Thalarndhadhu = It rested

Shot in 1987-88 in the Kolli Malai, Kalvarayan Malai and Pachai Malai Ranges of Central Tamilnadu with just a two person crew carrying a spring-wind 16mm Bolex camera and a Sony Professional Walkman, and later edited on a Pic-Sync, this film is a brief impressionistic sketch of the Malai-aalee tribe, with special emphasis on their music and performances. Many of their songs are work-related -- ploughing, cow herding, working in the quarry. Others are ceremonial/ritualistic -- marriage, death, childbirth. And then there are the long ballads -- myths, legends and folk tales. The rhythms of the music overlap with the rhythms of their daily life. The film does not use a commentary or voice over, allowing the audience to relate directly.