Eminent Tamil personalities honoured with Singapore awards

Singapore, Feb 20 (PTI) Three Tamilians based in Indonesia, Switzerland and Singapore along with a professor from Tamil Nadu were recognised for their contribution to the promotion of the South Indian language and culture by a 74-year-old organisation in Singapore this week.
     The revived Tamils Festival 2026 Global Tamils Awards ceremony was held by Tamils Arts and Culture Society (TACS) in collaboration with local and international Tamil organisations, according to Singapore-based Friday weekly Tabla!
     It was a concerted effort to preserve the Tamil language, arts and culture for the next generation, said the weekly report.
     The festival, held on Tuesday, was originally established in 1952 by the late Tamil Murasu (newspaper) founder Thamizhavel G. Sarangapany to foster community bonding.
     TACS chairman Ma. Govindarasu highlighted that the primary objective of the festival is to rekindle the spirit of unity and togetherness championed by Sarangapany in the 1950s, which transcended caste and religious lines.
     “Just as other communities come together during their festivals by setting aside differences, Tamils should unite under the ‘Tamils Festival’ celebration,” the tabloid quoted Govindarasu as saying.
     He emphasised the need to understand the deeper significance of cultural practices – from drawing kolams to respecting elders – and passing these traditions on to the youth.
     The ceremony recognised individuals who have made significant contributions to Tamil in various fields, including literature, arts and technology.
     A key recipient was Prof Thamizhpparithi Maari from Tamil Nadu, who received the Sorkalanjiya Semmal (Lexicon Expert) award. He has been credited with helping elevate the Tamil language from the 24th to the 7th position among 174 languages in global online dictionary structures, and hopes to take it to the No. 1 spot, surpassing English, within the next three years.
     “My goal is to adapt Tamil for the artificial intelligence era. This will help not just humans, but machines to understand Tamil,” Prof Thamizhpparithi was quoted as saying.
     Chairman of the Indonesia Tamil Sangam, Dr Visagan Mailachalam, received the Lifetime Tamil Literary award. He noted that Tamil education efforts in Indonesia have expanded from four to 10 schools, with the help of teachers appointed by the Indian government. “Our target is to take Tamil to 2,000 children by 2026,” Dr Visagan said.
     Switzerland-based Tamil poet and writer Dr Gangaimagan was also honoured in this category for his efforts to further Tamil education overseas. He received the Lifetime Tamil Literary award and released his ninth book at the event titled Gangaimagan Kavithaigal, which interprets ancient Tamil poetry for the modern generation.
     Singaporean multidisciplinary media artiste Vicknesvari Vadivalagan was honoured with the Isai Tamil Semmal (Music Expert) award for her 48-year contribution to the field as a student, artiste and teacher.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)