers and 80 students of seventh standard. (Each teacher brought four students from their own class). These students were expected to act as the helpers to the teachers, when they would teach history through the folk arts in their classes. Thirdly the elements, which could be transferred from therukkooththu to the strategy of teaching history, were listed out by the teachers with the help of the experts.

After that the story of Second Pandiyas was told to the therukkooththu artists. They performed the story in their style. The sample teachers, students and the experts observed it. The performance was critically analyzed by the teachers and the experts. Then the teachers were divided into five groups. Each group was asked to choose a particular topic in VII std. history textbook and write the script for the same to display the content through therukkooththu.

The same procedure was followed for the other two folk arts. After four days i.e on 5.9.05, once again all the sample teachers were asked to come for the workshop with the same students. First they discussed about their own scripts. Then one model class using therukkooththu, one model class using villuppaattu, and one more model class through oyilattam were performed in front of the teachers and the helpers by the investigator with the help of the teacher trainees.

Next in an open discussion with the teachers, the pros and cons were charted out and the necessary modifications were carried out. The modified scripts were prepared and issued to each teacher. The sample teachers were given one-week time (Since it was the first time) to take practice and teach the same topics, through the same folk arts in front of the students in their class with the help of the helpers. The students were asked to write their opinion in their notebooks. The teachers were also asked to (write diaries) note down the difficulties, they came across, during their teaching through folk arts. The needed alterations were made on the basis of the opinion of the teachers and the students in the script and in the implementation too. In addition to this, the teacher trainees (2005 – 2006) were asked to try to teach some history lessons through folk art form with the help of the aforesaid scripts during

li their internship period. Though the trainees taught various topics through different folk art forms, one lesson taught through villuppaattu in P.U. middle school, Poravachery; another lesson taught through therukkooththu in P.U. Middle school, Kilvelur; and one more lesson taught through Oyilattam in Kumaran Middle school, Manchakollai, were observed by the investigator and video coverage was made.

As it is presented in the review of related empirical studies, the investigator carried out a few mini experiments with folk arts with the help of the teacher trainees. During this period the trainees from Kurukkathi DIET were invited to various CRC centers to take model class i.e teaching history lessons through folk arts. The invitation came not only from Nagapattinam district but also from the nearby district, Tiruvarur. One such lesson was taught in the CRC, Pulivalam, in Tiruvarur District on 22.07.2006. The audience (teachers from Tiruvarur block) was taken up very much by the way of teaching history and they started to present the troupe, money and articles like pen, towel, cloth etc. On the request of the investigator, the money was returned back and the articles were distributed to the DIET students, who helped to perform the art. Stimulated by the model class performed by the investigator and his troupe, many teachers both in the Nagapattinam and Tiruvarur district tried to teach history lessons through folk arts. To mention a few, Balu and Nandakumar from Tiruvarur union, Tiruvarur district and Tilaga, Vembaian, Srinivasan, Chandiraprapha from Kilvelur union, Nagapattinam district, continue to teach history lessons through folk art forms even today.

Thus the investigator has started the art of teaching history through folk arts since 1987 and continues the same with certain modifications and improvement at each and every time. Now it would be better to discuss about the final shape of the lesson plans used for the experiment conducted for the students sample in 2009 – 2010 and for the teacher sample during 2010 – 2011.

lii

LESSON PLAN FOR FAVARMS PEDAGOGY

The lesson plan of the FAVARMS Pedagogy has the following parts: 1. Presentation part, 2. Practicing part, 3. Presentation part, 4. Evaluation part, 5. Follow up work and 6. Estimation part . Preparation Part This includes selection of a particular topic, determining the objectives of the topic, choosing a particular folk art that could be used to deliver the content, writing the script suited to the folk art chosen, correcting and improving the script. Practicing Part The second part consists of selecting the performers and giving them practice. It also includes selection of dress materials and other make up things for the performers and preparation of teaching learning materials such as word/sentence cards, pictures, maps, etc. Presentation Part The presentation part starts with motivation. Motivation Conventionally villuppaattu and therukkooththu start with motivation activities like praying to god, welcoming the audience, introducing the performers and introducing the theme of the day. The same features were adopted here too. Additionally reviewing the previous day theme was also added. But the traditional oyilattam has no motivation part. It straightly starts with the theme of the dance. While teaching through oyilattam, motivation part was added and it is explained in the following session under the heading ‘Application of the plan to Oyilattam format’. Teaching – Learning process Traditionally in villuppaattu and therukkooththu the theme is introduced through songs and explained through dialogue in the former and through (a folk style of dance) in the latter. In oyilattam, the theme commences with the song and is explained through the series of steps. The same patterns were adopted in teaching history through FAVARMS Pedagogy with some additional techniques. Reinforcement Reinforcement is the new technique launched by the investigator, while performing the folk arts with the intention of teaching history. It was done by repeating the last portion of the songs, or the dialogue or the dance and by raising questions and clearing the doubts. In addition to this, group activities were also carried out at the end of each topic.

