PATHATHI Charitable Trust


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PATHATHI Charitable Trust   (Regd) 625/2009

Phone: 9944502669
email: pathathi.info@gmail.com




PATHATHI CHARITABLE TRUST

Preserve the Past, in the Present, for the Future
Education, Research, Social action


Pathathi Charitable Trust strives towards the preservation, propagation, transmission and study of Indian traditions, usage and customs, with the aim to preserve the ancient legacy of our nation and its culture, as well as aiming for the attainment and realization of social justice for both individuals and groups, offering support to those in need.

Pathathi earnestly and with enthusiasm implores the support of all with a kind heart and generous mind to help it attain its goals.

Projects already in progress or to be realized in the short and medium term include

  • supporting of young people in their educational ambitions, especially with respect to music, dance, arts and crafts.
  • sponsoring of pilgrimage of elderly persons, with priority given to women.
  • undertaking annadanam.
  • Support and rehabilitation of people who are physically en mentally challenged.
  • sponsoring of the performance and recitation of sacred texts and chants, for instance Veda Parayanam, Thevaram, etc.

Pathathi is an initiative of three young men from the Deekshithar community of Chidambaram, whose aim and ambition it is to realize their father’s dreams and vision for the future. Central to the aims of the Pathathi Charitable Trust stand the value and significance of the Indian traditions and the need to offer support to all those who are the custodians of the tradition today, and the beneficiaries of this tradition in the future. And at the same time strive towards social justice for all, as it is taught by the tradition itself.

Combining both a traditional upbringing with an Western education, and through his numerous travels to the West their father realized the great value and significance of the Indian traditions, and inspired them to both respect and understanding of their heritage, and to promote, support and continue this tradition in its various forms and aspects for the benefit of their own and future generations.

The preservation of the tradition first of al requires its continuation and conservation. This can only be achieved through the support of those who are its custodians; the artists, artisans and scholars. Support and promotion will also stimulate the younger generation to take up careers in traditional fields. Supporting elderly performers and scholars also serves the goals of social justice for the elderly.

One of the great traditions of South India is that of the singing of Thevaram. The Thevaram is the body of hymns composed by three Tamil saint-poets who sang the praises of Lord Shiva in the 6th to 8th century. The past 1000 years the singing of Thevaram was performed by the community of artists and scholars called Oduvars and transmitted from father to son, and from master to student. Today, in the age of electronic media and recordings, there is less and less scope for the live performance of Thevaram in temples for the benefit of the devotees. Or for traditional Oduvars to gain a right livelihood from their art and knowledge. One of the projects undertaken by the Pathathi Charitable Trust is the sponsoring of the live-performance of Thevaram in temples, and offering of financial and other support to Oduvars, their families and students.

One aspect of tradition which often does not get much attention is the oral tradition. Villages, neighborhoods, areas and communities all have their own legends, stories, and customs. These constitute a valuable aspect of the intangible heritage, and still are at present not much disturbed. The collection, preservation and transmission of these oral traditions will be one of Pathathi’s aims and projects. And it is the intension to make these traditions accessible to all through the electronic media. To encourage people to maintain and sustain their enthusiasm for their tradition, usage and customs.

Sthala puranas, the mythology of temples, are an important aspect of both oral and literary traditions. These are both transmitted in the oral tradition from generation to generation, as well as preserved in texts in Sanskrit, Tamil, and other languages. The sthala puranas too are under threat of being lost. Manuscripts, old publications, and the elderly generations who used to convey these stories, are slowly being lost, or have become inaccessible. It is one of the aims of Pathathi to undertake the collection, preservation and (re)publishing of sthala puranas with the aim to preserve them and make them accessible to a wider audience and devotees. With the help of scholars, through research in libraries, and through interviews with devotees and priests, we hope to be able to recover and restore as much as possible those sthala puranas that are almost lost. And it is also the intention of Pathathi to make out-of-print publications accessible on-line and in print.

Today many people whose cultural roots are in India grow up in other parts of the world and do not any longer speak their mother tongue. Also many people from other parts of the world have come to appreciate the great treasure that is the culture of India. On top of this, many of the great ancient works are composed or written in languages no longer in general use today. Pathathi aims to stimulate and support the translation of ancient texts on all subjects into modern languages, both Indian and other world languages. This in turn will offer the opportunity to offer material and financial support to scholars and to improve the accessibility of ancient wisdom, knowledge and art.

Music and dance are two of the sixteen upacharas which are to be offered as part of the worship in a temple. This shows the importance and significance of music and dance are to the Indian culture. Pathathi aims to encourage the performance of music and dance in temples for the benefit of the culture and the devotees. Pathathi plans to sponsor regular concerts and dance performances, starting in the Shiva Nataraja temple of Chidambaram. With the support of the generous and enthusiastic public we aim to organize concerts on a monthly or weekly basis, and to expand this program to other temples as much and as soon as possible.

Music plays a central role in all culture. Music exists only by the grace of the musicians. Due to the changes generated by the modern life-style the scope for many traditional musicians to support their life has been eroded. This causes the loss of knowledge and other aspects of the tradition, and because of this situation musician’s children are forced to choose alternative careers, and others that may wish to study also turn to other professions in the face of lack of good career perspectives. Popular musicians survive through the electronic media. The many talented and scholarly people who do not enjoy such popularity suffer and have difficulty supporting their families. Many musicians who used to perform during weddings and temple festivals have been replaced with recordings. Some can’t even afford to replace their instruments once they are broken. By creating opportunities for musicians to perform, by sponsoring concerts, sponsoring the replacement of instruments, and through the sponsorship of students and apprentices, Pathathi aspires to offer a strong stimulus and incentive to the preservation of various aspects of music as part of the tradition.

With respect to the preservation and promotion of the tradition of classical South Indian Dance, Bharata Natyam, Pathathi plans to support young motivated dancers with their education and training. And to sponsor their arangetram. The arangetram is the traditional test of talent, skill and maturity of a Bharata Natyam dancer. The performance of the full length concert is a great challenge to anyone, but the requirements with respect to the financial and organizational input are beyond many an aspiring young dancer. For many who seek a career in dance the arangetram is an obstacle. It is costly and complicated. On the other hand the achievement of the performance of an arangetram offers a young dancer confidence, knowledge and experience. It confers upon the dancer the capacity to perform on stage, and to teach the younger generation. This combines the objective of enabling a young person to earn a living, as well as the promise the knowledge will be handed on to the next generation. In this way Pathathi combines the aims of helping the individual aspiring artists, the support of the teachers, and the preservation and continuation of the art of Bharata Natyam.

Research is the first step for any preservation process. The Indian civilization and its traditions have a history going back many thousands of years. Change and development have brought both progress and advance, but sometimes generate a measure of loss of value and understanding. Research and the dissemination of its result help restore understanding and strengthen the foundations of the culture and civilization. Pathathi Charitable Trust intends to offer support to students, scholars and also independent researchers.

The following step is teaching. Unless the knowledge and understanding reaches the public it remains barren and ineffective. Therefore Pathathi Charitable Trust intends to conduct courses and workshops with the aim to educate both young and old on the value, meaning and wisdom of Indian tradition, knowledge and wisdom. And also aims to stimulate the publication of research through both electronic and traditional media.

To achieve and accomplish all these ideals and goals, Pathathi Charitable Trust requests charitable and enthusiastic members of the public to extend their support for all these plans and aspirations



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