The World Classical Tamil Conference will serve as an opportunity to highlight the contributions of the Kongu region to Tamil. These contributions remain by and large unknown to people, Tamil scholars and litterateurs say.
Contributions from the Kongu region encompass all forms of Tamil works, ranging from the epics to books on grammar to literature. Sirpi Balasubramanian, a former Head of the Department of Tamil, Bharathiar University, says the Kongu region’s role could be traced from the period of Sangam literature, medieval literature and even in modern literature. This has been documented in the book Kongu Kalanchiyam , the first volume of which he has edited.
The Tamil scholar Marabin Maindan Muthiah refers to the works of Konguvelir on archaeology. Konguvelir, who is better known among litterateurs, hailed from Vijayamangalam near Erode. Even today, the Perur Tamil College conducts an annual festival titled Perunkadhai Vizha, at Vijayamangalam. The State government should come forward to conduct the festival and honour more scholars from the region, he suggests.
It was during V.O. Chidambaram Pillai’s imprisonment in Coimbatore that he translated the works of James Allan, Mei Aram and Mei Arivu , Mr. Muthiah says.
The role of T.S. Avinashilingam Chettiar and Periyasamy Thooran in bringing out Kalai Kalanchiyam, the Tamil encyclopedia, about 50 years ago was remarkable. A re-print of this work is overdue. Similarly, the lexicon for children also belonged to the same period, points out C.R. Elangovan, author.
R.K. Shanmugam Chettiar wrote a commentary on Silapathikkaram, and C.K. Sivasubramania Mudaliar on Periya Puranam. N. Mahalingam’s works on a series of 20 books of Mahatma Gandhi have enriched Tamil literature collections from this region. The Bharathiar University project to bring out the works of Bharathiar is another contribution. Kalaikathir , the science magazine founded by G.R. Damodaran, provided scope for a Tamil lexicon in science.
Puviarasu and Nanjil Nadan, modern litterateurs, recall the yeoman services of Vaanambadigal Iyakkam, working for the last 35 years in promoting “Pudhu Kavidhai” (modern poetry). The contributions of Mu.Metha, Kovai Gnani and Ma.Natarajan in modern-day literature are noteworthy.
The success of publishing houses and good book sales at book fairs in this region prove that the Kongu region has an affinity for the language, Mr Puviarasu adds.