liii

Values learned from the topic Though throughout the lesson i.e from start to end values were insisted at each and every stage or scene, finally after the formal evaluation was over, the students were asked to narrate or write down the moral, social, political, cultural, aesthetic, economical or educational values they learned through the topic.

Evaluation of students’ achievement This technique too was introduced by the investigator, while performing the folk arts for the purpose of teaching history. Inbuilt evaluation was carried out along with the progress of the lesson. In villuppaattu, the Pulavar or his disciples would question each other and get answer. Sometimes they would question the audience and get answer or help them know the answer. Similarly in therukkooththu, the hero or the buffoons play the above mentioned role. Additionally at the end of each scene, the investigator intervened and casually tested the understanding of the audience. In oyilattam, after each part the investigator appeared on the stage and assessed the students. In addition to this, there was individual and group evaluation after the reinforcement part was over. Follow-up work Usually the students were asked to sing the song, they heard in the class, with their friends and brothers or sisters at home. Sometimes they were asked to perform the art, they learned in such a way that the meaning of the song is revealed. Some other times they were asked to collect pictures, draw maps, locate places on the map, colour the map etc. at home. Estimation (of the FAVARMS Pedagogy) Part After each lesson was over, both the teachers and the students were asked to give their suggestions to improve the FAVARMS pedagogy. And at the end, the teachers and the taught were supplied with rating scale and perception scale respectively to give their opinion about FAVAMS pedagogy. For the students who were taught through ALM, the lesson plans prepared and published by the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) for each lesson was strictly followed by the investigator. The sample of the lesson plan is attached in the appendix titled, Sample Lesson Plan of ALM prepared by the SSA. Now let us pass on to the actual teaching of history through FAVARMS Pedagogy at the background of traditional performance of each folk art. Since teaching history through Villuppaattu is explained in chapter –III, it is better to pass on to Therukkooththu.

liv

APPLICATION OF THE LESSON PLAN TO THERUKKOOTHTHU FORMAT

Therukkooththu is a street play performed by folk artists for the enjoyment of the entire village. This is called therukkooththu because it is displayed on the theru (street). The street plays are the entertainments, where there can be little distinction between the artists and the spectators. This is the oneness that keeps the attention of the spectators for a long time even during midnight.

TRADITIONAL WAY OF PERFORMING THERUKKOOTHTHU These street plays give equal importance to songs and kooththu. The characters of Raja (king) and Rani (queen) would be the dominant characters. So the hero of the play is called by the name-Ayan Rajapart and the heroine by the name Ayan Sthripart. Music and action would play a pivotal role in this kind of play. Comic characters would be inserted which might suitably blend with the dramatic performance. Mostly Puranic stories and mythological subjects would be enacted. At the start, a decorated cloth is temporarily held by two persons as the screen, so that the main characters could appear on the stage, after having removed the screen. First, they say vantanam (greetings). The kattiyankaran (buffoon) would be the first to appear on the stage and introduce himself. The actors would follow him and introduce themselves one by one. Then the story would start. Kattiyankaran would do comic roles now and then. He makes the people laugh by his stupidity and vulgarity. He would take different roles at different time such as the king of enemy country, a soldier who fights for the king, messenger, the prohither (priest of the palace), minister etc. Though he was the first to appear on the stage, he would be the last one to disappear from there.

