Between August 25th-27th, 2017, I participated in the 16th International Forum For Information Technology in Tamil (INFITT) which took place right here in my home territory, at the University of Toronto, Scarborough. The paper I presented contained an overview of a Tamil archive of digitized research materials I have been working to assemble all summer. These documents consist largely of story-like materials collected by me and selected colleagues in the Kongu area of Tamilnadu, between 1965 and 1975 and recorded on audio tape. Included in this compilation are over 3,000 color slides and just a little under 1,500 black and white negatives… all of which describe this specific area and all of which have now been digitally scanned. Some 34 x 5 inch audio tapes are also included in my growing archive which now fills over 22,000 pages! Alongside the paper I presented, there was a large mural-style exhibition for participants to examine, a kind of visual shorthand presentation of the key dynamics embedded in my favorite tale: the great Ponnivala legend. Guidebooks were supplied in both Tamil and English which helped interested viewers understand this visual presentation in greater depth. The second photo, a part of my lecture, shows what I looked like while doing research in the Kongu area in 1965… and what I look like today!
