HSPA to Showcase Tamil Freedom Fighters at Kalakshetra Foundation on August 16

Heritage Stories and Performing Arts (HSPA) will present 'Itihaas Ke Pannon Se', a performance blending folk arts, music, and storytelling to highlight unsung Tamil freedom fighters, on August 16 at Rukmini Arangam inside the Kalakshetra Foundation in Chennai. The show will begin at 6 pm and marks the first time this production has been curated specifically for Tamil audiences, following earlier editions held in Bengaluru, Visakhapatnam, and Mumbai over the past four years.

The Chennai program will open with a Villu Paatu performance by 'Kalaimamani' Bharathi Thirumagan, S Thirumagan, and Kalaivalarmani T Kalaimagan. Using one of Tamil Nadu's oldest oral folk art traditions, the artists will narrate the life of an unsung female freedom fighter who was known as a singer and actor but whose role in the freedom movement remained largely unrecorded.

Following the Villu Paatu segment, VR Devika will offer an oral storytelling session on the history of Khadi and its role in India's independence movement against British rule. Vocalist Shreya Ramnath will subsequently perform songs of freedom, while artist Satwik Gade paints live on stage to capture the emotional themes of the music.

The event will wrap up with a dance drama performed by students of Rukminidevi Natyakshetra, portraying the life of another lesser-known freedom fighter. HSPA founder and storyteller Sarita Nair stated that the concept originated after videos about freedom fighters gained traction online during the pandemic. Previous runs integrated regional art forms such as Burrakatha in Visakhapatnam, Geegi Pada in Bengaluru, and Chitrakathi in Mumbai.

TN Venkatesh, principal secretary of the Department of Handlooms, Handicrafts, Textiles and Khadi, Government of Tamil Nadu, will attend as the chief guest. Continuing HSPA's tradition of inviting family members of historical figures, Niranjan Bharathi—writer, speaker, and great-great-grandson of Mahakavi Subramania Bharathi—will be the guest of honour. Tickets are priced at Rs 200, Rs 300, and Rs 500, and can be booked online through MDnD.