The artists take care of face make-up, crown, the head and shoulder ornaments, chest ornaments and elongated skirt. The character wear ornaments made of wooden plank, carved out of a tree called Kalyanamurungai (Indian coral tree). All the characters who perform kooththu tie Chalankai (Chain of small bronze bells) on their ankles. Make-up would be done using Aritharam (white powder), Senthuram (Red powder) and charcoal. Beard and moustache would be pasted. Sometime these would make the actor a frivolous element.

lv

The artist who plays the role of the queen would wear silk garments stitched with filigree. The other female characters would wear cotton garments. The ornaments are made of gigina (shining material), zinc plate, coral etc. Characters can be identified by the audience by their dress, ornaments and other make ups. The long apron, crown made of wooden plank would adorn the artist, who plays the king’s role. Comic artist would wear many colourful garments and a hat with kunjam (tassel). Playback singer would sing with the actor again and again. Mathalam (an elongated two-sided drum), harmonium, kanjeera (a percussion instrument made of circular wooden frame attached with tiny cymbals and played with fingers) are the musical instruments used, while performing therukkooththu.

Fighting and murderous scenes are found less in therukkooththuu. War scenes are depicted by songs with the corresponding background music, so that the audience feels as if a real war is going on, on the stage.

TEACHING HISTORY THROUGH THERUKKOOTHTHU Let us here briefly describe how the lesson ‘Chola’s administration’ was presented through therukkooththu.The play started with welcome song together with kooththu by the two kattiyankarans. They introduced themselves first and helped other characters to do so. It was followed by the brief description of the previous class by the buffoons in a casual dialogue. Then they announced what was to be seen that day through their own style of kooththu. The hero of the first scene was the king, Raja Raja Chola I. So the buffoons welcomed the king in a humourous way as in the case of traditional kooththu and asked about his reputation he enjoyed during his reign. Soon the king started singing with kooththu,

Aatchi peda thalaivarum Nanada – Enthan Aranmanaithan Kovilentru sollada. Rajavum Raniyum Deivum thanada - Antha Pathaviyume paramparaiyayi thodarunthanada.

(Meaning: I was the prime head of the administration. My palace was considered as the temple. The king and the queen were regarded as God and Goddess. The office or kingship came by hereditary). While the kooththu was going on, the following picture was shown by the banner lifter above the screen that was hanging behind the stage. The meaning of the song is depicted in the picture -1 lvi

Picture -1 (Common people worshiping the king and the queen)

The buffoons too accompanied the king in his kooththu. After the dance was over, one buffoon raised the question. “O My lord! What is meant by hereditary?” The king answered, “I succeeded my father Paranthagan and my son Rajendiran succeeded me. This is called hereditary”. Soon the other buffoon raised another doubt, “If a king had dozen sons who would be the king?” The king answered through singing with kooththu: Mootha magan ilavarasanthanada - Avanthan Pattaththu arasanentru sollada. Yuvaraja enpathum avanthanada – Avanodu Athigari amaicharum undu thanada. (Meaning: The eldest son is the prince and he is the future king; he is called young king; to assist him there were ministers and officers) Along with the kooththu the following picture -2 was also shown to the audience.

lvii

Picture -2 (The King crowning the eldest boy)

Thus, first the concepts were introduced through songs with kooththu. And the ideas were explained through the dialogue between the hero and the buffoons. The buffoons often asked the audience to repeat the last portion of the song. Some time instead of asking the doubt to the king, they would ask it to the audience. If the audience rightly answered the question, either the buffoons or the hero appreciated them. If the audience were not able to answer, the hero gave the correct answer. It was followed by synthesizing technique i.e A summary or short form (acronym) to remember the facts related to the scene was given either by the hero or the buffoons or the investigator or the students. While the discourse was going on, related key words, pictures, representative visual forms, association of ideas were also displayed here and there at the right place and time. After the display of each scene, the investigator appeared before the audience and put forth some questions related to the theme of the previous scene.

Apart from the king, there were Governor, Chief Commander, Another king as a chief Judge and Village president in the lesson. There were totally five scenes for the present lesson. Similar pattern was followed for all the heroes. After the presentation, students used to do reinforcement activities in groups. Then final evaluation was conducted by the researcher.

lviii

The Features adopted from the Traditional Therukkooththu without any change. As in the traditional therukkooththu, 1) The buffoons were the first to appear on the stage and last to disappear in the FAVARMS Pedagogy also. 2) The lesson started with vanthanam. 3) The characters introduced themselves after the introduction of the buffoons. 4) The different characters – king, governor, judge, commander in chief, village president-were identified with their dress and make up. 5) The buffoons wore caps that resembled the cap of the traditional buffoons. 6) The buffoons cracked jokes here and there and kept the audience alert and active. 7) The pot-player played the pot and produced mild music sound.

