Literature is not leisure-time writing. It represents a country’s culture, language, and race, said P.Rajendran, president, Malaysian Tamil Writers Association, here on Monday.
Speaking at the international conference on ‘Malaysian Tamil Literature: yesterday and today’ organised by the Department of Tamil Studies in Foreign Countries at Tamil University, Mr.Rajendran said that literature reflects the life and time of a community. “Through Tamil literature , we learn the valour, love, and dignity of the Tamil community,” he said.
The Tamil literary tradition in Malaysia is 150 years old. In the first 100 years, the Tamil literary works that originated in Malaysia talked about places such as Thanjavur, Salem, and Tiruvannamalai and lives of the people in those areas. Since1950, there was a renaissance and stories and writings reflected the life of Malaysian Tamils.
“I’m delighted to know that 15 to 20 students of Tamil University have taken up research on Malaysian Tamil literature. There is no point in us talking about our literature. You should study it critically and talk about it . Likewise, we should speak the fame of your literature,” Mr.Rajendran said.
He also called for making use of the memorandum of understanding signed between Tamil writers of Malaysia and Tamil University for exchange visits by students and teachers . “It has not gained momentum. Only one such bilateral visit has taken place; there should be more,” he said.
Malaysian Tamil Writers Association has been doing a lot for promoting Tamil literature in Malaysia. Annual conferences are conducted on short stories and poems and awards are given for best books. “We would like to meet the Chief Minister, when we visit Chennai next week”, Mr.Rajenderan said. M.Thirumalai, Vice Chancellor, Tamil University, appealed to the Malaysian Tamils to not lose their identity .
He also said that Tamil University has signed a MoU with Colon University of Germany for joint research and exchange visits by students and teachers. “We have also sent a proposal to UGC for starting a PG diploma in Diasporic Studies.”
While presenting books to the 35-member Malaysian delegation led by Rajendran , Mr.Thirumalai said that Malaysian youth should be introduced to modern Tamil literature. K.S.Senbagavalli, joint secretary, Malaysian Tamil Writers Association, spoke .
V.Rajeswari, Malaysian Tamil writer, Gunanathan Arumugam, secretary, Malaysian Tamil Writers Association, A.Karthikeyan, Head of Department of Tamil Studies in Foreign Countries, Tamil University, and S.Udhayasuriyan, conference co-ordinator, also spoke.
source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> National> TamilNadu / by Special Correspondent / Thanjavur, November 27th, 2012