Seminar tries to bridge gulfs between cultures

CHENNAI: Why is Bharatanatyam referred to as a dance form of Tamil Nadu? Why do people identify Chennai with the Marghazhi season? These were some of the questions raised during a seminar at the Anna Adarsh College for Women which threw light on the concept of transnationalism - a social phenomenon where interconnectivity across countries, cultures and people is heightened.
The seminar highlighted that certain traditions associated with a particular nation, state or culture are not necessarily restricted to that region alone but cut across several realms.
"Transnationalism is all about bridging gaps and breaking boundaries. The cultures may be different across countries but there may be a common thread connecting people across these cultures. An example would be how many women face the same issues despite being in opposite corners of the globe," said Prof Archana M Sardana of the English Department which organised the seminar.
The inaugural session of the two-day seminar pointed out examples of transnationalism in socio-cultural and linguistic realms with the theme being a transnational approach to literary studies. A host of prominent panelists participated in the event including Anne Brewster, Associate Professor, School of Media and Performing Arts, Sydney, Australia, Prof Sumanyu Satpathy, Head of Department of English, University of Delhi, film critic Baradwaj Rangan, consultant psychiatrist Dr. Shalini N, and Swarnamalya Ganesh, dancer, actor and Adjunct Professor at UCLA, Los Angeles.
Performer Swarnamalya Ganesh said that although the internet has been credited with popularising the concept of transnationalism, the phenomenon has existed for decades. "We have been living transnationalism all our lives," she said. To demonstrate transnationalism in the cultural context, she drew upon the example of Jakkini, the Bharatanatyam dance form influenced by Sufism. Although the word is derived from Persian and the dance has diverse roots, it is considered very Indian, she noted.