Features taken from Traditional Therukkooththu and Modified 1) In the traditional therukkooththu only king and queen are the heroes, but in the FAVARMS Pedagogy each and every main character was given due importance.

2) The traditional puranic and mythological subjects were substituted with the historical topics. 3) In the traditional therukkooththu, there is only one buffoon for the whole play. But it was felt that a single student couldn’t take various roles and talk as it is in the case of the actual buffoon. So it was decided to have different buffoon for each hero. Further it was to get more number of students participate in the art of teaching. 4) In the traditional therukkooththu, the buffoon is known for his stupidity and vulgarity. But it was determined to keep the feature of stupidity but not the vulgarity at all. 5) Instead of the ornaments made of wood, the performers wore the ornaments made of cardboard and plastic materials. 6) Instead of rich make up, there was only simple make up for the actors. 7) Instead of big bronze bells, small ones were selected and tied to the ankles of the buffoons only and not to the heroes (to avoid nuisance). 8) In the same way, the traditional elongated dress was substituted with some shawls donated to the investigator and stitched as elongated ones. 9) Playing Kattai was replaced by the ordinary rhythmic beating of the wooden desk. 10) Students’ blanket replaced the decorated screen of the traditional performance.

lix

11) Since it was not possible for the actors to sing, while performing the kooththu, the researcher sang the song and the actors had to move their lips as if they were singing the song. 12) Contrary to the traditional therukkooththu, all the scenes were very short and were enacted within five to six minutes. 13) As it is recommended by the psychologists and educationists, no war scene was displayed in front of the audience, but war like sound was produced behind the screen and the students were made to think that the war was going on.

The Discarded Features of Traditional Therukkooththu 1) No harmonium, mathtahlam and kanjeera were played. For, the usual complaint against the traditional practice of therukkooththu, is that the musical elements dominate the voice and speeches of the actors and as the result, the audience struggle to follow the story. 2) The religious elements attached to the traditional therukkooththu, was totally abandoned in the FAVARMS Pedagogy.

The New Features Introduced 1) Assigning some roles to the audience in the process of performing therukkooththu, was an innovative feature. 2) In order to make the students understand the story, the name of the heroes were written in black and bold letter on a sentence strip and the sentence strip was pinned on the front portion of the king’s shirt. 3) In the same way the symbols of the Pandiya (Fish), the Chola (Tiger) and the Chera (bow) were drawn on the crowns and worn by the respective kings. 4) When the kings of different dynasties appeared on the stage simultaneously, the kings from one dynasty wore the same colour dress (Green for the Cholas indicating that they are from Thanjavur known as the granary of Tamil Nadu; White for the Pandyas, representing the colour of their emblem - fish and Red for Cheras signifying the action of their emblem –bow). 5) Unlike in the traditional therukkooththu, at the end of each scene there was a break. The researcher’s intervention at the end of each scene was a kind of informal evaluation. 6) Introduction of white screen behind the stage, lifting the banners with key words/ pictures and visual forms etc. are the new features.

lx

7) After the presentation of the content, some reinforcement activities, based on the songs sung and the dialogue spoken, banner with key words / sentences / pictures or visual images shown during the presentation of the content, were given to the students. 8) Immediately after the reinforcement, formal evaluation activities were carried out.

Special features introduced in FAVARMS Pedagogy

Visualization

As it has been explained in the villuppaattu, the banner with key words / sentence/ pictures / or visual image were shown at the right time and place by the banner lifter who was sitting behind the screen.

Key words: To mention one example, when the name of the place Gangai Konda Cholapuram was uttered in the dialogue, the following banner (picture) was shown.

Picture – 3 ( Word banner – Kangaikonda Cholapuram )

lxi

Miming: While the song about the ‘Kudavolai system’ of election was sung, the whole procedure of the election system was mimed by the performers on the stage. i.e. The village administrator had many palm leaves (in his hands), on each of which one name of the candidate was written. They were put into a big pot. The pot was shaken well. Then the village administrator and the buffoon entered into the audience area; selected a small boy; carried him to the stage; asked him to draw some leaves at random from the pot and announced the candidates elected as the members of village panchayath (administration). Picture: When the dialogue about ‘Kudavolai’ system was going on between the buffoon and the village administrator, the following picture was also shown.

