Kamban Kazhagam (Kamban Academy) is a Tamil organization which was founded to promote

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th to 4th centuries BCE, and later stages ...

of Tamil poet Kambar. The organisation was formed by Tamil politician Saw Ganesan at

Karaikudi Karaikudi is a Greater municipality in Sivagangai district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the 21st largest urban agglomeration of Tamil Nadu based on 2011 census data. It is part of the area commonly referred to as " Chettinad" and has ...

in 1939. Kamban Kazhagam Chennai was fortified by R.M.Veerappan and Justice M M Ismail.

Background and history

Kambar was a 12th-century Tamil poet who wrote Kamba Ramayanam, the life of

Rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bei ...

Ayodhya Ayodhya (; ) is a city situated on the banks of holy river Saryu in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Ayodhya, also known as Saketa, is an ancient city of India, the birthplace of Rama and setting of the great epic Ramayana. Ayodhy ...

. Kamba Ramayana differed on several aspects from the original version of

written by Sanskrit poet

Valmiki Valmiki (; Sanskrit: वाल्मीकि, ) is celebrated as the harbinger-poet in Sanskrit literature. The epic ''Ramayana'', dated variously from the 5th century BCE to first century BCE, is attributed to him, based on the attributio ...

. Kamba Ramayana emphasised

Tamil culture Tamil culture is the culture of the Tamil people. Tamil culture is rooted in the arts and ways of life of Tamils in India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, and across the globe. Tamil culture is expressed in language, literature, music, dance, thea ...

and tradition more. It is considered as one of the greatest epic of the

Tamil literature Tamil literature has a rich and long literary tradition spanning more than two thousand years. The oldest extant works show signs of maturity indicating an even longer period of evolution. Contributors to the Tamil literature are mainly from T ...

. In 1937, Chief minister of Madras Presidency

C. Rajagopalachari Chakravarti Rajagopalachari (10 December 1878 – 25 December 1972), popularly known as Rajaji or C.R., also known as Mootharignar Rajaji (Rajaji'', the Scholar Emeritus''), was an Indian statesman, writer, lawyer, and independence activis ...

(Rajaji) introduced compulsory use of

Indo-Aryan language The Indo-Aryan languages (or sometimes Indic languages) are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European language family. As of the early 21st century, they have more than 800 million speakers, primarily concentrated in India, Pa ...

Hindi in the educational institutions. To protest this move Self-Respect Movement leader

Periyar E. V. Ramasamy Erode Venkatappa Ramasamy (17 September 1879 – 24 December 1973), revered as Periyar or Thanthai Periyar, was an Indian social activist and politician who started the Self-Respect Movement and Dravidar Kazhagam. He is known as the 'F ...

launched

Anti-Hindi agitations The anti-Hindi-imposition agitations in Tamil Nadu were a series of agitations that happened in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu (formerly Madras State and part of Madras Presidency) during both pre- and post-independence periods. The agitations ...

. Periyar said that introduction of Hindi was an attempt to destroy Dravidian culture by

Aryans Aryan or Arya (, Indo-Iranian *''arya'') is a term originally used as an ethnocultural self-designation by Indo-Iranians in ancient times, in contrast to the nearby outsiders known as 'non-Aryan' (*''an-arya''). In Ancient India, the term ...

. Periyar said that Ramayana was about conquest of Dravidian King

Ravana Ravana (; , , ) is a rakshasa king of the island of Lanka, and the chief antagonist of the Hindu epic '' Ramayana'' and its adaptations. In the ''Ramayana'', Ravana is described to be the eldest son of sage Vishrava and rakshasi Kaikesi. He ...

by Aryan King Rama. Periyar burned the epic Kamba Ramayana and alleged that Kambar destroyed Tamil culture by portraying Ravana as evil character in the epic. During that period, Saw Ganesan, an admirer of Kamba Ramayana, thought that Kambar gave importance to the

Tamil language Tamil (; ' , ) is a Dravidian language natively spoken by the Tamil people of South Asia. Tamil is an official language of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the sovereign nations of Sri Lanka and Singapore, and the Indian territory o ...

and culture. He decided to popularize the Kambar's literary talent. He founded Kamban Kazhagam in 1939 at Karaikudi,

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

, India. Literacy critic, T. K. Chidambaranatha Mudaliar, became President of the academy. Kambar inaugurated his work on Hastham star in Panguni month of Tamil calendar. Hence, Saw Ganesan chose 2–3 April 1939 to organise the first Kamban festival. He celebrated the final day of festival at

Nattarasankottai Nattarasankottai is a village in Sivaganga district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Geography Nattarasankottai is located at . It has an average elevation of 75 metres (246 feet). Demographics As of 2001 India census, Nattarasan ...

where Kambar's tomb is situated. Kamban Kazhagam organises the festival every year by conducting seminars and debates on Kambar's Ramayana. Upon this success many other Kamban Kazhagam were founded across India and overseas where the

Tamil diaspora The Tamil diaspora refers to descendants of the Tamil immigrants who emigrated from their native lands (Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Sri Lanka) to other parts of the world. They are found primarily in Malaysia, Arab states of the Persian Gulf, ...

lived.

References

{{Reflist Tamil organisations Organisations based in Tamil Nadu Organizations established in 1939 Ramayana 1939 establishments in India