A short thread on how nationalistic sentiments came to engulf Madras’ theater world in the early 20th century creating a long-lasting legacy of using the stage as a medium of protest. #WorldTheatreDay 1/n
India at the beginning of the 20th century was beaming with nationalist fervor and anti-colonial sentiments and it was showing itself in all forms, especially in forms of performing arts and theatre. 2/n
Though Bengal was considered a pioneer in protests through the stage, it was not long before other regions of the country started using it as a medium. 3/n
Tamil theatre from its onset with its blend of Parsi and European influence created a niche for itself, showcasing plays on various social and contemporary topics. However, it was not isolated from the freedom movement that engulfed the country during the early 20th century. 4/n
One of the early protagonists of the protest theatre was S.S.Viswanatha Dass. Dass was a powerhouse of an performer specializing in both male and female roles with a unique talent for singing. 5/n
He was deeply affected by the barbaric act of Jallianwala Bagh in 1919. In his subsequent stage plays, his song பஞ்சாப் படுகொலை பாரில் கொடியது “Punjab massacre is the most horrible act on the earth” garnered a huge appeal among the masses. 6/n
In 1925 he was invited to sing at a sabha in Tuticorin where Gandhi was present. Dass was enthralled after the meeting, he accpted Gandhi’s offer of wearing khadi, and also made sure that his fellow actors started using khadi while portraying their characters on stage. 7/n
Soon the theatre’s of GeorgeTown became a hotbed of anticolonial activities. It became a common sight to see characters in plays such as Kovalan, Valli Thirumanam, Harischandra Mayana Kandam being staged by various other theatre groups singing patriotic songs on stage. 8/n
Dass is said to have been arrested multiple times on charges of sedition, even the mere act of signing a patriotic song sometimes landed him in jail. Other proponents of the movement were T.P.Krishnaswamy Pavalar, Subramania Siva & Subramaniya Bharathi. 9/n
Pavalar was working as a school teacher when in 1917 Annie Besant was arrested on charges of sedition, for Pavalar that was the final straw. His tryst with the stage started with Pammal Sambanda Mudaliar’s Suguna Vilasa Sabha (a theater group). 10/n
However, Pavalar soon started his own group The Pavalar Boys Company. The Boys Company performed patriotic plays such as, “Kadharin Vetri”, “Desiyakodi” and “Pathi Bhakti” across Tamil Nadu not only drawing huge crowds but also the ire of the authorities. 11/n
Palavar’s biggest success came when his Boys company performed Kadharin Vetri at the British Empire Exhibition in Wembley Park in 1924. It was a monumental achievement for a theatre group from India to stand up & showcase their prowess Infront of their oppressors. 12/n
In 1947 the first bulletin of the All India Radio on 15th August proclaiming Independence was read out by Poornam Viswanathan, who later became one of Tamil stage’s most renowned personalities. 13/n
Post-independence stalwarts like C. N. Annadurai and M. G. Ramachandran all played their part in carrying forward protest theatre’s unique legacy, though for more contemporary political issues. 14/n
Why does sugarcane taste so sweet in India today? India’s sugarcane wasn’t always this sweet. The reason it tastes the way it does today goes back to the stubborn brilliance of one woman who fought prejudice, doubt, and even war. Thread.
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Janaki Ammal was born in 1897 in Kerala. At a time when most girls were expected to marry early, she chose science.
Botany became her world.
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Janaki grew up in a large family with 19 siblings. Her father was not a scientist, but he loved tending gardens and writing about nature. From him, Janaki absorbed a way of looking at plants not just as crops, but as living wonders.
Open a Crayola box today and you’ll find hundreds of shades. But if you grew up in the 80s or 90s using Crayola art supplies, you might remember a crayon called Indian Red. And then, one day, it just disappeared. What exactly happened?
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To answer that, you have to travel way beyond the Crayola factory in Pennsylvania…
all the way to a small town in Kerala, India.
In 1807, a Scottish man named Francis Buchanan was surveying the region for the East India Company.
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So, who was Buchanan-Hamilton? think of him as a one-man research institute on foot: surgeon, botanist, surveyor. after Tipu Sultan’s fall, he was tasked to map and describe the south.
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This year, a controversy broke out over a scene in Kesari 2. It allegedly misrepresented one of Bengal’s greatest freedom fighters, Khudiram Bose, by calling him Khudiram Singh. To understand why that name matters, we have to take a train to a small station in Bihar. Thread 1/19
The station has two platforms and is located in Samastipur district, part of the East Central Railway’s Sonpur division. To understand why the name mix-up hurt so deeply, we have to look beyond cinema. This small, unassuming train station may hold the answer. 2/19
It has worn several names over the years — Waini Railway Station, then Pusa Road Waini after the nearby agricultural university was built. Later, Waini was dropped. For decades, it was simply “Pusa Road.” 3/19
Rahul Gandhi’s startling claims of voter list fraud have sparked intense debate over India’s election integrity. Nearly a hundred years ago, a small West African country experienced one of the most extraordinary election frauds in history. What exactly took place? Thread 1/18
In 1927, Liberia went to the polls. On paper, it was just another general election. In reality, it would become a masterclass in how far those in power will go to hold on to it.
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Liberia was small. Tucked away in West Africa. Founded a century earlier by freed African Americans.
Its ruling class — the Americo-Liberians — controlled everything: the courts, the military, foreign trade, and land.
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Mujib’s 1974 Lahore visit was a watershed moment in Bangladesh and subcontinental politics. Hoping to gain recognition from Pakistan and China, he tried to distance Bangladesh from Indo-Soviet axis. But that it would bring greater doom never crossed his mind. Thread. 1/17
Mujib's decision to attend the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) summit in Lahore in March 1974 - trading Pakistan’s diplomatic recognition of Bangladesh for dropping the trial of 195 heinous Pakistani war criminals - opened the flood gates of conspiratorial politics. 2/17
This decision not only destabilised Bangladesh but also helped in the resurgence of banned pro-Pak Islamic forces who fuelled communal tension and anti-India sentiments. 3/17
When a plane crashes, the world demands answers. The recent Air India tragedy left millions searching for truth. But, when all goes quiet, one device speaks: the black box. A device nobody wanted until it started telling the truth. Thread on the birth of the Black Box.
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Today is Dr. David Warren’s birthday – a fitting day to remember the man behind the “black box.” It’s hard to believe now, but his life-saving device almost never meant to be built. It’s remarkable that something so essential to safety was buried under layers of red tape. 2/15
Warren’s path to inventing the black box began with tragedy. He was born in 1925. When he was nine, his father Reverend Hubert Warren mysteriously disappeared in a tiny biplane over Bass Strait. The last thing his father gave him before the flight was a crystal radio set. 3/15