Picture – 4 (A small boy picking up the lot) Visual image: Meaningful visual image connecting different concepts / Ideas were shown wherever it was possible. For example to learn the countries won by the Cholas, the following image was shown and the words, ‘Elangai Mala Gandalur vanthu serala’ were uttered.

lxii

It means that ‘Mala of Sri Lanka has not arrived Gandalur. The countries won by the Cholas were, Sri Lanka (Elangai), Maladies (Mala) and Gandalur in Chera (Gandalur vandhu cherala) dynasty,

. .Picture -5 (Elangai Mala Gandalur Vandhu Cherala) Association In the present lesson the historical concepts were associated with the current Indian system of administration. For example, in order to explain the terms Perundaram and Sirundaram, the following dialogue was displayed.

lxiii

Buffoon 2: O my Lord! What is meant by ‘Perundaram and Sirundaram’? King: Who are called the top level officers in Tamil Nadu? Buffoon 2: O my God! He is asking me question after question. My dear students! Please answer the king and save me! . Audience: The IAS and IPS are the top level officers in Tamil Nadu. King: The top level officers in Chola dynasty were called Perundaram. Then, who are called the sub-ordinate officers in Tamil Nadu? Audience: Those who help the top level officers. King: The same was true with the Chola administration too.

Rhyming

While teaching history through therukkooththu, not only the song , but the dialogue too was with rhyming words. For example Buffoon 1. Why is the king running home so fast? Buffoon 2 mmm ..Raja lata pona Rani Konikuvangalle adunalathan. ( if the king goes late, the Queen will be angry with the king. That is why he is running.) Here the words Rani (Queen) and Koni (Expressing ones anger or hatred) are the rhythmic words.

Map reading Wherever it was necessary the places of historical importance, referred to either in the song or in the dialogue, were indicated on the map. When the governor was talking about the 9 mandalas (Provinces) of Chola dynasty, the following map (figure -6) was shown to the audience and in the course of dialogue all the 9 divisions were indicated on the map and explained. Additionally the same map was given to the students during the reinforcement activities and they were asked to explain the divisions and synthesize them so that they could be easily remembered.

Synthesis System

To keep in mind the names of the 9 mandalas, they were arranged geographically from north to south and the following sentence was given. ‘Ippa Kanchi Nandavin thala kaiyila pon potta valikkum venam’(Ippa – now; Knachi Nanda - Nanda from Kanchi; thala - head; gaiyila – in the hand; Sempon – gold; Potta – if put on; valikkum – it would give pain; Venam - don’t do).

lxiv

It means ‘Now if you put on gold on the head and hand of Nanda from Kanchi, it would give pain; so don’t do.’

Figure -6 (Map – showing the administrative divisions of Chola dynasity

In the present context, ‘Ippa’ stands for the province of Iprol; ‘Nanda’ for Nandaloor; ‘Kanchi’ for Kanchi; ‘Thala’ for Thalakkadu; ‘Gai’ for Gangai konda Cholapuram; ‘Pon’ for sempon and sempon for Sempon mari, ‘Potta’ for Kottar; ‘Valikkum’ for Vilingam and ‘Venam’ for Venadu. After having described how history lessons were taught through therukkooththu, let us pass on to Oyilattam.

lxv

APPLICATION OF THE PLAN TO OYILATTAM FORMAT

The term ‘oyil’ refers to grace and ‘attam’ means dance. Therefore oyilattam is a dance of graceful gestures. In oyilattam a group of people performs dance in the open air near the temples or public places in the morning and evening hours.

