This sense of belonging beyond borders is unique to India," PM Modi said at the 69th session of the UNGA. "3000 years ago, a great poet of India, Kaniyan Pungundranar, wrote in Tamil, the most ancient language of the world - Yaadhum Oore Yaavarum Kelirwhich which meant, ‘We belong to all places, and to everyone'. Our celebration is free and open to the public.New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi invoked the nearly three-millenia old Tamil poet and philosopher Kaniyan Poongundranar in his United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) speech on Friday to highlight the essence of Indian unity in diversity and emphasise the feeling of kinship among all people in the world. A reception will be held from 1-2pm, followed by our program from 2-6pm. On behalf of the Toronto District School Board, I extend a warm invitation to all to join our students and families in celebrating Thai Pongal and Tamil Heritage at Woburn C.I. This translates as “To us all towns are one, all people our kin.” This, I believe, captures the right spirit towards these notions of heritage, that each belongs to all, that we are all informed by each other’s culture and thus, stronger for it. She reached back 2000 years ago to quote a couplet from a Tamil poem: Yaadhum Oore, Yaavarum Kelir. Lastly, when we discuss these layered and multi-faceted ideas such as identity and culture, I am reminded of when former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi addressed the UN Assembly in 1980. In the business world, Tamil-American Indra Nooyi in 2006 became the 5 th CEO in Pepsi’s 44 year history – last year Fortune named her the 3 rd most powerful woman in business. In the music scene, the artist MIA, is renowned for her edgy and ground breaking music. In Hollywood, comedians Aziz Ansari and Mindy Kaling, as well as director M Night Shyamalan continue to entertain us. Near home, we have seen the rise of Kamala Harris, Kamala is the Attorney General of California, with a strong opportunity to become the first U.S. Vishwanathan Anand reigned as the World Chess Champion from 2007-2013. Srinivas Ramanujan has been heralded by mathematicians as a phenomenal genius without peer. The recognition of this month will not only acknowledge students of Tamil Heritage, but provide all students an opportunity to understand Tamil traditions, history and culture.įor example, our students can learn how brilliant scientists like CV Raman and Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar have been recognized with Nobel prizes for their work in the sciences. With significant presence in India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore and South Africa, we have now planted roots in major cities in the West. As many of us are aware, Tamil is one of the longest surviving classical languages in the world with a rich literature, history and identity going back over 2000 years. It may be a surprise, but after English, Tamil is our 2 nd biggest language group in the TDSB, with 12, 272 students of Tamil Heritage, roughly 5.5% of our total student body. Thus, it was in this light, that it was a pleasure and a personal privilege for me to pass the motion to recognize January as Tamil Heritage Month at the Toronto District School Board. As children and youth coming of age in the 90s, depictions of our community in the media were not positive and we didn’t see ourselves in the mainstream, while we were taught European history as civilization in our schools. Such feelings were not easy growing up as part of the 2 nd generation in the diaspora. However, in retrospect, it is easy to understand why it instilled such pride in us to see him take the mantle of leadership of one of the world’s biggest, most valuable and innovative companies in the world. Upon finding free wi-fi on our layover at Heathrow, I was surprised to see how viral the news had become in our community. This past August, just before I stepped onto a plane to Europe for a family wedding, I posted on Facebook the then breaking news that Google had chosen a Tamil guy, Sundararajan Pichai, to become its new CEO. Underscoring the importance of Tamil education and instilling pride in Tamil heritage, Parthi has shared a few words in preparation for the TDSB’s Inaugural Tamil Heritage Month Celebration this Saturday at Woburn Collegiate Institute. With approximately 12, 272 students enrolled in the TDSB who claim Tamil heritage, January has been distinctly marked to remember, celebrate and educate all students on Tamil culture, heritage, language, history and traditions. While serving as a trustee, last October, Parthi played an instrumental role in recognizing January as Tamil Heritage Month at the school board. Parthi Kandavel is a Toronto District School Board (TDSB) trustee serving Scarborough Southwest.
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