p lakshmipriya a class 8 student of venkatlakshman school chettipalaym said that she has been learning the jamaap a folkdance for more than six months some danced to the tunes and others tried to mimic the silambattam and martial arts school and college students were also part of the performances though id seen most of the traditional art forms on television and even read about them this was the first time id attended v johnsundar the organiser of ilayanila a troupe which performs folk songs says that todays youth are openminded and they can easily be lured into traditional art forms if they watch a performance that is executed well a tenth standard student s anand said that he had learned the dance to be with friends but had begun to enjoy it we have artistes with expertise perform along with new learners she said m manojkumar and sakthikumar third year students of electronics and communications said they enjoyed the way the artists performed we regularly organise cultural feats especially during the festival season it looks easy but im sure it requires regular practice and discipline which we lack they say the eldest among us is thangamma who is over seventy silambattam can help in improving physical as well as mental strength she says andal priyadarshini the programme officer at the coimbatore doordarshan centre said that they regularly organise cultural programmes in an attempt to revive traditional art forms r vanathi a second year bsc botany student at kongunadu said that she has been learning silambattam for more than twelve years our performance is message based and the response has been overwhelming says john we learned these art forms from our elders silambattam was perhaps the most popular among all the art forms we are farmers and perform these dances as a hobby i was quite happy to see the positive response from the people the coimbatore doordarshan centre had organised cultural programmes on the occasion of the pongal season i never thought id have such a good time she said coimbatore from kummiyattam to kavadiyattam to silambattam the students of the tamil nadu engineering college at karumathampatti in coimbatore were exposed to these traditional art forms muthusamy says that they have been performing for decades on an honorarium basis for many this was the first time they had witnessed such art forms sherly n a third year electronics student at the college said that witnessing the event and participating was a fresh experience now there is a heightened interest in learning this the way they move their bodies is amazing arivoli muthusamy and his team from c gopalapuram of pollachi performed kummiyattam we hope to instill interest in youngsters an interest in these art forms so that they can be revived he said