There is every reason for the people of Tamil Nadu, as also India as a whole, to take pride in the just-concluded five-day long Ulagath Thamizh Chemmozhi Maanaadu (World Classical Tamil Conference) as a spectacular celebration of the scintillating Tamil language whose origins are contemporaneous with, or maybe even more ancient than, those of Sanskrit. Indeed, the Indus civilisation itself bears the imprint of Dravidian influence and the famous scholar, Mr Iravatham Mahadevan, holds that the Indus script is Dravidian and linguistically and culturally closer to the old Tamil polity. I am reasonably familiar with Sanskrit and four other Indian languages, and have read the classical literature of Greek and Latin in English translations. I can testify, without exaggeration, to the magnificence of the Tamil classical traditions going back to four thousand years or more. Few languages touch so many aspects of human existence, go so deep into the recesses of human thought or weave such a grand cultural tapestry stretching all the way from ethical values, philosophy, epistemology, worldly wisdom and human relations. Works dating back to centuries before Christ contain brilliant insights about the nature and scope of prose, poetry and drama and lay down the norms of grammar with exactitude and precision. The stringent standards that Tirukkural prescribes for a ruler cannot be improved upon even with all the phenomenal growth of knowledge that has taken place since. For all that, the ignorance that prevails among the people of other States, especially those of the North, of the history of the Tamils and their language and culture can only be described as shocking. Surprisingly, there are sections of Tamils themselves who flaunt their inability to speak in, or even read, Tamil, and those who have had English education consider it ‘infra dig' to conduct discussions and meetings in their mother tongue. I can only say that, falling between the two stools of a carping nature and insulated lives, they fail to understand the role inspiration and self-esteem play in getting the best out of a people. dhi, as Chief Minister, has done a tremendous service by lifting the spirits of the Tamil people as a way of motivating them to scale still greater heights. Incredible feat There are those, of course, who turn their noses up at such ‘wasteful extravaganzas'. Remember, the money has not gone down the drain but has, in its own way, had its multiplier effect by providing livelihoods to innumerable artisans and craftsmen, giving a push to the local economy through increased orders for goods and services, and contributing to the improvement and expansion of the infrastructure of every description. Finally, the Maanaadu was an incredible feat of organisation. Considering the stupendous scale — 2,605 delegates (including 840 foreigners), 913 papers on 55 subjects, food for four lakh people, five lakh watching the pageantry with an average daily attendance of 1.5 lakh at various events held in so many venues — everything went off like clockwork. Not a little praise for all this is due to the devoted band of officials and non-officials who did a marvellous job under the leadership of the Chief Secretary, Mr K. S. Sripathi.
It is now the paramount and inescapable duty of those behind the monumental effort to bridge the broadening gulf between ancient precepts and present-day practice in respect of accountability, rectitude, tolerance and harmony which Tamil classical literature holds sacrosanct. They had better start with corruption, in which Tamil Nadu has been ranked among the second most corrupt set of States by Transparency International (next to Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir). B. S. RAGHAVAN
It may be a glittering tribute in the eyes of people who can afford to be spectators in such occasions at a cost of nearly Rs.600 crores!
What about thousands of Tamil population in panchayats and towns starving without basic amenities e.g. people in Dharmapuri and other districts where drinking water is a scarce commodity! When Tamilians are rotting where is the need for spending such a whopping sum for celebrating the language they speak! Is it not an irony? The govt. exchequer is already in "red " running to several thousands of crores of rupees! At whose request and cost such celebrations are conducted ?
The celebration fever might exist for a few days. People forget things very easily. And this is one such occasion. Thanglish will continue to haunt the media, particularly in their own channels ! It is nothing but a reminder of the dead era when kings and queens indulged in regular celebrations on one side and execute innocent public on the other side ! Arre baba, it is nothing but noisy gimmicks, just to strengthen the weak areas in that part of Tamilnadu for the ensuing elections !
hmmm....the sangam literature, based on which we boast of our 'semmozhi' is the outcome of the hard work of a ripe old man named U.Ve. Swaminatha Iyer....
and in 5 days with 1000 papers presented...no mention of this old man's name...