WHEN ECHOES REFUSE TO FADE

With a mission to preserve the legacy of indigenous tribal people, a 52-yr-old professor travels through remote hamlets, documenting their oral histories

- JEVIN SELWYN HENRY @Dharmapuri

ACROSS the forested hills of northern Tamil Nadu, fragments of an ancient world lie scattered, half-buried hero stones, fading rock art and stories that survive only in the memories of tribal elders.

As these traces face erasure from quarrying, encroachment and indifference, one man has made it his life's mission to rescue them from oblivion.

Dr C Chandrasekar, a 52-year-old associate professor at Dharmapuri Government Arts College, is working against time to preserve the vanishing legacy of tribal civilisation. From decoding folklore passed down through generations to documenting prehistoric burial sites and unsung hero stones, he has emerged as one of the most committed chroniclers of TN's lesser-known past.

What began as academic curiosity has grown into sustained work on the ground. Travelling through remote hamlets and forest interiors, Chandrasekar gathers oral histories narrated by tribal elders, interprets symbols carved on hero stones and maps burial sites increasingly threatened by neglect and commercial activity. Through Thonmam Varalatru Ayivu Arakkattalai (also known as Thonmam Varalaru Kattalai), a collective he founded, he organises field visits, awareness programmes and volunteer-led documentation efforts. The aim, he says, is to instil a sense of ownership among local communities while pressing authorities to protect these fragile remnants of the past.