Jayalalithaa announces slew of measures to boost Tamil literature

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa is on a mission to boost Tamil literary works. On Tuesday, she said that some of the Tamil classics will be translated into foreign languages like Chinese, Korean and Arabic. 

Making the announcement on the last days of the states assembly, she also spoke about awards that have been instituted for foreign scholars. 

April 29 has now been declared as ‘Tamil Kavignar Naal’ (Tamil Poets Day). Jayalalitha also announced a two-day seminar on poet Bharathidasan’s 125th birth anniversary, to be held in 2016, at a cost of Rs 5 lakh, Deccan Chronicle reports.

Tirukkural, the Tamil classic, will be translated into Korean. The CM has also allocated Rs 15 lakh to translate the Aathichoodi into Chinese and Arabic.

Jayalalithaa has also instituted the Amma Literary Award to be awarded to a woman writer whose focus is women’s literature. The award carries a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh and will be announced on Tamil New Year.

Foreign Tamil scholars will also be given the Ulaga Tamil Sanga Virudhu (World Tamil Sanga Award) that carries a citation and Rs 1 lakh prize. It will be given to those who excel in linguistics, language and literature. There are also awards for those who translate Tamil literary works.