suryanarayan sastri, in 1903, described the antediluvian tamils as expert cultivators, fine poets and far-traveling merchants, who lived in an egalitarian and democratic society. savariroyan pillai, writing a few years later, described kumari kandam as a seat of learning and culture. sivagnana yogi (1840-1924) stated that this ancient society was free of any caste system. kandiah pillai, in a 1945 work for children, wrote that kumarikandam was ruled by a strong and just emperor called sengon, who organized the sangams. in 1981, the government of tamil nadu funded a documentary film on kumari kandam. the film, personally backed by the chief minister m. g. ramachandran and directed by p. neelakantan, was screened at the fifth international conference of tamil studies in madurai. it combined the continental drift theory with the submerged continent theory to present lemuria as a scientifically valid concept. it depicted kumari kandam cities resplendent with mansions, gardens, arts, crafts, music and dance.