Great after-hours workshop event for teachers at the Cedarwood Public School

We had a great after-hours workshop event for teachers at the Cedarwood Public School here in Toronto last Wednesday. There is a lot of enthusiasm building for using the Legend of Ponnivala story in Ontario classrooms…. at all grade levels. Some, like Renuka DeSilva, have done a great job linking the story to teaching concepts
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receiveing a moment of recognition last night for my work in promoting the power and beauty of Tamil oral literature.

I was pleasantly surprised to receive a moment of recognition last night for my work in promoting the power and beauty of Tamil oral literature. This important Markham, Toronto event was sponsored by Tamil Chair Inc., a group raising funds for the establishment of the first Sangam Professorship in Tamil Studies at Harvard University. A
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A Human Rights ceremony in Toronto

A Human Rights ceremony in Toronto yesterday with a wonderful award for my good friend, school Vice Principal Padmani Padiyachy.
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storytelling and social justice

  On October 14th and 15th, 2015 a conference was held in Prague entitled “Making Anthropology Matter.” The discussion centered around European professional anthropologists’ ongoing concerns about how to best apply their largely-academic research efforts. Many anthropologists hope to usefully relate their findings to contemporary social concerns. With this in mind, most conference participants spoke about the tension they
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The Boar’s Tale

Dr. Beck in Prague The President of the Sophia Hilton Foundation spoke in Prague (capital of the Czech Republic) on October 13, 2015. She was dressed to represent the night sky, wearing a crescent-shaped white necklace made from a pair of wild boar tusks sourced from South India. Furthermore, she balanced this remarkable crescent moon
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WHAT LAND GRANT PROPOSAL IS THE KING DISCUSSING?

This particular scene conveys just one key message: the king has had a very prosperous growing season. The harvest has been abundant. The fields are lush and green. The king’s explanation for all this beauty and wealth around him is straight forward. He attributes it all to the skills and hard work of the nine
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short two minute taste of The Legend of Ponnivala

A short two minute taste of The Legend of Ponnivala, our South Asian banner project, being performed at a Toronto 2015 Tamil street festival. Watch Ramaneekaran’s Teru Kuttu story-telling troupe in action! What a terrific show it was. And there was an audience of about 3,000 watching!  
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Attending a meeting with Brenda Beck and Dharan Prakash.

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Pictures of the wonderful Teru Kuttu (street drama) performance of the Ponnar-Shankar

More pictures of the wonderful Teru Kuttu (street drama) performance of the Ponnar-Shankar or Ponnivala Story that took place in Toronto just ten days back. Here are some additional stills featuring members of the troupe plus the names of everyone involved. Hats off to all involved for a great presentation…. the first ever in Canada!
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A child pets a waiting (wooden) hobby horse

A child pets a waiting (wooden) hobby horse – A nice moment captured at the Tamil street festival held here in Toronto last weekend.
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