Indian languages must survive
THE issue of ensuring the survival of the Indian languages used in South Africa came under the spotlight at the annual Heritage Month Bharathiar Awards of the Siva Gnana Sabay in Lenasia last week.
The awards were started in 2007 to honour the memory of Indian freedom fighter and celebrated Tamil poet Subramaniam Bharathiar.
Stalwarts of the community are honoured each year in different ways, ranging from framed citations to ponnadais (golden shawls), the highest honour accorded in Tamil culture.
The idea of the awards was planted in the mind of the spiritual head of the organisation, Guru Somasundaram “Marie” Pillay, a decade before the initial ceremony, where six veterans, who had given a lifetime of service to the community, were honoured with golden shawls draped on their shoulders.
“We celebrate Heritage Month in September every year in different ways, but we tend to forget that, while we are proud South Africans, we also have a strong Indian cultural heritage that we need to acknowledge for our children not to forget about it,” Pillay said of hosting the awards every September.
He explained that Bharathiar, a contemporary of Mahatma Gandhi, was one of the greatest Tamil poets, a prolific writer and philosopher and a visionary of immense genius.
His patriotic songs promoting nationalism, the unity of India, equality of men and the greatness of the Tamil language earned him the title “Desiya Kavi” (National Poet).
Every year, recipients are chosen from a specific field, such as sport and music, and this year 10 recipients were chosen from the medical field for their unselfish community service over many years.
Among the recipients this year were husband-and-wife team, dentists Dr Ajay and Dr Anita Khoosal, who made a strong plea for the revival of Indian languages across the board.