The Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar Birthday Commemoration Award for this year was presented to renowned musician T.N. Seshagopalan at a function held to mark the 130th birth anniversary of Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar here on Thursday.
The award carries a citation, memento and a purse of Rs.1 lakh. It is given to a person who has rendered yeoman service for the growth of Tamil music.
Speaking at the function, G.K. Vasan, Union Minister for Shipping, said Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar led his life with three principles – strive, save and serve. At a time when people hesitated to start schools or colleges, he founded Annamalai University. This was born out of his vision and love for spreading education among people.
Annamalai University was the first varsity started to teach Tamil and Tamil music, said Aranga Ramalingam, Professor and Head of the Department of Tamil, Correspondence Course, Madras University. It had the maximum number of students studying through distance education system next to Indira Gandhi National Open University.
Tamil scholars such as Kavimani Desiya Vinayagam Pillai, K.A.P. Viswanathan and Bharatidasan praised Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar for his contribution in spreading Tamil language among commoners, he added.
T.N. Seshagopalan said music stalwarts such as Tiger Varadhachariar worked in the Tamil Music Department of Annamalai University, which was started to popularise Tamil music among people. M.A.M. Ramaswamy, Pro-Chancellor, Annamalai University and Patron of the Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar Memorial Trust and M.A.M.R. Muthiah, president of the Trust were among those who spoke.
