Honorary doctorate’ for Madurai Thappattam artiste

‘Panaiyur’ Raja was conferred the doctorate at a function in Chennai, on Saturday. According to authorities of The International Tamil University, Raja was the first folk artiste to be conferred the doctorate in ‘Thappattam’ in the state.

The 48-year-old has been associated with Thappattam for nearly 34 years and performed in various parts of world including Muscat and Australia.

He has also received various awards from the government including the coveted Kalaivalarmani award.

“This degree will not only be a suffix to my name but also encourage me to take the folk art forward. As I find it has a declining trend, I will try to infuse more life into it,” said Raja.

“I hope that by seeing me get a doctorate many people will come forward to learn the art. There is a stigma attached to this art. People are of the opinion that it is a form of music associated only with the locals and that it is not as refined as that of Bharatanatyam or any western instrument. It is actually wrong and this mindset has to be changed. All art forms should be considered equal and they deserve the same importance,” explained Raja.

He also said that his work was monitored for nearly 2-3 three years.

“The Iyal Isai Mandram at Chennai through Tamil Nadu Kalai Panpattu Valarchi Maiyam, based at Madurai, had contacted him and helped him in the university offering a honorary doctorate,” said Raja.