Valiyaveettil Yussuf, Farzana (2026) Thalaimarai: Echoes of Generation. Masters thesis, Concordia University.
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Abstract
This dissertation accompanies Thalaimarai (Echoes of Generations), a research-creation film examining elder neglect and the practice of Thalaikoothal, a ritual in parts of rural Tamil Nadu, India in which an elderly person’s death is deliberately hastened and later reframed through spiritual narratives. The title Thalaimarai, meaning “head covering,” refers to the act of covering the head after death and gestures toward broader themes of concealment, ritual transformation, and cultural reframing that shape the practice of Thalaikoothal . Emerging from a childhood experience of witnessed abandonment, the project developed through sustained engagement with elders at Akshaya Trust in Chennai, India and through collaboration with folk artist R. Kaleeswaran (Ayya), who provided access to a firsthand account of Thalaikoothal. Rather than employing conventional documentary methods, the film operates through mediated strategies including still imagery, spatial sound, shadow puppetry, Parai drumming, a traditional percussion form historically used to mark communal announcements and death, and Therukoothu, a Tamil street theatre tradition known for its stylized embodiment of moral conflict. These traditional forms function not as aesthetic embellishment but as culturally embedded narrative structures through which difficult truths can be collectively staged and processed. Central to the work is the methodological framework of the “distant mirror,” a practice of ethical mediation that approaches traumatic or culturally sensitive material through reflection, collaboration, and positional awareness rather than direct exposure. The written component situates the film within sensory ethnography, trauma representation, and research-creation methodologies.
| Divisions: | Concordia University > Faculty of Fine Arts > Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema |
|---|---|
| Item Type: | Thesis (Masters) |
| Authors: | Valiyaveettil Yussuf, Farzana |
| Institution: | Concordia University |
| Degree Name: | M.F.A. |
| Program: | Cinematic Arts |
| Date: | 3 March 2026 |
| Thesis Supervisor(s): | Cross, Daniel |
| Keywords: | Thalaikoothal, Elder Neglect, Tamil Nadu, Experimental Documentary, Therukoothu, Sound Design, Thematic |
| ID Code: | 996869 |
| Deposited By: | Farzana Valiyaveettil Yussuf |
| Deposited On: | 29 Jun 2026 15:04 |
| Last Modified: | 29 Jun 2026 15:04 |
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