Varanasi: Students Welcome the Tamil language as ‘Tamil Karkalam’ evokes enthusiasm among them in Kashi Tamil Sangamam

The special initiative of 'Tamil Karkalam' as part of the ongoing Kashi Tamil Sangamam 4.0 has filled students in government schools with glee and eagerness to learn Tamil and its rich heritage.

Sandhya Saikrishnan, a teacher of Tamil at Government Queens Inter College, Lahurabir here, and a Pracharak at Dakshin Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha, Chennai, said, "The students are eager to learn and enthusiastic. I have been teaching them over the last few days, and they can now communicate in basic Tamil." She also appreciated the study materials supplied by the Central Institute of Classical Tamil: "very useful, simple and easy to understand."

Saikrishnan, one among 50 Hindi-speaking Tamil teachers recruited by the Central Institute of Classical Tamil to hold classes in schools in Varanasi and its surrounding districts under 'Tamil Karkalam', says,

Tanu Pal, a Class 9 student of the Government Queens Inter College, said she was feeling happy and excited to learn Tamil.

"I like it very much. Today I know Hindi, Tamil and English. I feel proud that I got this opportunity," she said.

An autonomous body under the Ministry of Education, the Central Institute of Classical Tamil leads this programme.

Explaining the aim, Director of the Central Institute of Classical Tamil, R Chandrasekaran said the institute is committed to teaching the language to over 3,000 students who have Tamil as a non-mother tongue.

He said during an interaction with PTI that this course would be put online so that even students from Class 9 to 12 or anybody interested in learning Tamil could do so.

He added that close to 50 schools in the districts in and around Varanasi would be visited by the teachers in the next few weeks.

: About 3,000 students would be imparted the Tamil language by the teachers. This initiative has been mutually decided between the Ministry of Education and the Government of Uttar Pradesh ", he said.

Chandrasekaran said the institute has come out with a specially designed five-volume book series that would enable students to pick up Tamil in just 15 days and make learning quick and effective.

It is also aimed that the students converse in Tamil through this book after the end of the training. The books have been written so clearly that learners can study on their own. To this effect, all these study materials are on display at a dedicated stall at the ongoing Kasi Tamil Sangamam 4.0 venue, besides educating the initiative. At the end of the Kasi Tamil Sangamam 4.0 conference, Chandrasekaran said, about 300 students from Varanasi would come to Tamil Nadu to get more involved with the language and culture. "This initiative will help consolidate the decades-old cultural relationship of Tamil Nadu with Varanasi," he added.