Day 3 : Madurai Tamil Sangam
Madurai Tamil Sangam
I started from my house around 5 pm and I reached the Madurai Tamil Sangam Art Gallery around 5.20pm. The Madurai Tamil Sangam Art Gallery is located to the opposite of Gandhi Museum.
I love languages. One can appreciate other languages only if one loves his own native language. Many of my friends(living in Madurai) didn’t learn Tamil in their schools because they had chosen Hindi or French.They used to say its difficult to pronounce certain Tamil words and they keep asking me the meaning for many simple words.If they feel it difficult to read their own mother tongue , how will they be able to grasp another different language.Next time when you hear a native speaker telling you that they don’t know to read or write in their mother tongue tell them that they need to be ashamed of it. Its not a great thing to boast about it is something they need to be ashamed of.Madurai played an important role in the development of Tamil language.Most people living here failed to know the greatness of the language.
Madurai was under the rule of the Pandiyas. Therefore it was also known as Pandiya Naadu. Madurai had three Tamil Sangam through which they developed the language.The first Tamil sangam was in Kabaadapuram which was destroyed by the sea. The second Tamil sangam was in Korkai and the third in present day Madurai.It is said that there were many great sangam poets who lived in Madurai.The Tamil sangam functioned as a research lab and also a place for the poets to recite their works infront of great poets and kings.The poem will be published only after the acceptance of all the poets present in the sangam.The poets has to face rigorous scrutiny before his work is published.The old poets were very brave and they portrayed only the truth.They never feared anyone as far as their expression of ideas are concerned.
I entered the Madurai Tamil Sangam Art Gallery. There were many paintings depicting the greatness of Tamil language and the greatness of its people.The outside walls of the Madurai Tamil Sangam Art Gallery was also painted with various depictions from great poems.
In this embossed sculpting you could see a King’s court with Ministers around him.Among the eight ministers 2 of them are poets( On the right side you could see two of the ministers writing). This shows how the King valued the intellects.
Classification of land:
The Sangam literature classifies land into 5 different types based on the geographical condition, its flora and fauna etc. It is interesting to note that the location co-relates to the mindset of the lovers of that particular location.
This painting shows the Kurunji thinai- the land associated with Hills. It is a beautiful hilly terrain with waterfalls and springs.The man in this region is called Kuravan and the woman is called Kurathi. The literature in this region talks about the union of the happy lovers.
This painting shows the Mullai thinai – the land associated with the forest. It is a forest region surrounded by tress and the chirping of the birds. They rear cattle and you could see a lady churning the curd. The literature in this region talks about the girl patiently waiting for her love.
This painting shows the Marudha thinai- the fertile region.This area is very fertile with rivers, and green tress. It is the agricultural land with ponds brimming with water.The literature in this region talks about the conflicts and quarrel between the lovers.
This painting shows the Neithal thinai- the land associated with the sea. This region is enriched with fishing and trade.The literature in this region talks about the separation of the lovers and their feelings.
The last is the Paalai thinai- the land associated with the desert.It is a parched and unfertile desert. The literature portrays the sufferings of both the lovers and their journey.
The greatness of Tamil people:
The Tamil people respected nature. A poet said that his mother always taught him that the Punnai tree is like his elder sister. They considered Nature as a part of their family and the trees are the inseparable part of their life.
In this painting we could see Tamil people involved in various fields like architecture, medicine, construction,ship building,machinery and technology.This shows that the Tamil people were inspired by technology.
This painting shows the overseas trade and barter system followed by Tamil people. The Greek and The Romans exchanged gold for pepper.
Bravery of a Tamil Woman
This painting shows a brave Tamil mother who had lost her brothers, husband and father in war. Now she is giving the sword to her 6 year old son and asks him to go to the war. She didn’t sit in the corner of the home and cry rather she was brave at heart. She felt that dying for ones own country is noble so she decides to send her only son.The innocent kid too died in the war. The neighbours told her that he had got the arrow at his back. The mother was shocked to hear such a news that her son ran away cowardly and had the arrow pierced him at his back. The mother herself goes to the war field saying that if her son is found to be a real coward she will cut off the breasts that had feed him.On the field she found that her son got the arrow in his chest and it pierced him till his back. The mother felt proud for her son. The bravery of the Tamil woman is evident here.
These are the paintings found in the Madurai Tamil Sangam Art Gallery. An amount of rupees 75 lakhs was spent in setting up this gallery.
If we proceed further in the Madurai Tamil Sangam Art Gallery road we will find the World Tamil sangam.
It is a big and spacious building with beautiful domes and big pillars.The walls of this road are painted with various famous places in Madurai.
The compound walls of World Tamil Sangam building have 1330 thirukkural engraved on a marble stone and fixed in the wall.
The world Tamil sangam has a library with 11,000 books.There are old Tamil books as well as English books and the English translation of Tamil books.
The Librarian told me that this Sangam serves as a Tamil Research Development Centre. It gives scholarships for great student writers in Tamil, financial support for publishing the best Tamil novel.A grand amount of 37.42 crores was spent in building the Tamil sangam.He told me that within some days it will be functioning completely and the arrangements were going on for its functioning.It is an exclusive centre for those who do research in Tamil language.
Information :World mother tongue(native language) day is celebrated on 21st of February. So from this January we’ll take a resolution to promote the greatness of our mother tongue and try our level best to know about our native language, so that we could appreciate the beauty in other languages also.
Wander With a Gypsy Soul 
In love with your blog.. it’s very good
LikeLike
Kudos to u. Keep up the good work..
LikeLike
Thank u
LikeLike