TRADITIONAL WAY OF PERFORMING OYILATTAM

In the traditional oyilattam, the dancers dress uniformly. Generally the performers wear colorful dhoti and hold ribbons or kerchiefs at their hands (Lucy Merchant Dorset, 2010). Traditionally the dancers have sparkling make-up on their faces, with bells tied around the ankles, which trickle with each step taken. At the start they would stand in a row and perform rhythmic steps to the musical accompaniment. Typically, the musical accompaniment is the thavil (drum like instrument). The other instruments are harmonium, cymbals, etc. This is a linear type of dance in which 12-20 persons stand in row and perform dance to the rhythmic music with body movements, swinging their hands forward and backward coupled with intricate foot movements. As the thavil beats faster, the dancers speed up with their twirling kerchief in their hands. A variety of intricate steps are used from martial arts including those from Silambam (a kind of martial art where fencing is done with a staff). Gradually the stage is filled up with the row becoming longer as the new dancers and later the guests all join and dance as they like. Normally the dance is performed in accordance with the accomplishment of musical instruments and songs. However the styles of oyilattam differ from place to place due to the flexibility of the dance form. New steps get interspersed every time oyilattam is performed. It is basically describing the great epics like Ramayana, Mahabaratha and also lord Muruga's history. Today, oyilattam is a popular folk form which is used as means of public education due to its mass appeal. (Kumar, B Aravind, July 27, 2009). The dance is introduced with song, and the singing continues to accompany the dancers throughout the performance. In the song there will be some theme and the moves of the dancers represent different stages of the theme. The songs that accompany the dance would narrate these stages, explaining them as the dance goes along.

TEACHING HISTORY THROUGH OYILATTAM Let us briefly discuss how one history topic. ‘The rulers of Cholas the Great, was taught through oyilattam’. lxvi

Four students volunteered themselves to act like the Chola Kings. One was dressed like Parantaga Chola; the second was dressed like Rajaraja Chola; the third one was dressed like Rajendira Chola and the Fourth one took the role of Kulothunga Chola. All the four kings wore their own crown and the emblem (tiger) of their kingdom was pasted on their crown. Their names were written on a strip and pinned on the front portion of their shirt. They had the flag specific to their kingdom tied to a stick and the stick was tied to their waist, so as the emblem was visible to the students. Each King had some cards in their hand and words such as - Nellore, , Ponvayintha Cholan, were written on the cards. Before the performance could start, the students (audience) were asked to write down the portion of the song and sing during the performance of the oyilattam. First the investigator sang the two lines to the students and asked them to repeat. Eg. 1. Manna varunga, unga (O our king come and) Kathaiyai koorunga. (Tell us your history!) -2 2. Kathaiyai koorunga, manna (Tell the story, o king) Kahaiyai koorunga. (tell us the story) 3. Poyi varunga, Manna! (Ok our Lord) Poyi varunga. (Bye bye see you) But, they were not told when and where they were to sing and asked to find out the context and sing their part. As the motivation part the investigator told the students that four kings were waiting outside the class room and they were eager to meet the students and asked, “Are you ready to meet them?’ The students said’ “Yes, we are ready”. Then the investigator asked them to invite the kings. They too invited those kings. But there was no response. Then the investigator told the students that the kings would come, if only the students invite them by singing the song: Chola manna, Chola manna! (O great King of Chola) Sirithu neram vanthidunga; (come for a short time) Ungala patriya sila, (about your achievement) Unmaigala uraithidunga. (tell some truths) - The students invited the king this time by singing the above lines together with their part too: Manna varunga, unga (O our king come and) kathaiyai Koorunga. (Tell us your history!) -2

lxvii

Soon the Chola king Parantagan appeared before the students by singing, (through lip movements) Balagare, balagare! (O my children, children!) Parantagan vanthene; (I, Parantagan have come;)-2 Nellorukku therkale, (South of Nellore,) Erunthathellam en nade. (Lies my region.) - 2 Kathaiyai kelunga, thangame! (Listen to the story- Golden student) Kahaiyai Kelunga. (Listen to the story) -2 and acted in such a way that the meaning of the song, actually sung by the investigator but mimed by the actors, is explained. The students responded by singing, Kathaiyai koorunga manna! (Tell the story, O king) Kahaiyai koorunga. (Tell the story). The investigator sang each part twice. At the first time, the king would show the word cards and danced. For the second time, the king would show the places mentioned in the song on the map that was hanging nearby or showed the object referred by the song or acted in such a way that the meaning of the song reached the students mind. For example, when the lines, ‘I am the founder of the later Chola dynasty; my name is Parantagan’ - were sung, the king danced and showed his name board pinned to his shirt for the first time. While the same line was repeated, he acted like a Paranthu (Eagle) and danced. Here the name of the king Parantagan is associated with the bird Paranthu (eagle), on the basis of the similarity in sound. As soon as the lines: Poyee varenga, thangame! (I am leaving children) Poyee varenga. (Bye bye see you) - were sung the students also sang Poyi varunga, manna! (Ok Lord) Poyi varunga. (Bye bye see you). Soon, the king disappeared from the scene. The investigator intervened and asked some questions to the students regarding the content of the song. Such as: 1. Whom did you see? 2. To which dynasty did he belong to? etc. Thus the investigator reinforced what they learned through the song and dance. Then, the second scene started and the students invited the king Rajaraja Cholan. The similar pattern was followed for him and the next two kings too.

lxviii

The Features adopted from the Traditional Oyilattam without any change

Bells tied around the angles of the dancers, the rhythmic steps to the musical accompaniment including martial steps, colourful clothes to the dancers, folk songs explaining the theme etc were adopted from the traditional oyilattam without any change.

