Madras High Court Judge D. Hariparanthaman has advocated extensive use of Tamil in temples, and during marriage, house-warming function and funeral rites. He has urged lawyers to perform rituals in their houses by reciting ‘Thevaram’ and ‘Thiruvasagam’ instead of Sanskrit hymns.
Addressing members of the Madras High Court Madurai Bench Advocates’ Association (MAHAA) on significance of preserving one’s mother tongue here , the judge said none but native speakers should be blamed for the extinction of a language since it was they who deserted their mother tongue due to a fascination for foreign languages.
“Tamil continues to be in use to some extent in school education, governance and judicial system. However, I can say for sure that Tamil is virtually dead in temples and rituals. I don’t understand why a house-warming ceremony cannot be performed by reciting ‘Thevaram’ instead of Ganapathi Homam,” he wondered.
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Urging the people to affix their signatures in Tamil, encourage their children to talk in Tamil and gift Tirukkural to friends and relatives, the judge said: “The recipient may or may not read Tirukkural. Don’t let it bother you. Prime Minister Narendra Modi gifted Bhagavad Gita to US President Barack Obama not for him to read it but for popularising it. You can do likewise.”