A Class 11 student has endeavoured to expand the reach of Avvaiyar’s Aathichudi across the country by translating them into Hindi.
N.S. Apsara, a student of Zamindar Higher Secondary School, Thuraiyur, had translated and recited part of the one-line verse when she was in Class VII itself, which was recognised by the Department of Social Welfare.
Her father K. Sasikumar, a teacher at the Government Higher Secondary School, Sengattupatti, said, “Apsara has been studying Hindi since Class 4 and is proficient in the language. She did the Tamil to Hindi translation on her own.”
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Work began in January 2019 and Ms. Apsara translated one or two verses per week. “Since she was preparing for the board exams, we did not put pressure on her, but she completed it in a year,” he said.
Ms. Apsara approached her Hindi tutor in Srirangam for editing the translated verses. To refine it, they approached a Hindi lecturer at a private institution in the city. “The book was ready by December 2019, but we were waiting for her to finish Class 10 to publish it,” Mr. Sasikumar said.
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The book is the fruit of one-and-a-half years of work, Ms. Apsara said. “It features translations and transliterations of all 109 verses of Aathichudi , which are important lessons for all children,” she said.
Collector S. Sivarasu recently honoured Ms. Apsara with a letter of appreciation for her efforts.
On his part, Mr. Sasikumar translated the work into English.