The features taken from Traditional Oyilattam with some modification 1) The religious and the puranic themes were replaced by the historical themes or concepts. 2) The rows of dancers were substituted with one or two actors, in line with the construction of the song. 3) The traditional sparkling make-up was substituted with simple make-up. 4) The sentence strips, written in colourful ink, substituted for the traditional colourful ribbons or handkerchiefs. 5) Playing the pot and playing the wooden desk substituted for the traditional music instruments. 6) Varieties of intricate steps were substituted by simple ones. 7) Instead of giving importance to music, it was given to the action explain the meaning of the song i.e the content of the lesson.

The discarded features of traditional Oyilattam 1) The religious connotation attached to oyilattam was given up as there was no need. 2) Playing the music instruments like thavil, harmonium, etc. were avoided in order to make the words clearer. 3) Increasing the number of the dancers in the course of performance was abandoned as there was no demand.

The new features introduced while teaching through Oyilattam White screen behind the stage. The music players (pot player and the wooden bench player) were sitting behind the screen and carried out their duties in order not to distract the audience.

Suspense The children were taught to sing, ‘Ok our Lord…. Bye bye see you’ and some other lines. But they were not told, where and when to sing the same. They were

lxix asked to find out the place and time to sing. This kind of technique was adopted to keep the students alive and active. Role to be played by the audience In the traditional oyilattam the audience remains as mere spectators, but in the FAVARMS Pedagogy, they too have to be active and alert and play the role assigned to them. No word but learned There was no word regarding the emblem of the kingdoms in the song sung. But it was learned by the students, by their mere look at the picture of the emblem in the king’s crown and the flag. Imitation The whole song was written on a chart and displayed before the students. One student volunteered to take the role of Parantagan and danced according to the meaning of the song. This time the song was sung by the whole class. In the same way three other students took the role of other three kings and performed the art of teaching. The following days, the students called the actors by the name of their character. Reinforcement As it has been explained in the performance of villuppaattu, group activities were carried here too for reinforcement of the learning. Evaluation

Finally the evaluation process started. Each student was given a word card used during the presentation. While the researcher was singing the aforesaid song, the students were coming round and when the investigator stopped singing, the students stood and listened to the commands given by the investigator (Parantagan, go out; Rajarajan, jump; Rajendiran, sit down; Kulothungan, run) and carried them out. Those who did mistake were sent out of the game. They were asked to observe the game and learn. Thus group evaluation was done. Then the commands were given to evaluate each individual student. eg. The capital of Chola kingdom, come out / the founder of later Chola kingdom, raise your hand, etc. Those who did wrong were asked to observe the game. Next the materials were exchanged among the groups and the same game was replayed. The game went on till the bell rang.

lxx

Special Features Introduced Visualization The whole content was visualized and explained through actions, facial expressions and through dance steps. Word cards: While teaching through villuppaattu and therukkooththu, there was a banner lifter apart from the performers of the art. But in the oyilattam, the performers themselves showed the word cards to the audience at the right time while dancing. And the word cards too were in motion in accordance to the dance-steps of the performers.

Picture – 7 (Parathaga Chola) Picture – 8 (Showing word Cards)

Pictures: Pictures related to the content was shown by the investigator, during his intervention time and explained.

Dance Steps: In oyilattam, each and every movement of the dancers was explaining the meaning of the song or the content of the lesson. The gestures, facial expression, body languages of the dancers all form a kind of visual image. Meaningful imaginary forms:

Meaningful imaginary pictures, connecting different concepts or ideas, were also shown at the end of each scene by the investigator. For example to

lxxi keep the countries won over by Paranthaga Chola, the following picture was shown and the words, “Oru Paranthu Vada nellai eduththukkondu Chidambaram, Madurai vazhiyaga Ezham sentrathu.” (An eagle carried Northern side paddy to Ezham via Madurai and Chidambaram)”.

