Fourteen-year-old K. Anjana Devi's fiery recitation of Bharathidasan's patriotic poem Siruthaye veliyil vaa is stirring. “When she recited this in 2006 in front of an audience that included chief minister M. Karunanidhi and K. Anbazhagan, the latter sat up and listened appreciatively,” beams her proud mother Vasuki Devi.
At 5.30 every morning, Anjana reads 50 Thirukkural couplets aloud. “Starting the day with the lyrical verses refreshes the mind”, she says. It's only after this that she starts with school work for the day. Anjana studies in Vasavi Vidyalaya Matriculation Higher Secondary School. This class nine student is so much in love with the rhyming couplets that she has written a commentary for 1080 of the total 1330. Published by Vijaya Pathipagam, it was recently launched in a grand function amidst Tamil scholars.
“It was my father who instilled the interest for Thirukkural in me. When I was a little girl, he used to read it to me everyday. By the time I was four years old, the words were fixed in my mind,” says Anjana. She gradually developed an interest in the meaning of the Kurals she knew by heart. “Father often took me to hear great Tamil orators. They got me thinking. So when I was 10 years old, I started learning Thirukkural 's meaning with the help of a commentary by Tamil scholar Mu. Varadarasanar,” she adds.
Anjana says that she found the Kurals rather difficult, and had to study them for long hours with a Tamil agarathi . That's when she hit upon the idea of writing a simple commentary for children like her.
“I started work on the commentary when I was in class VI and completed it in a year.” Anjana wrote three interpretations for each Kural and picked the final version with the help of her family. “ We took the assistance of Pulavar Rasyannan and a high school Tamil teacher to correct the grammatical errors I had made, ” she adds.
It took two years to get her book published. “Had it been brought out immediately after it was written, it would not have been taken seriously”, says Anjana. “Even now, there are people who doubt if the book is mine,” she smiles. Thirukkural is so deeply engraved in her memory that she can recite any of the 1330 on demand. This won her the first prize in a competition held by Ulaga Thirukkural Peravai in 2002. According to Pulavar Elankeeran, the District Secretary of the Peravai, about seven children who could recite all 1330 couplets were shortlisted for the competition. “The contenders were examined thoroughly for their grip over Thirukkural ,” he adds. “Tasks such as reciting a Kural by naming its first word were given,” recalls Anjana. “I was the youngest participant.”
Having presented over 300 stage talks, Anjana has received awards from Dr. Manmohan Singh and M. Karunanidhi. For a kid her age, one is surprised that she spends her leisurely hours in the company of Kamba Ramayanam , Silappadikaram , Pathupaatu , Kondrai Vendhan and Moodhurai .
She is currently working on her interpretation of Avvaiyar's Moodhurai . “For each of the 30 songs, I have written a short story with the message weaved in. I have also made an illustration for each story,” she explains. If this comes out, it could probably be the first ever illustrated version of Moodhurai .
