Remembering the battle in Mullivaikal

CHENNAI : It is not often you witness a bharatanatyam performance with dancers enacting gun battles and massacres, but when the plight of the Tamil population in Sri Lanka is depicted on any stage, ignoring the role of arms is a difficult prospect.Nidhi, who performed at the third remembrance day of the Mullivaikal genocide of 2009, organised by the Global Tamil Organisation on May 18, was motivated not by the art but by her sympathy for what she saw on television screens when the battle in the island nation had reached it culmination.“The pictures on the Channel 4 documentary moved me and my father tremendously. He decided that we should contribute in some way. This is the reason I am here for the performance,” said Nidhi. The dance brought before the audience moving scenes of the battlefield, especially the suffering of women who were estranged from their husbands and children and bore the brunt of the military operations.This was followed by a dance performance by a group of college students depicting the Mullivaikal land as a living entity that witnessed the gory scenes. They enacted the perseverance of worldwide movements which were able to achieve self-determination despite sustained onslaught from the State.The cultural performances were followed by a candle-light vigil to lend support to those affected by the war that ended in 2009. Persons participated in the vigil, where speakers called for an independent referendum in Sri Lanka to determine the emotions of the Tamil population.