By Janani Jeganmohan

Whilst Kamban Kazhagam Australia (KKA) emerged from humble beginnings, an unwavering emphasis has continued to be placed from its inception upon maintaining and preserving the rich Tamil identity within diaspora communities. As such, the organisation’s multidimensional initiatives and contributions not only strengthen the budding Tamil community but encourage intercommunal development. Through creating fluid spaces to foster the evolution of youth who are matured under the moral guidance of literary teachings, at its 15th Anniversary, the growth of the organisation stands as a testament of the merging of the old with the fluid new to create a steady stream of knowledge for many more generations to come. This is especially enabled through the creation of a generation of leaders who are well-spoken and versed in social interactions and development. In particular, I would like to draw attention to three particular attributes which are distinct to these spaces.

“Nature is my friend, life is my philosopher and history is my guide.”

Leadership

KKA provides a platform for youth and individuals to develop traits which remain crucial for a leader. Through allowing youth to lead and organise such events themselves, an environment is simulated for them to develop skills such as:

• Crisis management
• Logistical support
• Administration
• Team dynamics
• Communication
• Delegation

These skills are not only essential for youth as they grow into the workforce, but allow them to become strong individuals who are capable of leading a collective towards set goals and targets of development and progression.

Creativity

Many events are organised to allow creativity to be used as a medium to convey morals and teachings as found in Tamil literature. Namely, the Kalai Theri Arangam (KTA) is a platform which allows youth to derive from the stories portrayed in these texts to present the morals of them through theatre or other forms of creative outlets. On a personal note, KTA allowed myself as a performer to draw upon my own knowledge of history and Tamil defence forms and apply it to my area of performance in a creative manner thus amalgamating history and language in a creative space. These spaces encourage creative thinking which further strengthens leadership qualities.

Awareness

The space remains inclusive in addressing environmental issues and climate change. This is evident through the members’ participation in Clean Up Australia Day initiatives, recycling drives run by children in the organisation as well as Amirtha Varshini, a charity event held to raise funds against the damages caused by the NSW Bushfires of 2019/2020. Namely, the event saw the congregation of many Tamil organisations across NSW commit to alleviating the environmental concerns of the host community, thus preserving our natural environment and increasing the cohesion within the Tamil community itself.

Through interconnecting relations with our natural environment, deriving philosophical teachings from literature to lead and developing fluid creative spaces which amalgamate history, culture and identity, a strengthened legacy has been fostered and developed.(Janani Jeganmohan, is a young member of Kamban Kazhagam Australia).