Andrew Prashanth

This Foundation Project implemented by IFA under Explorations will experiment to create a form for Asunam, a non-Vedic mythical creature from Sangam literature of the classical Tamil oeuvre, in a collaborative artistic process between a comics writer, an illustrator and a voice-over artist. Andrew Prashanth is the Coordinator for this project.

Andrew Prashanth (a.k.a C G Salamander) is a writer, editor, and comic journalist who lives in Chennai, India. He has published over 50 comics, in the country and internationally; over 15 children’s books for Penguin Random House, Duckbill Books, Hachette Books, Speaking Tiger, and Scholastic among others; and journalistic pieces for Conde Nast, Mongabay, and Buzzfeed to name a few. In collaboration with Samidha Gunjal, Andrew had made a short comic about the evolution of the internet in India as a part of the 25x25 initiative at IFA. Given his experience, he is best placed to be the Coordinator of this Foundation Project of IFA. He will collaborate with artist and illustrator Rajiv Eipe, and voice-over artist and actor Kavya Srinivasan.

Asunam is a mythical creature from Sangam literature of the classical Tamil oeuvre that was authored in the first century CE. It is believed that Asunam was last spotted in the dense forests of the Kurinji Hills in Western Ghats. It had a body resembling a serpent, wings wider than an eagle, more strength than a horse, and claws sharper than a lion. Notwithstanding this super-strength, it was a very gentle creature which loved melodious music, but could not stand loud noises as it was phonophobic. In fact it would get disoriented when exposed to loud noises. If the sound was loud enough, its heart would stop, causing it to fall out of the sky, spiralling to its death. According to Sangam literature, ancient Tamil hunters would show up in front of Asunam caves and play harmonious tunes. Hypnotised by the music, the Asunam would come out of its cave. The hunters would jump out of the bushes making loud drumbeats leading to its death. It is believed that these creatures were hunted into extinction.

The project will be an exploration to find an ideal medium to visualise the concept of this mythical creature, either as a dramatised audio play or as a motion comic that relies on panels made of GIFs with sound effects. It is important to play around with sound as a medium because of Asunam’s hypersensitivity to sound. But it is also important to give a moving image form for the mythical creature that flies around, for which motion comic may be one of the suitable forms. The project coordinator will collaborate with illustrator Rajiv Eipe and voice-over artist and actor Kavya Srinivasan to explore these two possibilities.   

The outcome of the project will be an audio-visual and a motion comic.  The Project Coordinator’s deliverables to IFA with the final report will be process documentation of the collaboration, the audio-visual and the motion comic. 

This project suitably addresses the framework of IFA’s Arts Practice programme in the manner in which it attempts to explore the possibility of resurrecting a relatively unknown mythical creature from a non-Vedic context, and expanding the horizon of literary universe for comics and illustration art in India.

IFA will ensure that the implementation of this project happens in a timely manner and funds expended are accounted for. IFA will also review the progress of the project at midterm and document it through an Implementation Memorandum. After the project is finished and all deliverables are submitted, IFA will put together a Final Evaluation to share with Trustees. 

This project is made possible with support from Sony Pictures Entertainment Fund.