Poda Panaada ! (Get Lost you Useless one)

 The title Poda Panaada is in the Tamil colloquial language.  It’s a phrase which refers to a person as useless by comparing him/her to Panaadai.  Panaadai is the leaf sheaths seen in palm trees. 

 

 

 

In June 2026, I had the opportunity to visit the Lalit Kala Academy Art Gallery in Chennai. The world of artists is unique, and I usually engage with it reluctantly. The freedom it embraces overwhelms me many a time.  During that visit, the work of artist P. Kirtana caught me unawares.  She had given the most unusual title for her series of art presented at the gallery as Poda Panaada ! I assumed that she wanted to convey defiance. One of her larger artworks portrayed a woman sitting with a quiet yet firm recklessness. In a society that tells women to sit like this, don't sit like that… the woman portrayed by the artist owned her striking posture unapologetically. It reminded me of the woman sitting on the cover of Geetha Ilangovan's book, Dupatta Podunga Thozhi – Wear a Duppatta my friend - cover art by Rohini Mani.  

 

As I was admiring the large artwork from a distance, my son called out to me – “Amma… did you notice what this painting is made with?”  So I went closer and read the note next to the painting. Excitement grabbed me. What!! A painting done using panaadai?  The artist Kirtana had meticulously cut and pasted the fibrous leaf sheaths of palms creating art. The panaadai has always been a fascinating natural material for me. I earnestly believe that the human race invented the art of weaving by looking the criss-cross fibres of these leaf sheaths.  The etymology of the word panaadai in Tamil also means 'joining closely' or 'stitching'.

The panaadai which has a rough fabric-like texture, surrounds the new palm fronds at the base.  The work of this sheath is to protect the new fronds from heat, insects and stormy winds.  In the beginning it is tightly woven but as the palm frond grows the sheath becomes loosely knit and ultimately it withers and wastes away.  In coconut palms it is easily seen. It is almost as though invisible weavers had woven the sheaths around the fronds. Our ancestors must have used these sheaths in many ways. It has been recorded that these natural sheaths have been used as wound dressings and as sieves.

A Tamil poet of the 13^th century has mentioned the panaadai also known as neiyari as a metaphor to explain the characteristics of students who listen but do not retain what is necessary. Since the panaadai was used as sieve to filter out impurities – over time this perspective has become accepted – the word is thus used in a derogatory manner referring to someone who cannot retain anything useful.  Sigh !!  Quite sad – it could have been the other way around !  The word should have been used as a praise word for its purifying capabilities.  

Let it be.

Coming back to the artwork of  P. Kirtana – she has shared the story of why she has created artworks using the panaadai.  She mentions that as a young girl she was scolded by a supervisor with this very same word panaada while she was doing manual labour in a coconut grove. ( full version in Tamil in  the image below).  

 The word, incident and shame associated with it had stuck in her young mind. Now, as an adult and an acclaimed artist, she has transformed both the word and the material into a work of art. She has taken control over the incident and its meaning by using it powerfully in her art. 

 The word panaadai, its physical presence in the artwork and its visual impact all rise above the established order of meaning. This particular art piece is titled ‘Acceptance’ -  Kirtana accepts the term panaadai in her own terms.  I stood there elated - looking at the woman in the artwork gazing confidently and wearing her panaadai with élan.

My heartfelt congratulations to this young artist Kirtana who is creating history by triggering a change in the narrative, the meaning and the significance of the word 'Panaadai'.  It was a thrilling and overwhelming moment for me to witness this art work.  I am grateful for the experience.

Kindly go through the images attached to this write up.
Rhoda Alex - September 2026
Godson Samuel, Xavier Benedict, thank you for putting up with my questions and request for images. Thank you  Varadhan Rajan for forcibly making me visit the Lalit kal akademi scholars show Last but not the least – thank you artist Kirtana !