RICHNESS OF TAMIL ELUCIDATED AT ILS

"The richness of Tamil language is very vast and we should savour if not take pride in it because we are either native speakers or living in a place where the language is spoken widely" was the opening line of the Narayanasamy Sir Memorial Lecture delivered by Mr.Villavan Kothai. The lecture was a part of Session 57 Proceedings 38 of the Institute of Liberal Studies, Coimbatore and was held from 04.00 PM to 06.00 PM at Thulasi Pharmacy, RS Puram on Sunday, 04 January 2026. 

Mr.Prasath, Director, Institute of Liberal Studies welcomed the gathering and chaired the Minute a Member programme where each of the 21 members shared their wisdom in a minute. Dr.B.Jayaraman, senior patron member remembered Late Narayanasamy Sir on whose memory the first proceedings of January is held. He applauded Late Narayanasamy Sir for his thirst for knowledge and love towards Tamil literature. Lt.Col.Thirumal Jeyaraj introduced the speaker Mr Villavan Kothai. Mr.Senthil, son of Mr.Narayanasamy honoured the speaker with a memento. Mr.J.Muruganathan, Committee Member and Patron, proposed the Vote of Thanks. 

In his speech Mr Villavan Kothai thanked his parents both of whom were Tamil teachers, his friends and his books for helping him enjoy the richness of Tamil literature. He started the lecture by dwelling on the antiquity of the language and his prediction on how the language should have evolved over the years. He quoted few verses from Tholkappiyam, Kurunthogai and Nedunalvaadai and lucidly explained the context and how it elevates the richness of the language. He explained the beauty of Zhagaram and how it adds so much beauty to Tamil as a language. From Venbaa to Haikoo, he dissected many forms of literature and also elucidated the versatility of Tamil as a language to imbibe all of them effortlessly. He lamented that importance of speaking and writing the language in its form is loosing importance and it is our duty to transfer the riches to the next generation without much loss. He praised the Tamils living abroad for staying attached to the language despite influences and hoped that people in Tamil Nadu shall give more attention to details in speaking and writing the language. He gave a clarion call for not allowing the language to go from riches to rags. He concluded that richness is not only measured in wealth but also in habits and asked the people to embrace the richness of Tamil language which would ultimately lead to making everyone a better person.