A poem written by the late Prof. P. Sundaram Pillai, Professor of History in the Travancore University, and a noted Tamil scholar, has been adopted as the prayer song for Tamil Nadu Government functions. It is a two-stanza verse beginning with “Neerarum kadaludutha...” from Prof. Sundaram Pillai’s play, “Manonmaniam”. Only the first six-line stanza is to be used for the purpose of the State prayer song. An announcement about the prayer song was made by the Chief Minister, Mr. M. Karunanidhi, in his speech at the presentation here [Madras, March 10] early this week of State Awards for the best Tamil films, artistes and technicians of 1968. M. S. Visvanathan (best music director), who composed a new tune for “Neerarum kadaludutha,” sang it along with P. Susheela (best female playback singer) for prayer at the colourful Awards presentation ceremony. Singing the fame of Tamil Nadu and the Tamil language the prayer-poem refers to Dravidanadu as the beautiful “tilakam” on the beautiful forehead (Deccan) of the “beautiful face of the world” that is Bharat.