Picture-11 (Achievement of Paranthaga Chola)

Association As in the two other folk arts, here too the technique of association was abundantly used. In the above example, the king Pranthagan was associated with the bird Paranthu (an eagle) and the city of Nelloore with Nell (Paddy) on the basis of the similarity of sound in their names.

lxxii

Rhyming All the songs were composed with rhyming words as it is the special feature of the folk songs. For example, Cherargalai ventren (I have won over the Cheras) Thiruvananthapuram konden (and captured Thiruvananthapuram) - here ventren (won) and konden (captured) are rhyming words.

Map reading: While dancing, the performers pinpointed the important places on the map that was hanging nearby them. Then, in the group activities this skill was reinforced.

Picture – 9 (Rajendira Chola I pointing out the places won by him on the map of India)

lxxiii

Synthesizing System Each king’s achievements were synthesized in a sentence and given to the students. For example, the achievement of the Parantaga Chola was given in the sentence - Oru Paranthu, vada Nellai eduththukkondu Madurai Chidambaram vazhiyaga Ezham sentrathu) Oru Paranthu = An eagle Vada nellai eduththukkondu = taking the paddy from northern area Madurai Chidambaram vazhiyaga = through Madurai and Chidambaram Ezham sentrathu.” = went to Sri Lanka. Here the word ‘Paranthu’ refers to the king Paranthagan and the phrase ‘Vada Nellai’ stands for the Northern frontier of Paranthagan i.e Nelloore. ‘Madurai’ refers to the victory of Paranthagan over the Pandiyas of Madurai and his nick name ‘Madurai kondan’. ‘Chidambaram’ stands for his pious act of covering the tower of Siva temple at Chidambaram. ‘Ezham’ stands for his victory over the king of Ezham (Sri Lanka) and his nick name ‘Ezham Kondan”. Totally there are only four points about Paranthagan and all the four ideas were synthesized in the aforesaid sentence. In the group work (reinforcement activity), the students were asked to explain the inner meaning of the sentence.

Thus, here the students are helped to visualize the whole content through action, facial expression, dance, dramatization, pictures, and words; to associate new things with known things and to synthesize meaningfully with the help of rhythmic songs.

THE HURDLES AND SOLUTIONS

On the last day of the performance i.e 15.4.11, there was an open discussion after the last class with the observant teachers. The teachers were asked to list out the hurdles that prevent them from teaching through folk arts. The teachers listed out the following hurdles.

HURDLES

 Some amount of money has to be spent on make-up things and dressing materials  The adjacent class is disturbed.  There is no adequate class room to arrange a stage.  Teachers can’t teach all the topics through folk arts.  They have to take extra pain.  It consumes time.

lxxiv

SUGGESTIONS TO OVER COME THE HURDLES

The following suggestions were given to the teachers as the solution for their difficulties.

The teachers could make use of low cost or no cost materials. The students themselves could be asked to bring the needed materials. Their talents could be utilized at the maximum level. If some amount of money is needed, that could be taken from the amount given for TLM under the SSA scheme.

If the adjacent class is the same standard, both classes could be taught simultaneously and the other teachers’ support also could be got. Otherwise, it could be carried out under the tree outside the class room.

The teachers were told that teaching all the topics through one method or strategy (folk arts) is contrary to educational methodology, philosophy and psychology. But suitable topics could be taught through folk arts with sufficient time gap.

The teachers were asked to realize the pleasure they derive, when all the students understand the whole content. It is certainly more than the pains they undertake to perform it. And also they were told that for the first time it may be difficult to few teachers, but in course of time they would easily handle the situation. If one set of students have been trained, then with the help of them the other set of students could be trained.

They were made to realize that it takes time not for presenting the content, but for preparation and it is true to all the methods that are effective and fruitful. So if we want to achieve more, we should be prepared to work hard.

Further they were suggested to perform (teaching history through folk arts) the folk arts, during school functions so that the interest of the students towards history could be maintained and the public could understand our Indian history in an interesting and easy manner.

The class of an interested teacher could be video tapped and converted into CD, so that all the teachers in the union or in the CRC could be benefited. In this regard they could approach the history educators in the DIET and the history trainer in the BRC. The same CD could be used for rehearsal or teaching the content to the students.

lxxv

lxxvi