Nadagam (Drama)

The Richness of the cultural tradition of the Tamils is expressed in the concept of MutTamil, which classifies Tamil into three sections. It is a kind of play performed live with predefined scripts and roles. There are many types of Tamil drama such as Street Drama or Stage Drama. From the olden days, Tamils used to play dramas as part of recreation. The drama can be about the culture, political issues, happiness, festivals, sad moments, etc. Still in the villages of Tamil Nadu they have street dramas and it is the family profession for certain people and they have history rooted back to BC. Drama plays a very important role in tamil literary works.

The stages were used for different types of dances specific for the regions example Aychiyar Kuravai, Kuravaik koothu, Kottravai koothu. The dances were, in essence an enactment of mythological legends. They were also used for conveying thanks to the deities for good rains and crops or paying homage to the valor or patronage of Kings and chieftains. Ilango adigal had portrayed various kinds of dances performed in the different regions (Thinai) in several chapters (aarangettru kaathai, venirkaatthai, aachiyar kuravai)

Many Tamil literary works were translated into other languages and readers interested in additional details would find a series of very interesting articles in "The Heritage of the Thamizh people" which is published by the International Institute of Thamizh Studies in (1983). The introduction of cinemas in the third decade of the twentieth century brought about some remarkable changes in the field of Naadaga thamizh. After that the free-flowing literary prose style was introduced by 20th-century writers. The information of literary works are copied and it is performed by actors in stages.

Below are some of the great drama works people usually perform