A friend of mine used to say, language is man’s greatest invention. I believe there are two reasons to learn a language. The first reason is obviously to be able to communicate and build trust with an unacquainted tribe. The other reason is to learn and benefit from the thinkers of that tribe.
Wisdom of the sages and thinkers can be found through literary works. How is one to benefit from them without knowing the language? With that realization, it suddenly became evident as to why proficiency in Tamil is important. If one were to stand a chance to decipher Valluvar’s intent behind every Kural directly (and not through any interpretation or translation), proficiency in Tamil is going to be key. Thirukkural has always attracted seekers across the world towards the language. Mahatma Gandhi learnt Tamil to understand thirukkural in its aboriginal form.
I recently stumbled upon a video of Telugu star Vijay Devarakonda to recite Thirukkural during the launch of his debut Tamil movie. It was heartening to see him do that and I felt, through two beautiful Kurals he accurately captured that inflection point in his career.
Please type 467 and 485 on the bot, to learn the two kurals Vijay Devarakonda shared on stage.
Have a great week ahead!
PC: Pixabay